The Georgia Child Care
Association
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Go to GCCA's "Fax-Back" Criminal Records Check Service
Information Page
What is the "Fingerprinting Bill"? The Fingerprinting Bill is a law that was passed in the 1999 legislative session and became effective on July 1, 1999. In essence, it requires that all child care providers obtain a criminal records check on every employee before they begin work and state a national fingerprint records check on new directors. In some cases, even regular employees must also have a state and national fingerprints check before they can be employed.When did this law go into effect? As of July 1, 1999, any new employees (or new directors) hired are subject to the new law, and therefore, must have a satisfactory preliminary criminal records check on file before they can begin work (or a satisfactory state fingerprint records check for directors).What is the difference between a preliminary records check, a state fingerprint records check and a national fingerprint records check? A preliminary criminal records check (required for all regular employees) is performed at the local police department level at the request of the potential employee. The preliminary records check is a simple criminal records check based solely on the applicant’s social security number. In many cases it will only show offenses committed in Georgia. The time required to complete this records check is anywhere from 10 minutes to several days depending on the local police department’s operating procedures. The cost for this service ranges from as little as $7.00 to as much as $25.00, again depending on the local jurisdiction.A state fingerprint records check is more thorough in that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab makes a check against all recorded fingerprints of known criminals. It can sometimes pick up a criminal record that didn’t show up when only the social security number was used. The new fingerprint law mandates that the results of this test be returned to the applicant within 10 days of being received. The cost of this service is the $24.00 fee that we have always paid to have the fingerprints run under the old system. A national fingerprint records check is similar to the state version
except it is performed by the FBI against recorded fingerprints of all known criminals
throughout the U.S. This records check is designed to What is the procedure for hiring new employees? The procedure for hiring new employees will roughly be as follows. (Note: the procedure for hiring a new director is different from regular employees – see the section below for more info on hiring new directors.) Upon completion of a successful interview, a potential employee must first obtain a copy of their Georgia Criminal Investigation Center (GCIC) Criminal Records Check (CRC) before they may be hired to work with children. In order to obtain a GCIC CRC, the potential employee will need a specific form from you, the provider, which she/he will then take to the local police department and submit, along with the required processing fee. Depending on the operating procedures of the local police department, the potential employee may be able to get a copy of his/her CRC back in as little as 10 minutes or as long as several days. (GCCA has set up a fax-back service whereby CRC results are faxed directly to the provider - usually within a couple of hours - for as little as $7.00 per records check.) The employee then delivers the CRC results to the provider (unless the police department has already done so directly) and the provider makes a determination on the spot as to whether or not the employee can be hired using the following criteria:
 been charged with a crime that has
not yet been resolved), you may not hire the person until he/she receives satisfactory
state and national fingerprint records checks or until he/she has the unsatisfactory
preliminary records check (or fingerprint check) reversed through an administrative
hearing.
What do I do when I receive a preliminary records check that has a crime listed on it? According to the law, you may not hire that person until they have a clean state and national fingerprint records check on file or until they have the unsatisfactory status removed through an administrative hearing process. If you receive a preliminary records check with anything at all listed on it, you must then forward the records check results, along with 2 sets of fingerprints and a fingerprint processing fee, to DHR who will then submit for state and national fingerprint records checks. If you're not sure about the results listed on the form, we recommend calling DHR for clarification of whether or not state and national checks are necessary. Upon receiving the results of those two records checks, DHR will notify you of the applicant’s eligibility to be hired.What’s the procedure for hiring a new director? Upon choosing a new director, you must immediately notify DHR by sending in any information you may have on that person, including any preliminary or fingerprint records checks. DHR will then make a written determination from the information furnished and their own records as to whether satisfactory state and national fingerprint records check determinations have ever been made for the newly designated director. If DHR is able to determine that satisfactory state and national fingerprint records check determinations have been made within the past 12 months, the director may then begin working.If DHR finds that the new director has had an unsatisfactory state and/or national fingerprint records check within the past 12 months, they will notify the center and director. In that case, the director may not begin work but must be replaced immediately or the center faces license suspension or revocation. If DHR determines that the newly designated director has not had a state and national fingerprint records check within the past 12 months, they will notify you of such and you must submit a fingerprint records check application on the new director immediately. Upon receipt of a satisfactory state fingerprint records check, DHR will notify you and the new director may begin working in a "probationary-like" capacity until the results of the national fingerprint records check are received and deemed satisfactory. If either the state or national fingerprint records checks is deemed unsatisfactory, the director may not begin working (or continue working in the case of the national fingerprint records check) but must be immediately be replaced as directed in the above procedures. What’s this I hear about an "Emergency Employee"? The legislation allows for an "Emergency Employee" in the event that your center would otherwise be in violation of the minimum staff-to-children ratios. Because many police stations may
take 24 hours or more to process the preliminary records checks, your center may find
itself in the position of being "out of ratio" if you cannot hire a person
immediately to fill the position. If you find this to be the case, you may proceed as
follows and remain in compliance.
The new employee must first go the police department and
make application for the preliminary records check. The police station will give the
employee some form of supporting documents to prove that they have applied for the records
check (e.g. signed copy of application, dated receipt, etc.). The center owner or director
must then place a copy of those supporting documents proving the employee did, in fact,
apply for the records check in the employee’s personnel file. In addition, the owner
or director must also place in the employee’s personnel file a signed, notarized, and
dated affidavit stating that the employee has applied for the preliminary records check
and that the center would have been out of compliance with respect to ratios if the
employee had not begun work immediately. (DHR will make that form available to all
providers.)
If the proper supporting documents are obtained and placed in the
employee’s personnel file, he Do parent volunteers have to have a records check also? It depends. According to DHR, there are several circumstances under which a volunteer may not be required to have a preliminary criminal records check. DHR will make the determination on a case-by-case basis as to whether a particular volunteer must have a records check. They are asking that you call them before using any volunteers and they will let you know if a criminal records check is required for your particular situation.What about staff who are under 18 years of age? Persons under the age of 18 are considered minors and therefore have sealed criminal records (if any). Therefore, employees under 18 years of age are not subject to this law and may be hired without a criminal records check.However, employees under 18 should be required to sign a statement stating that they have never been found to have committed any type of crime against a child such as abuse or neglect or any other such serious offense.
Go to GCCA's "Fax-Back" Criminal Records Check Service
Information Page
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catch persons whose crimes were committed in
other states before moving to Georgia. It may take as long as 60 days to get the results
from this records check and the cost included as part of the $24.00 that is paid for
running the state fingerprint records check (i.e. no additional fee other than the $24.00
paid for the state fingerprints). 
or she may work
for up to three days while awaiting the results of the preliminary
records check. If, at the end of three working days, the results of the preliminary
records check have not been obtained, the employee must be removed from
"emergency" status and may not return to work until a satisfactory preliminary
records check is obtained.