Preview of Federal Fingerprint Background Check Changes

The Federal law regarding background checks will take effect beginning October 1, 2018. While DECAL must implement changes to Georgia’s current fingerprint background checks, ALL of the changes are a result of changes to the Federal law imposed by Congress and the DHHS Office of Child Care.

Effective October 1, 2018: 

• ALL child care employees will be required to both submit and obtain a cleared state or federal fingerprint check PRIOR to beginning work at a child care center. (GCIC checks will no longer be allowed).
• On October 1, 2018, a “PROVISIONAL EMPLOYEE” will be defined as an employee who has obtained a cleared state or federal fingerprint check. A Provisional Employee must be supervised AT ALL TIMES by an employee who has obtained a Comprehensive Criminal Records Check (CCRC).
• A Comprehensive Criminal Records Check (CCRC) consists of a state fingerprint check, a federal fingerprint check, a state sex offender check, a state child abuse registry check, a national sex offender registry check, and a check of any state in which an employee has lived in the last five years.
• Neither observational nor working interviews will be allowed as of October 1, 2018, unless the potential employee has obtained a cleared state or federal fingerprint check, and that potential employee must be supervised 100% of the time by a center employee with a CCRC.
• All substitutes must have a CCRC, or else, they must be supervised 100% of their time at the center by a center employee with a CCRC.

We will be providing more details in upcoming email blasts, but these changes will likely put child care providers at risk of being out of ratio come October 1, 2018. GCCA urges all centers to make sure all employees to obtain a CCRC before October 1, 2018 to help centers stay in ratio. Additional details regarding fingerprint changes will be forthcoming in future E-blasts.