Parents who need child care services select from different types of child care providers: in-home care, in which a child is cared for by a provider such as an au pair or nanny in the child’s home; family child care or group home care, in which the child is cared for in a private residence other than the child’s home; and center care, in which a child is cared for by providers in a nonresidential setting, such as in a church, school, or business. Additionally, care can be provided by someone related to the child other than the parents, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, or siblings, which is referred to as relative care. See table 1. In general, states and localities are responsible for regulating child care providers and carry out this responsibility by (1) establishing specific requirements that regulated child care providers must comply with in order to legally operate; and (2) enforcing these requirements through activities conducted by state licensing offices. The stringency of the requirements with which providers must comply and the scope and intensity of state enforcement activities differ among the provider types within states as well as among states overall. Many states do not regulate a significant number of providers. This is because, given the competing priorities for limited funds as well as other factors, states must make choices about the extent to which they can conduct enforcement activities and the types of providers to which these activities will apply. State policies regarding child care regulation are also influenced by the supply of child care and its cost to parents. Research has shown that some types of child care regulation may increase the cost of doing business for providers, particularly for small providers like family and group homes. Federal laws regulate the employment of sex offenders at federal child care facilities, and widely divergent laws govern state child care facilities, especially with regard to licensing requirements and penalties. We did not analyze state regulations or policies, nor any laws, regulations, or policies at the local level. In addition, the scope of this review did not include a review of whether these laws were effectively enforced. For a summary of laws related to the employment of sex offenders at child care facilities in all 50 states, see appendix I. Federal Laws. The National Child Protection Law of 1993 requires the Department of Justice to conduct a criminal-history check at the request of child care facilities or other youth-serving organizations. This check allows for a fingerprint-based criminal-history search of the FBI’s National Crime Information Center database. However, federal law does not require child care facilities to use this service unless the facility is federally owned or operated (or operated under a federal contract). Other laws governing the employment of sex offenders relate to facilities that receive federal grants. For example, Head Start grantees must either conduct a state or national criminal record check before hiring any employee, depending on state law requirements. Grantees are prohibited from permanently hiring an individual until these checks h ave been performed, although they may conditionally hire an individual if it isnot feasible to perform a preemployment check. Employees are also required to sign a declaration to all pending and prior criminal arrests and ith any charges related to child sexual abuse and their disposition, along w convictions related to other forms of child abuse and neglect and convictions of violent felonies. Grantees are then required to determine whether the individual is fit for employment based upon his or her criminal charge or conviction. In addition to requirements for Head Start grantees, CCDF requires that states certify to the federal government that they have requirements in effect to protect the health and safety of children in child care facilities who are subsidized with these funds. However, the block grant does not dictate to states the specificity, stringency, or number of requirements they must have or the manner in which they should enforce them. 45 C.F.R. § 98.41. child care facility. Nine additional states more narrowly impose such a prohibition on offenders whose victims were minors. Four states also specifically prohibit sex offenders from residing at a facility that provides child care services. Criminal-History Check Requirements. Although it is not always clear whether criminal-history checks need to be completed prior to employment, all 50 states require such checks for owners and employees of licensed child care facilities. However, the requirements for licensing vary widely. Only 3 states appear to require criminal-history checks for all licensed and unlicensed child care facilities, while 11 states require that all facilities that receive state or federal funds perform these checks. In addition, 23 states require criminal-history checks for adult residents at licensed child care or group home facilities. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia specifically require checks for volunteers at licensed childcare facilities, and six states specifically require criminal-history checks for contractors. Finally, several states exempt child care facilities associated with schools or religious organizations from the licensing or criminal-history check requirements. Method for Conducting Criminal-History Checks. The vast majority of states require that criminal-history checks for employees and other staff be fingerprint-based and be conducted in both national and state databases, but many do not specify that the checks must be completed prior to an employee’s start date. In four states, statutes require criminal- history checks, but they do not specify the use of either national or state databases. In addition, five states limit the check to state databases, while four states require national database checks only if the employee or applicant has not