Staff Background Checks
Federal law requires all states and territories to ensure that all staff in licensed child care programs pass state and federal criminal background checks. Required background checks play an essential role in ensuring your child is safe in a child care program.
Who Must Have a Background Check?
All adults who work or live in a family child care home
All child care center staff, including directors, teachers, caregivers, bus drivers, custodians, kitchen staff, and administrative employees
Every adult volunteering in the program who will have unsupervised access to your child
Other adults who may come into the program and will have unsupervised access to your child, such as therapists and art, dance, or sports instructors
How Often Must Background Checks Be Conducted?
Child care programs must submit requests for background checks before the staff member is hired and then at least once every 5 years.
What Is Checked During the Background Check Process?
The background check process required by child care licensing ensures staff don’t have a history of convictions that could put your child’s health and safety at risk.
Here is a list of the specific required checks:
A national FBI criminal history check using fingerprints
A search of the National Crime Information Center’s National Sex Offender Registry
A search of the following state registries and databases where the child care staff member currently lives and each state where the staff member has lived in the past 5 years:
State criminal registry or repository (fingerprints are required in the state where the staff member currently lives and are optional in other states)
State sex offender registry or repository
State-based child abuse and neglect registry and database
Ask your child care program if these background checks are up-to-date for all adults who will have access to your child while in care.
Learn more about how your state or territory manages background check requirements for licensed child care programs by selecting your state or territory on “See Your State’s Resources" and reviewing the “Understanding and Finding Child Care” tab.
