West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 26 - Veterinary Medicine › Title 26 - PROCEDURAL RULES WEST VIRGINIA BOARD OF VETERINARY MEDICINE › Series 26-03 - Registration of Veterinary Technicians › Section 26-3-10 - Criminal History Record Check

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
10.1. Beginning July 1, 2020, and in addition
				to all of the requirements for registration, an applicant for an initial
				registration to practice as a veterinary technician in West Virginia shall
				submit to a State and a national criminal history record check and authorize
				the release of information to the Board.
10.2. The purpose of the criminal history
				record check is to assist the Board in obtaining information that may relate to
				the applicant's fitness for registration.
10.3. In addition to the State Police, the
				Board may contract with and designate a company specializing in the services
				required by this section instead of requiring the applicant to apply directly
				to the West Virginia State Police or similar out-of-state agency for the
				criminal history records checks. Provided, that any such company must utilize
				protocols consistent with standards established by the Federal Bureau of
				Investigation and the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact.
10.4. The applicant shall furnish to the
				State Police, or other organization designated by the Board, a full set of
				fingerprints and any additional information required to complete the criminal
				history record check.
10.5. The
				applicant is responsible for any fees required by the State Police, or other
				organization duly designated by the Board, for the actual costs of the
				fingerprinting and the actual costs of conducting a complete criminal history
				record check.
10.6. The Board may
				require the applicant to obtain a criminal history records check from a similar
				Board approved agency or organization in the state of the applicant's
				residence, if outside of West Virginia.
10.7. The applicant shall authorize the
				release of all records, not sealed, obtained by the criminal history record
				check to the Board. Criminal history record checks shall be verified by a
				source acceptable to the Board, other than the applicant.
10.8. A criminal history record check
				submitted in support of an application for registration must have been
				requested by the applicant no earlier than twelve (12) months immediately prior
				to the Board's receipt of the applicant's electronic application for
				registration.
10.9. An initial
				registration application is not complete until the Board receives the results
				of a state and a national criminal history record check conducted by the State
				Police or another entity duly authorized by the Board. The Board shall not
				grant an application for registration submitted by any applicant who fails or
				refuses to submit the criminal history record check required by this section.
10.10. The Board may not
				disqualify an applicant from initial registration because of a prior criminal
				conviction unless that conviction bears a rational nexus to the practice of
				veterinary technology. The Board shall consider at a minimum:
10.10.1. The nature and seriousness of the
				crime;
10.10.2. The passage of time
				since the commission of the crime;
10.10.3. The relationship of the crime to the
				ability, capacity, and fitness required to perform the duties and discharge the
				responsibilities attendant to the practice of veterinary technology;
				and
10.10.4. Any evidence of
				rehabilitation or treatment undertaken by the applicant