been a resident of the state for a specified period of time. Four states require by statute that criminal-history checks be performed at specified intervals. Penalties for violations. All 50 states provide some type of penalty for violating requirements related to the employment of sex offenders, but these penalties vary widely. For example, 34 states and the District of Columbia attach criminal penalties to licensing requirement violations, failure of an owner or employee to disclose criminal-history information, or failure to perform criminal-history checks. In 29 states, violation of licensing requirements and failure to perform criminal-history checks may result in civil penalties or fines, ranging from $5 per violation to $10,000 per violation. We did not assess the prevalence of sex offenders working or residing at child care facilities; our 10 cases do provide examples of sex offenders who gained access to such facilities as maintenance workers, spouses or friends of providers, a cafeteria worker, and a carpenter. Seven of these cases involve offenders who previously targeted children, and in at least 3 of the cases, the offenders used their access to children at the child care facility to offend again. As discussed below, we identified instances of relatives and acquaintances who knowingly hired offenders to work at child care facilities and facilities that unknowingly hired offenders because they did not perform preemployment criminal-history checks. Our investigation also found instances where child care facilities employing sex offenders operated without licenses or received federal funds. Relatives or Acquaintances Knowingly Provided Sex Offenders Access to Child Care Facilities. In at least 7 of our 10 cases, sex offenders were hired or allowed to reside at both licensed and unlicensed facilities by relatives or acquaintances who were aware of the offenders’ previous offenses. As shown in the cases, the regulatory consequences for allowing a sex offender to have access to a child care facility differ widely, ranging from, for example, no action being taken to suspension of a child care license to a misdemeanor charge for providing child care services in a home where a sex offender resides. Examples from our case studies include the following:  Operators of a licensed child care facility in the District of Columbia hired their son in April 2008 as an after-hours janitor even though he had been convicted for attempting to sexually abuse a very young girl. The terms of the offender’s parole and District of Columbia law prohibited him from being employed at a child care facility. After interviewing the child care provider, we confirmed that the offender was working at the facility in November 2010. The offender’s father told us that employing his son to work at the child care facility was not a cause for concern, even though he was a convicted sex offender; he also stated that his son’s employment was approved by his probation officer and that he only worked after the school was closed. We referred the case to the Metropolitan Police Department, Sex Offender Registry Unit, who told us that they could not take action against the offender because he was no longer under court supervision and the restrictions of his parole no longer applied. We then referred the matter to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, the office responsible for licensing child care facilities in the District of Columbia. In March 2011, the office required the owners to certify that they had terminated their son’s employment and notify him that he was prohibited from visiting the child care facility, in order to maintain their license. As of March 21, 2011, the office was still investigating the matter.  An Illinois woman allowed her husband to reside at her unlicensed home-based child care facility even though he had prior convictions for sexual assault and abuse. In Illinois, sex offenders are not allowed to be present at any child care facility. Over a 6-year period, the offender sexually molested one of the children under his wife’s care. He was sentenced to life in prison and is currently incarcerated. Prosecutors told us that they could not gather enough evidence to prosecute the wife.  A Kentucky owner of a licensed child care facility hired a cafeteria worker even though she knew that he had been convicted of sexual abuse in the first degree, because she wanted to help him. Kentucky prohibits child care facilities from hiring sex offenders for any position involving direct contact with minors. A series of anonymous tips led to an investigation of the child care facility, which resulted in a suspension of her license and an order to cease operations. She revoked her right to appeal the suspension.  A woman in North Carolina allowed her husband and his son, both of whom were convicted for taking indecent liberties with a minor, to reside in a house where she was providing child care. North Carolina prohibits sex offenders from being present at child care facilities. In February 2010, the mother of two of the children who attended the child care facility reported that one of the children had witnessed the husband sexually abusing her sibling. The husband was convicted on felony charges of being an offender in a home where child care is provided and indecent liberties with a child and sentenced to 19 to 23 months in prison with 5 years probation. The offender’s son was never charged. Police arrested the offender’s wife for the misdemeanor offense of offering child care services in a home where a sex offender resides; her trial was scheduled to begin in September 2011. We could not obtain information regarding the present operation of the child care facility. Child Care Facilities Not Performing Preemployment Criminal- History Checks. At least two cases show examples in which licensed child care facilities unknowingly hired employees who were sex offenders because they did not conduct required criminal-history checks. The documents