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CWLA conducts survey of criminal background checks
The Adoption and Safe Families Act "ASFA" (P.L. 105-89), which became
law in 1997, requires states to provide procedures for criminal records
checks for any prospective foster or adoptive parent before the foster
or adoptive parent may be approved for placement of any child receiving
Title IV-E federal foster care or adoption assistance.
The law requires that prospective adoptive parents not be approved
if a criminal record check:
- reveals a felony conviction for child abuse or neglect,
for spousal abuse, for a crime against children (including child
pornography), or for a crime involving violence, including rape,
sexual assault or battery; or
- reveals a felony conviction for physical
assault, battery, or a drug related offense, if the felony was
committed within the past five years.
ASFA allows States to opt out of these new requirements by either passing
a state law that exempts them from these new requirements, or if the
Governor of the State notifies the Secretary of HHS in writing that
the State has elected to be exempt from these requirements.
CWLA has just completed a survey of the States
to determine their practices regarding such criminal background checks,
and found that States are currently in the process of reviewing state
policy and practice to ensure full compliance with ASFA. Key findings
include:
- Only two States, New York and North Dakota, do not require
criminal background checks for prospective foster and adoptive
parents. Both of these States will need to pass state legislation
to come into compliance with AFSA.
- All other States reported that they conduct criminal records
background checks utilizing at least statewide data.
- Twenty States routinely access national as well as state
criminal background databases for prospective adoptive and foster
parents.
- Of the States that routinely utilize only statewide data,
the majority indicated that if a prospective foster or adoptive
parent has moved from another State within the past few years,
they will utilize national criminal record information.
- Only a few States indicated that they will have to make
changes in their state laws to comply with the ASFA requirement
that foster or adoptive parents may not be approved if a criminal
record check reveals a felony conviction for child abuse or neglect,
spousal abuse, a crime against children (including child pornography),
or a crime involving violence--including rape, sexual assault,
or battery.
- However, sixteen States indicated that they will have to
make changes in their State laws to comply with the ASFA stipulation
that approval must be denied if a criminal record check reveals
a felony conviction for physical assault, battery, or a drug-related
offense, if the felony was committed within the past five years.
- No State reported the intention to opt out of the ASFA requirements
to conduct such criminal background checks for all prospective
foster or adoptive parents.
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