Criminal history record checks; sets out list of barrier crimes. (SB353)

Introduced By

Sen. John Edwards (D-Roanoke)

Progress

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

Description

Criminal history record checks; barrier crimes. Sets out the list of barrier crimes for (i) individuals seeking employment at nursing homes, home care organizations, hospices, state facilities, and private providers licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, community services boards, behavioral health authorities, assisted living facilities, adult day care centers, children's welfare agencies, family day homes approved by family day systems, and children's residential facilities; (ii) applicants for licensure, registration, or approval as assisted living facilities, child welfare agencies, or family day homes approved by family day systems; (iii) individuals with whom a local board of social services or child-placing agency is considering placing a child on an emergency, temporary, or permanent basis; (iv) foster and adoptive homes seeking approval from child-placing agencies; and (v) providers of adult services and adult foster care seeking approval by the Department of Social Services by setting out each of the crimes included in the definition of "barrier crime." The bill also makes technical changes and updates obsolete language. Read the Bill »

Outcome

Bill Has Failed

History

DateAction
01/07/2014Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/14 14103377D
01/07/2014Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services
01/15/2014Impact statement from DPB (SB353)
01/23/2014Impact statement from DPB (SB353)
01/24/2014Committee substitute printed 14104405D-S1
01/24/2014Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services with substitute (11-Y 0-N 1-A)
01/27/2014Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
01/28/2014Passed by for the day
01/29/2014Read second time
01/29/2014Reading of substitute waived
01/29/2014Committee substitute agreed to 14104405D-S1
01/29/2014Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute SB353S1
01/30/2014Passed by for the day
01/31/2014Passed by for the day
02/03/2014Impact statement from DPB (SB353S1)
02/03/2014Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N)
02/07/2014Placed on Calendar
02/07/2014Read first time
02/07/2014Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
02/14/2014Assigned Courts sub: Criminal Law
02/24/2014Subcommittee recommends laying on the table
03/04/2014Left in Courts of Justice

Video

This bill was discussed on the floor of the General Assembly. Below is all of the video that we have of that discussion, 2 clips in all, totaling 6 minutes.

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 our local social services departments. The helpless elderly and innocent small children deserve our best efforts.