In California, all persons aged 18 years and older that operate or work in a Community Care Facility must obtain a fingerprint clearance. The California Health and Safety Code requires a background check of all applicants, licensees, adult residents, volunteers under certain conditions and employees of community care facilities who have or may have contact with clients (i.e. children, adult care recipients).
To do so, they must:
- Complete a Form LIC 508 Criminal Record Statement.
- Submit fingerprints to the Department of Justice.
Fingerprints can be easily submitted at a Live Scan fingerprint site. For a list of Live Scan sites, please visit here. One must call in advance to make an appointment. Upon submission, the fingerprints are forwarded to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to determine if the individual has any reportable arrests or convictions. If the person is applying to be in a Community Care Licensed Facility that cares for children, an additional check is made to the Child Abuse Central Index by the DOJ.
If the individual has no criminal history, DOJ will forward a clearance notice to the applicant or licensee and to Community Care Licensing Division, Caregiver Background Check Bureau (CBCB). If the individual has a criminal history, DOJ will send a criminal record transcript to CBCB. The transcript will show arrests and convictions. CBCB staff will review the transcript and if the convictions are for crimes that may be exempted, CBCB will send an exemption notification letter to the applicant or licensee and to the individual. The letter explains how to request an exemption and lists the documents/information that must be submitted to request an exemption. The individual may not be present in the facility until an exemption is granted by CBCB.
When an individual receives a criminal record clearance, he/she may work, reside or volunteer in a licensed facility. The clearance will remain active as long as the individual is associated to a licensed facility. If an individual is disassociated from a facility, he/she must be associated to another facility (or the same facility if they are rehired) within 2 years or he/she will become inactive. If an individual becomes inactive, he/she must be printed and cleared again before working, residing or volunteering in a licensed facility.
A newly printed individual’s clearance will be listed on the California Background Clearance Listing for 30 days. Otherwise, a licensee can verify a clearance by calling their local CCLD Office.