Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 13 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES › Division 35 - Children's Division › Chapter 71 - Rules for Residential Treatment Agencies for Children and Youth › Section 13 CSR 35-71.045 - Personnel

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This amendment implements new requirements
				  for background checks of officers, managers, contractors, volunteers with
				  access to children, employees, other support staff, and owners of Licensed
				  Residential Care Facilities (LRCF); License-Exempt Residential Care Facilities
				  (LERCFs); and Licensed Child Placing Agencies (CPAs). It adds the requirement
				  that the Department conduct background checks on any person who has
				  unsupervised contact with children and any adult who resides at a
				  LERCF.
(1) General
				Requirements.
(A) The Licensed Residential
				Care Facility (LRCF) shall have a written statement of personnel practices
				which are approved by the governing body and provided to all staff at the time
				of employment.
(B) The LRCF shall
				evaluate and investigate application information carefully to determine whether
				employment or service of an applicant with the LRCF is in the best interests of
				the children in care.
(C) All
				officers, managers, contractors, volunteers with access to children, employees,
				other support staff and owners of such LRCF who will have access to the
				facilities of the LRCF shall submit to a background check and shall be found
				eligible for employment or presence at the LRCF as provided in section
				210.493,
				RSMo, and 13 CSR 35-71.015 before
				commencing service or being afforded access to the facilities of the LRCF.
				These individuals shall notify the LRCF and the division of any change in
				circumstances which would render them ineligible for employment or presence at
				the LRCF. After the individual completes the background check, the LRCF shall
				further require all officers, managers, contractors, volunteers with access to
				children, employees, other support staff, and owners of the LRCF who will have
				access to the facilities of the LRCF to successfully complete an annual check
				of the Family Care Safety Registry. The LRCF shall maintain documentation of
				the Family Care Safety Registry checks in its personnel records.
(D) After the individual completes the
				background check, the LRCF shall require all officers, managers, contractors,
				volunteers with access to children, employees, other support staff, and owners
				of the LRCF who will have access to the facilities of the LRCF, and who reside
				outside of the state of Missouri, to successfully complete an annual background
				screening which shall consist of a check of the child abuse and neglect
				registry and a criminal background check of the state or jurisdiction in which
				the individual resides. LRCFs shall further implement and apply policies which
				require all personnel who are otherwise required to submit to a background
				check pursuant to section
				210.493,
				RSMo, to immediately notify the LRCF if they are listed in a state or local
				government registry as a perpetrator of child abuse or neglect, or if they were
				arrested or charged with any crime listed in section
				210.493,
				RSMo.
(E) Any person who makes a
				materially false statement in connection with an application for licensure or
				relicensure as a LRCF shall be ineligible for employment or presence at the
				LRCF.
(F) Prior to the employment
				of any person for a position requiring credit hours, a degree, or both from an
				accredited college or university, a resume and an official college transcript,
				or a copy of the diploma, shall be on file at the LRCF. Any person employed in
				a position requiring general educational development certificate or high school
				diploma shall provide documentation of such within thirty (30) days of
				employment.
(G) An LRCF shall
				require the names of at least three (3) persons for each employee, volunteer,
				or staff person, who are unrelated to the individual, who can provide character
				references. At least two (2) of the three (3) persons shall be professional
				references from a previous employer, internship, or volunteer position. If the
				individual is a student then this requirement may be satisfied by providing the
				references from the individual's professor, guidance counselor, teacher, or
				academic advisor.
(H) The LRCF
				shall contact all references and maintain documentation of the reference checks
				in the LRCF's employee records. Documentation of the contact shall include the
				date, person making the contact, and the content of the contact.
(I) The LRCF shall require an annual driver
				record check for any staff, employee, intern, volunteer, or contract personnel
				who transport residents. No individual with a suspended or revoked driver's
				license or record of driving while under the influence of alcohol or any other
				intoxicating substance within the last five (5) years shall transport
				residents.