To:           Corporation Grantees

From:         Robert Velasco II, Chief Operating Officer and Acting Chief of Program Operations

Subject:      Update on New Requirements for FBI Criminal History Checks

Date:         March 14, 2011

As you know, Section 1614 of the Serve America Act adds another criminal history check requirement for individuals with recurring access to vulnerable populations to the Corporation’s existing requirements.  Effective April 21, 2011, programs in which individuals have such recurring access must include an FBI check as part of the existing two-part criminal history check requirements already in place.  This memo provides updates and guidance on the Corporation’s process to implement the new requirement through revisions to our regulations and coordination with the FBI and state criminal history repositories.

Revising Regulations.  

The Corporation expects to publish proposed regulations for comment in the coming weeks.  These regulations will cover the heightened requirements for covered individuals with access to vulnerable populations, including proposed exemptions and guidelines on implementation dates. 

Coordination with the FBI and State Repositories. 

The FBI’s criminal history database is a compilation of federal data and data from the state criminal history databases.  The Corporation is working with a group of state repository representatives to find efficient ways to access the FBI’s database and determine if there is an approach that would provide programs with a standardized and relatively simple way to obtain the FBI checks.  We have learned through that process and our contacts with FBI staff that there is no effective national solution at this time.  Programs will need to secure the checks by working through their state repositories.  Some programs also have candidates request their own checks directly from the FBI.  In some cases the state repositories you are already using can provide the FBI checks at an additional cost and some programs are already securing the checks through those avenues.  We are working with the repository representatives to compile state-by-state descriptions of the services offered, costs, and other information to offer easy reference materials for you.  We expect to have those state descriptions completed by the end of March.

In the meantime, we have developed guidance which describes the approaches some programs are taking now and alternatives you can explore to meet the requirements.  We also encourage you to share your own experiences so we can update the guidance as we move forward. You will find the guidance in the link below. 

Coordination at the State Level.  

Commissions should also work closely with their own state repositories to explore partnerships at the state level and coordinate those efforts with their Corporation state office.  In many cases, partnerships with state repositories may be the most effective avenue for securing the required checks.

Notification to Programs Already Using FBI Checks. 

If you are already conducting the FBI check instead of the state repository checks, please be aware that the new law requires grantees to conduct both the state and FBI checks for individuals with recurring access to vulnerable populations.  Accordingly, programs may no longer substitute the FBI check for the state checks.

Additional Resources and Updates on the Web. 

Please also refer to our web site for updates on our progress and general information on the requirements at:  http://www.nationalservice.gov/for_organizations/manage/history_checks.asp. 

Through the website’s link to the Resource Center, you can access the regulations, some program-specific fact sheets on the requirements, Frequently Asked Questions about criminal history checks, and instructions for applying for Alternate Search Protocols.  If you do not see your specific question answered in the website materials, please contact your program officer.  If your program officer needs to refer you to others, he or she will provide an email address for your additional questions or work with you to secure answers.

Thank you for your patience as the Corporation works to implement the new requirements.