Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Before hiring
an applicant for a position, you must complete the applicant's reference checks
by:
(1) Obtaining from the applicant the name
and contact information of at least two individuals unrelated to the applicant
who can serve as references by answering questions related to the applicant's
suitability to work with or around children; and
(2) Contacting each of the two required
references to verify that the applicant is suitable to work with or around
children. You may contact the reference through an interview or in
writing.
(b) For an
applicant who is currently or was previously employed in a position responsible
for providing care or services to children within the past five years, at least
one of the reference checks required in subsection (a) of this section must be
a current or prior employer who has supervised or is otherwise familiar with
the history and performance of the applicant in that capacity.
(c) For any reference check you are
unsuccessful in completing as required by subsection (a) or (b) of this
section, you must document:
(1) Any refusal
by the reference to provide the information; or
(2) Your diligent efforts to contact the
reference, which must include more than one attempt to contact a reference who
is not permanently unreachable. If the reference is permanently unreachable,
your documentation must include the reason why you made that determination.
Examples of a reference being unreachable include:
(A) The reference is out of business and
there is no alternative contact information to obtain information from the
employer; or
(B) The reference is
deceased; and
(3) Your
assessment of the applicant's suitability to work with or around
children.
(d) For each
person you hire, you must maintain in the employee's personnel file:
(1) Documentation of each reference check
that includes:
(A) The reference's
name;
(B) The relation of the
reference to the applicant;
(C) The
reference's contact information;
(D) The date you completed the
check;
(E) Information you obtained
from the check, documented as:
(i) A summary
of the interview; or
(ii) A copy of
the written information provided by the reference; and
(F) If you conducted the check through an
interview, the name of the person who interviewed the reference;
and
(2) If you were
unsuccessful in completing a reference check, documentation required by
subsection (c) of this section.
(e) This rule applies only to applicants who
seek employment with your operation on or after August 9, 2023.
