背景调查应该为老年护理提供者发挥什么作用?密歇根州 最近 在标准化全州老年护理提供者背景调查政策的某些部分方面迈出了一大步。此举为养老院和其他为老年人服务的企业或组织如何为其员工、志愿者、承包商和分包商制定有效的背景调查政策提供了线索。
新的密歇根州规则不适用于该州的所有高级机构。这些要求由密歇根老龄服务委员会专门为老龄和成人服务机构 (AASA) 制定。
AASA 是一个负责管理“大约 1.1 亿美元的非医疗补助联邦和州资助的家庭和社区项目,通过老龄化网络为密歇根州的老年人和弱势成年人提供服务”的机构。该机构为全州 16 个较小区域的老龄化机构提供资金,这些机构是由联邦和州立法成立的区域非营利组织,旨在满足当地社区老年人的需求。也有附属于 AASA 的子机构——该组织总共有 1,000 多个组织。
所有 AASA 机构和子机构都将受到委员会新的犯罪背景调查规则的影响。这些要求不会改变 AASA 附属机构必须进行的背景调查。所有机构和子机构都已经要求对与老年人密切合作的任何人进行员工、志愿者和承包商背景调查,包括 犯罪历史 和 性犯罪者登记调查。新政策旨在标准化整个 AASA 网络中背景调查的处理方式。
以前,对于哪些类型的犯罪记录要求取消员工或志愿者考虑资格,以及关于重复背景调查的不同规则,机构有不同的政策。这些事项在未来将成为标准。
新要求包括:
所有项目都需要每三年更新一次对所有员工、志愿者和承包商的背景调查。
当新要求生效时,所有现有员工都将重新开始背景调查。“在政策生效日期之前”雇用的员工或志愿者必须在 90 天内重新筛选;之后,将要求“不迟于自上次背景调查之日起每三年后 30 天”进行背景调查。
在审查背景调查并决定是否雇用某人或将他们带上志愿者时,所有项目都必须遵循相同的排除规则。
如果员工或志愿者的背景调查显示有特定类型的犯罪历史,这些排除条款将禁止员工或志愿者担任任何允许他们“直接与客户合作或接触客户个人财产或客户机密信息”的职位。有两种强制性排除,它们不再适用于定罪后经过了多长时间;和较轻的限制,仅适用于过去十年内定罪的情况。
强制性排除包括针对弱势成年人的任何犯罪、暴力犯罪(谋杀、过失杀人、袭击、家庭暴力)、金融犯罪(欺诈、伪造、贪污)、性犯罪(强奸、性虐待、卖淫)、涉及任何形式虐待的犯罪或疏忽大意、“涉及使用枪支或危险武器”的重罪,以及涉及任何形式的残忍或酷刑的罪行。
较轻的排除包括“涉及州、联邦或地方政府援助计划的犯罪”、与盗窃有关的犯罪(入室盗窃、抢劫、勒索、虚假陈述)和涉及毒品的定罪(持有、制造、交付)。
在 GOOHO.CN,我们定期帮助组织开展 员工、 承包商和 志愿者的 背景调查。如果您的老年护理机构需要针对审查人员的新背景调查协议,我们可以提供资源和值得信赖的服务来提供帮助。今天联系我们,了解更多信息。
recently took a big step in standardizing certain parts of the background check policies for aged care providers throughout the state. The move provides a clue to how nursing homes and other senior-serving businesses or organizations might build effective background check policies for their staff, volunteers, contractors, and subcontractors.
The new Michigan rules don’t apply to all senior-geared entities in the state. The requirements were put in place by the Michigan Commission on Services to the Aging specifically for the Aging and Adult Services Agency (AASA).
The AASA is an agency responsible for managing “approximately $110 million in non-Medicaid federal and state funding for home and community-based programs to serve Michigan’s older and vulnerable adults through the aging network.” The agency funds 16 smaller-area aging agencies throughout the state, regional nonprofits formed by federal and state legislation that exist to meet the needs of seniors in local communities. There are also sub-agencies affiliated with the AASA—in total, the group is more than 1,000 organizations strong.
All AASA agencies and sub-agencies will be impacted by the commission’s new criminal background check rules. The requirements do not change anything about the background checks that AASA affiliates must conduct. All agencies and sub-agencies already require staff, volunteer, and contractor background checks for anyone working closely with older adults, including criminal history and sex offender registry checks. The new policy seeks to standardize how background checks are handled throughout the AASA network.
Previously, agencies had different policies about which types of criminal history demanded disqualification from employee or volunteer consideration, as well as varying rules about repeat background checks. These matters will be standard in the future.
New requirements include:
All programs will need to update background checks for all staff, volunteers, and contractors every three years.
All existing employees will start over with background checks when the new requirements go into effect. Employees or volunteers hired “prior to the effective date of the policy” must be re-screened within 90 days; after that, background checks will be required “no later than 30 days after every third anniversary from the date of their last background check.”
All programs must follow the same set of exclusions when reviewing background checks and deciding whether to hire someone or bring them aboard as a volunteer.
The exclusions bar employees or volunteers from any position that allows them “to work directly with clients or have access to a client’s personal property or confidential client information” if their background checks show certain types of criminal history. There are both mandatory exclusions, which apply no longer how much time has passed since the conviction; and lighter restrictions, which only apply if the conviction took place within the past ten years.
Mandatory exclusions include any crimes against a vulnerable adult, violent offenses (murder, manslaughter, assault, domestic violence), financial crimes (fraud, forgery, embezzlement), sex crimes (rape, sexual abuse, prostitution), crimes involving any form of abuse or neglect, felonies “involving the use of a firearm or dangerous weapon,” and crimes that involve any form of cruelty or torture.
The lighter exclusions include “crimes involving state, federal, or local government assistance programs,” theft-related crimes (burglary, robbery, extortion, false representation), and convictions involving drugs (possession, manufacturing, delivery).
At backgroundchecks.com, we regularly help organizations to develop employee, contractor, and volunteer background checks. If your aged care facility needs a new background check protocol for vetting personnel, we can offer resources and trusted services to assist. Contact us today to learn more.