Background checks: It's time for reform!

It used to be we could drop our kids off at school or soccer practice without a second thought. Unfortunately, several recent incidents involving the violation of innocent children by public employees, state-licensed care workers and volunteers with criminal backgrounds make us, as parents, rethink about whom we entrust with the care of our children. Also, as was brought out in Emelyn Cruz Lat's article, "look who got hired to care for the elderly and inform (Seattle Times, Nov. 10) we may want to do so about the care received by our older family members.

Certainly, it would be nice if we could personally screen everyone with whom our child or elderly family member comes in contact outside the home. But isn't that the job of the institutions and agencies? So it should seem. Often, however, the laws governing background checks of employees and volunteers who have unsupervised access to children and vulnerable adults are hazy and need revisions. In fact, some laws even prohibit agencies from learning about the background of these people.

For the past six months, the Senate subcommittee on Background Checks, which I chair, has been working with representatives of concerned parent groups, non-profit agencies, the medical profession, state agencies, educators and employees groups to reform the laws governing background checks. We also have visited the Washington State Patrol and the Division of Adult and Aging Services to learn amore about how background checks are processed.

What we've found so far is that our laws are confusing and inconsistent. They rest on the sometimes conflicting premises that the state must both protect our vulnerable populations and, at the same time prevent widespread dissemination of very sensitive and potentially damaging information that may invade a person's privacy or be outdated.

Sadly, we have seen repeated instances in just the past few years where a person's criminal history was not available to help decision-makers determine the appropriateness of an individual's having unsupervised access to vulnerable groups, such as children.

Take the now well-publicized case of Harold Pitcock, a former state social worker who was recently sentenced to 17 years in prison for sexually abusing boys-- some of whom were youngsters in foster homes whose care he was supposed to oversee.   While some might argue that justice has now prevailed, the boys who trusted him were still exploited and abused. And while Pitcock's background in our state had been checked, the check did not extend beyond Washington's borders because our state statues are inadequate. It's clear, however, that national background checks for social service public employees who interact with children and other vulnerable populations could help prevent tragedies like the Pitcock case.

(Excerpt from Seattle Times 11/96)
By Jeanne Kohl, Washington State Senator

Slaying Casts Spotlight on Job Screening - School Janitor Had Violent Criminal Record

The campus slaying of a high school senior in Rio Linda, California was bad enough. But the arrest of a temporary school employee-- and convicted felon-- in the crime has compounded the tragedy.

Now state officials are struggling to understand how the alleged assailant, Alex Del Thomas had a 1986 manslaughter conviction from the Grant Joint Union High School District in Sacramento County, which hired him as a substitute custodian just for the month.

Michelle Montoya, 18, was found in the Rio Linda High School wood shop. Her throat was slashed and her skull had been crushed. Mr. Thomas called police to report the incident. He was arrested hours later.

Investigators found that the 34 year old janitor was on parole stemming from a failed robbery attempt to which he shot and killed his intended victim. It was also learned that during his job interview, Mr. Thomas had used makeup to cover a "107" tattoo-- a gang moniker-- on his forehead.

While schools can hire non-teachers before background checks are finished, Grant Union and other California districts have put a hold on all hires until the checks clear. The policy may become state law.

Devil at Your School's Door?

A federal Department of Health and Human Services "spot Check" for criminal records among 500 child care workers in four states revealed: 61 (12%) of the 500 workers had arrests or convictions. Crimes included:

• Shoplifting/theft
• Bad checks
• Welfare fraud
• Various drug offenses
• Assault and battery
• Endangering the life of a child
• Indecency with a child
• Lewdness

Thirty-nine out of the sixty-one had a total of 440 arrests with 181 convictions for more serious crimes.

Church Mutual Insurance Company is investigating more than 1,000 cases of alleged child sexual abuse that supposedly occurred on the premises of the churches and Christian schools or involved employees of churches or Christian schools.

In another study, New Jersey has disqualified 2,340 applicants for school employment since 1967 because of convictions for serious offenses including 53 murders, 158 sex offenses, 81 child abusers and 5 kidnappers. Hundreds of others (not counted above) have been convicted of aggravated assault, robbery, arson and drug violations.

Source: "ASCI Legislative Update", Vol. 7, No. 3; March, 1977; p. 36; published by the Association of Christian Schools International, Colorado Spring, CO.

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