Code of Massachusetts Regulations
110 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
Title 110 CMR 18.000 - Criminal Offender Recoed Checks
Section 18.04 - Definitions

Applicant: Any person seeking employment or a position as a regular volunteer or trainee to provide services for or on behalf of the Department or its vendor agency programs, where such employment or position involves potential unsupervised contact with program clients. Employment includes but is not limited to placement in: state positions; federal positions; positions funded by grants, bonds or other capital outlay, and, vendor agency positions.

Candidate: Any person receiving a conditional offer for employment or a position as a regular volunteer or trainee or intern, subject to consideration of any criminal record, to provide services for or on behalf of the Department or its vendor agency programs, where such employment or position involves potential unsupervised contact with program clients. Employment includes but is not limited to placement in: state positions; federal positions; positions funded by grants, bonds or other capital outlay; and vendor agency positions.

Community Service Worker: Any individual who, as a condition of probation, is applying for a position.

CORI Cleared Employee: Any candidate hired as an employee after successfully satisfying the requirements of 110 CMR 18.00.

CORI Coordinator: The person designated by the hiring authority to send requests and receive responses from the CHSB EOHHS CORI Unit.

CORI Investigation: The process of requesting, receiving and evaluating CORI related to candidates for a position with the Department or a vendor agency program.

Criminal History Systems Board (CHSB) EOHHS CORI Unit: The EOHHS sponsored unit within the Criminal History Systems Board which processes requests for CORI information from EOHHS agencies and offers technical assistance with any question arising from the results of a search.

Criminal Justice Official: Either the candidate's probation officer, parole officer or correctional facility superintendent (or designee), depending upon the person having the most recent responsibility for supervision of the candidate. In cases where the candidate was last supervised in a correctional facility, the candidate may advise the hiring authority of any employee of the correctional facility who may have specific information about the candidate that would assist the superintendent or designee in his/her assessment process.

Criminal Offender Record information (CORI): Information regulated by the Criminal History Systems Board and maintained by the Board of Probation regarding the criminal histories of persons within the Massachusetts Court system.

Discretionary Disqualification: A candidate shall be ineligible for a position that entails potential unsupervised contact with persons receiving services at a Department funded or operated program if he or she has been convicted of any crime, or has pending any charge for any crime in 110 CMR 18.16: Table B or Table C, unless the hiring authority has complied with the provisions of 110 CMR 18.11.

Department Background Record Check (BRC): The Department Central Office unit which conducts all CORI investigations for the Department.

Department Funded or Operated Program: Any program operated by the Department or contracted and funded by the Department with a vendor agency that provides services for or on behalf of Department clients.

Foster/Pre-adoptive Parent: For the purpose of 110 CMR 18.00 et seq. Foster/pre-adoptive parent shall refer to persons seeking to apply to become foster/pre-adoptive parents, foster/pre-adoptive parent applicants and current foster/pre-adoptive parents.

Hiring Authority: The person legally authorized or designated to make hiring decisions within the affected agency, department, office, program, or facility. For the purpose of foster/pre-adoptive parents, the hiring authority shall be the management level of the agency authorized to make approval/licensing decisions in accordance with Department policy.

Household Member: Any individual, regardless of age, who resides or spends substantial time in the home. This may include, but is not limited to, a non-custodial parent who visits the home; relatives, paramours, and/or other individuals who spend overnights in the home; an individual who routinely baby-sits in the home and/or otherwise assumes some degree of caretaking responsibility, in the home, for any child in that home.

Kinship Placement: The placement of a child, who is in Department care or custody, with a person(s) related either by blood, marriage or adoption (i.e. adult sibling, grandparent, aunt, uncle, first cousin) or a significant other adult to whom a child and the child's parent(s) ascribe the role of family based on cultural and affectional ties or individual family values.

Lifetime Presumptive Disqualification: A category of offenses, compiled as 110 CMR 18.16: Table A, for which conviction of any such offense results in a presumption of disqualification for employment or other service which entails potential unsupervised contact with persons receiving services in Department or any Department funded or operated program, due to the presumed unacceptable risk posed by the nature of the crime to person receiving services. A lifetime presumptive disqualification shall become a discretionary disqualification:

(a) if the candidate's criminal justice official concludes in writing that the candidate, within the position sought, does not pose an unacceptable risk of harm to the person served by the program, or

(b) if the criminal justice official has been determined by the hiring authority to be unavailable or has indicated to the hiring authority that she has insufficient information to render an assessment, then the hiring authority shall, at the candidate's request, seek an assessment of the candidate's risk of harm from a qualified mental health professional and the qualified mental health professional concludes in writing that the candidate, within the position sought, does not pose an unacceptable risk of harm to the persons served by the program.

(c) For foster/pre-adoptive parents one of the provisions of 110 CMR 18.10(1) apply.

No Record: The conclusion from a CORI search that convictions or pending charges relating to the candidate have not been found. A finding of "no record" does not necessarily mean, however, that criminal information is not present in the CORI database.

Pending: A criminal offense shall be considered pending if the CORI report indicates that the offense remains open and without final resolution, including that the case has been continued without a finding.

Position: Employment, service by a regular volunteer, trainee, or intern.

Potential Unsupervised Contact: Potential for contact with a person who is receiving or applying for services in Department or Department vendor agency program when no other CORI cleared employee is present. A person having only the potential for incidental unsupervised contact with clients in commonly used areas such as elevators, hallways and waiting rooms shall not be considered to have the potential for unsupervised contact for purposes of 110 CMR 18.00. These excluded areas do not include bathrooms and other isolated areas (not commonly utilized or separated by sight and sound from other staff) that are accessible to clients.

Qualified Mental Health Professional: A psychiatrist, licensed to practice medicine under M.G.L. c. 112, § 2, a psychologist, licensed under M.G.L. c. 112, §§ 118 through 121, or a licensed independent clinical social worker licensed under M.G.L. c. 112, §§ 130 through 132; provided that the psychiatrist, psychologist, or licensed independent clinical social worker (LICSW) has at least 1,000 hours of experience over a minimum or two years involving assessment, treatment, and consultation concerning individuals with behavior that presents a risk of harm to others in the community, in the workplace, in treatment settings, or in correctional facilities; provided further that the psychiatrist, psychologist, or licensed independent clinical social worker has not provided treatment to the candidate.

Trainee: Any person enrolled in an academic program or participating in a pre or post-doctoral training program that is affiliated with an accredited educational institution or hospital, who receives a placement within the Department or a vendor agency program.

Vendor Agency Program: The provision of client services by any individual, corporation, partnership, organization, trust, association or other entity through funding by the Department.

Volunteer: Any person who works in an unpaid capacity on a regular basis for the Department or a vendor agency program. For the purposes of 110 CMR 18.04: Volunteer, means a current client of services at a facility or program who provides unpaid services at that facility or program shall not be considered a volunteer at that facility or program.

Work Release Program: A program of unpaid work performed by any individual who is under the custody of the state or county correctional system.