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

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
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.