Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) A person who wishes to be registered,
certified, or licensed under this chapter must meet the fitness requirements of
OAR 877-015-0108 or 877-020-0008, as applicable. As part of a fitness
determination, the board considers past conduct, including conduct that
resulted in a criminal conviction, that is related to a person's honesty, or is
related to the practice of social work. The purpose of this rule is to
implement ORS 181.534(9) and
provide for criminal records checks by the board. The results of criminal
records checks are used by the board to determine fitness to be a regulated
social worker.
(2) The following
persons must, upon request of the board, take the steps necessary to complete a
request for a state or nationwide criminal records check under ORS
181.534:
(a) A person who applies to be a regulated
social worker.
(b) A regulated
social worker who is the subject of inquiry by the board.
(3) To complete the request for criminal
records, the board may require the person to:
(a) Provide information necessary to obtain
the criminal records check.
(b)
Provide fingerprints on forms made available by the board.
(c) Pay the actual cost to the board of
conducting the criminal records check.
(4) In reviewing the information obtained
from a criminal records check, the board may consider:
(a) Any criminal conviction and related
information a court could consider in imposing a punishment, in compliance with
ORS 670.280
(b) Any arrests and records related to any
crime that may be indicative of a person's inability to perform as a regulated
social worker with care and safety to the public.
(5) Fitness determination. In deciding
whether an individual is fit to hold an authorization to practice regulated
social work, the board may consider:
(a) A
criminal records background check.
(b) False statements made by the individual
regarding criminal history of the individual.
(c) A refusal to submit or consent to a
criminal records check including fingerprint identification.
(d) Other pertinent information obtained as
part of an investigation.
(6) The board may make a fitness
determination conditional upon the individual's acceptance of probation,
conditions, limitations, or other restrictions upon becoming a regulated social
worker. In the process followed by the board for making a fitness
determination, the following apply:
(a) A
person identified in section (2) of this rule who makes a false statement
regarding the person's criminal history is unfit and subject to denial of an
application for an authorization to practice regulated social work or to
disciplinary action authorized in ORS
675.510 to
675.990, including denial of the
application.
(b) If a person
identified in section (2) of this rule refuses to consent to a criminal records
check or refuses to be fingerprinted, the board will revoke the person's
authorization to practice regulated social work or, in the case of an
applicant, will consider the application incomplete.
(c) For all fitness determinations not
covered by subsection (a) or (b) of this section, the board will consider, at a
minimum, the following:
(A) The nature of the
crime of which the person has been convicted or indicted;
(B) The facts that support the conviction or
pending indictment or that indicate the making of the false
statement;
(C) The relevancy, if
any, of the crime or the false statement to the specific requirements of the
person's present or proposed position as a holder of an authorization to
practice regulated social work; and
(D) Intervening circumstances relevant to the
responsibilities and circumstances of the position as a holder of an
authorization to practice regulated social work. Intervening circumstances
include but are not limited to the following factors with respect to a crime of
which the person has been convicted:
(i) The
length of time since the commission of the crime;
(ii) The age of the subject individual at the
time of the crime;
(iii) The
likelihood of a repetition of an offense or of the commission of another
crime;
(iv) The subsequent
commission of another relevant crime;
(v) Whether the conviction was set aside and
the legal effect of setting aside the conviction; and
(vi) A recommendation of an employer who
employed the person after the conviction.
(E) Other relevant
information.
(7) Protection of information:
(a) Information obtained by the board in
carrying out its responsibilities under this rule is considered part of the
investigation of an applicant or licensee and is confidential under ORS
676.175.
(b) Criminal offender information obtained
from the Law Enforcement Data System must be handled in accordance with the
applicable requirements in ORS chapter 181 and OAR chapter 257, division
15.
(8) The board will
permit the person for whom a fingerprint-based criminal records check is
conducted to inspect the individual's own state and national criminal offender
records in the possession of the board and, if requested by the applicant,
provide the individual with a copy of those records.
(9) Challenges to the accuracy or
completeness of information provided by the Oregon Department of State Police,
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or an agency reporting information to the
Oregon Department of State Police or Federal Bureau of Investigation must be
made through the Oregon Department of State Police, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, or the reporting agency and not to the board.
(10) A person against whom disciplinary
action is taken by the board on the basis of information obtained as the result
of a criminal records check conducted pursuant to this rule is entitled to
notice and hearing in accordance with the provisions for contested cases in ORS
chapter 183.
Stat. Auth.: ORS
675.510(3),
675.530(1)(3),
675.535(1),
675.537(1)(3),
675.560(2),
675.571(4),
675.595(3),
675.600(1)(a)
Stats. Implemented: ORS
675.510 -
675.600
