Child care; Department of Social Services to plan for national background checks for providers. (HB412)

Introduced By

Del. Rich Anderson (R-Woodbridge) with support from co-patron Del. Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax Station)

Progress

Introduced
Passed Committee
Passed House
Passed Senate
Signed by Governor
Became Law

Description

Child welfare agencies; criminal history background checks. Establishes a requirement for national criminal history background checks for child welfare agencies, adds crimes requiring registration with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry to the definition of "offense," creates the National Criminal History Background Check Fund to pay costs associated with establishing and administering national criminal history background checks for child welfare agencies, establishes a voluntary registry for child care providers not required to be licensed by the Department of Social Services, and creates a portable background check registry for individuals required to undergo background checks. Read the Bill »

Outcome

Bill Has Passed

History

DateAction
01/03/2014Committee
01/03/2014Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/14 14102398D
01/03/2014Referred to Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions
01/09/2014Assigned HWI sub: # 2
01/23/2014Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (9-Y 0-N)
01/28/2014Reported from Health, Welfare and Institutions with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
01/28/2014Committee substitute printed 14104198D-H1
01/29/2014Impact statement from DPB (HB412H1)
01/29/2014Read first time
01/30/2014Read second time
01/30/2014Committee substitute agreed to 14104198D-H1
01/30/2014Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB412H1
01/31/2014Read third time and passed House BLOCK VOTE (96-Y 0-N)
01/31/2014VOTE: BLOCK VOTE PASSAGE (96-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
02/03/2014Constitutional reading dispensed
02/03/2014Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services
02/14/2014Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services (14-Y 0-N)
02/17/2014Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
02/18/2014Read third time
02/18/2014Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N)
02/20/2014Enrolled
02/20/2014Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB412ER)
02/20/2014Impact statement from DPB (HB412ER)
02/20/2014Signed by Speaker
02/22/2014Signed by President
03/05/2014G Approved by Governor-Chapter 128 (effective 7/1/14)
03/05/2014G Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0128)

Video

This bill was discussed on the floor of the General Assembly. Below is all of the video that we have of that discussion, 1 clip in all, totaling 1 minute.

Comments

spotter writes:

It is a little-appreciated fact that our local social services departments, charged with ensuring some of these background checks, themselves employ people who could not pass such a check if it were conducted properly.

The Virginia Beach Department of Human Services for years employed an eligibility worker who stole thousands of dollars from an elderly lady who applied for Medicaid when her husband wound up in a nursing home. It turned out that the eligibility worker had prior similar convictions for embezzling funds from a social services department in an adjacent locality, for which she had been fired and served time. The Virginia Beach Department of Human Services utterly failed to do a background or criminal records check prior to hiring this convicted felon to work with the sensitive financial information of its most vulnerable elderly citizens.

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/08/va-beach-worker-faces-charges-city-investigating

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/08/virginia-beach-worker-has-prior-similar-felonies

The Virginia Beach Department of Human Services also employed and screened a foster mother who killed her infant foster child, after tormenting, abusing and neglecting him for months, right under the noses of social workers.

http://hamptonroads.com/2012/07/report-babys-death-calls-foster-care-changes

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/02/va-beach-pay-450000-settle-fostercare-suit

When this baby's death evoked public outcry, always willing to shoot the messenger, the Virginia Beach Department of Human Services, with the help of Norfolk Social Services, compounded their criminal behavior by attempting to cover up the situation and to retaliate against the previous heartbroken foster parents of this dead child, who were only seeking an inquiry into the circumstances of this baby's death so that the same thing did not happen to another innocent child.

http://wtkr.com/2012/02/15/whistle-blowing-foster-parents-fighting-possibly-race-based-removal-of-child/

So, yes, background checks are important. So is following up on the information obtained, and firing all of those who try to cover up wrongdoing in the Virginia Beach Department of Human Services.