we reviewed and the officials we spoke with indicated that the child care facilities did not perform these checks because of poor oversight and an unclear understanding of background check requirements. In June 2007, an offender who was convicted for sexually abusing a minor gained employment as a substitute custodian at three child care facilities in New York City. The City of New York requires criminal- history checks on employees of licensed child care facilities; and according to the Director of the child care facility, employees are not authorized to begin working until after the employer receives the results of these checks. However, the offender was not scheduled to have his fingerprints checked for more than 9 months after he began working. He was subsequently terminated as a result of downsizing. The organization only learned of the offender’s criminal past through our investigation. The Director of the facility also told us that it was likely that the organization failed in its oversight role because he was hired when the organization was in flux. The child care facility is now owned and operated by a different organization.  A South Carolina child care facility hired an offender in September 2009 who was convicted of committing sexual battery. The person was hired to provide maintenance and repair services at six different child care facilities. South Carolina requires licensed facilities to perform fingerprint-based state and national criminal-history checks on all employees. The owners said they did not perform a criminal- history check on the offender in this case because he was a self- employed contractor and not an employee of the child care facility. In December 2009, the human resource director at the child care facility reported the offender’s employment to law enforcement and child protective services. We could not obtain information regarding the present operation of the child care facility. Some Facilities Operated without Required Licenses. At least 3 of our 10 cases involve child care facilities that allegedly cared for more children than legally allowed without a license or did not operate as permitted by the state. States and localities are responsible for regulating child care providers by establishing specific requirements they must meet and enforcing those requirements. Many states set thresholds at which regulation begins according to the number of children served by different types of providers and exempt from regulation those providers falling below these thresholds. For example, in a given state, providers caring for seven or more children in their home might be regulated, while providers caring for four children in their home might be exempted from regulation. Licensed providers are generally subject to standard oversight, which includes background checks, inspections, technical assistance and training, and the application of sanctions when providers are found to be out of compliance. Unlicensed providers may be subject to less intense scrutiny or none at all. However, the requirements for licensing vary widely. If enforced, penalties for violating licensing requirements also vary widely, ranging from a $5 administrative fine to imprisonment for a term of years. Examples from our case studies include the following:  A Missouri child care facility providing care for 31 children employed as a maintenance man a person convicted of attempted child molestation. He had been working at the facility for approximately 2 years when he was discovered in January 2003. In Missouri, fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required for all employees of licensed child care facilities—those with 5 or more children. However, Missouri exempts from regulation child care facilities that are affiliated with a school system. The child care facility received an exemption from state regulation after it claimed to be a school; however, during the state’s investigation, it found no evidence to support this claim. The facility was eventually condemned after state officials and police conducted investigations into allegations of child abuse and found unsafe conditions. Subsequently, the offender pled guilty to two misdemeanor counts of child endangerment. The child care provider pled guilty to 31 counts of felony child endangerment and received 3 years of probation. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services told us that as of November 2010 the child care facility was no longer in operation.  Another Missouri offender convicted for having sexual intercourse with a minor subsequently resided in the trailer where his girlfriend provided child care services when he was arrested by police during a domestic dispute. The offender pled guilty to assaulting his girlfriend, receiving a 1-year suspended sentence with 2 years of probation. An August 2004 report by the offender’s probation officer indicated that he was compliant with sex-offender registration requirements; however, he continued to reside at the same home with his girlfriend while he was on probation and she continued to provide child care services. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services told us that as of November 2010 the child care facility was no longer in operation.  An Arizona offender convicted of indecent exposure to a minor was operating an unlicensed facility with his wife in October 2005. The child care facility provided services for more than 15 children, although Arizona required a license for any facility with 5 or more children. Police discovered the offender operating the child care facility after a parent alleged that he abused her child. The offender fled the state, but was eventually apprehended. He subsequently pled guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor and dangerous crimes against children in the first degree and was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment. According to the prosecutor, his wife has not been charged. We could not obtain information regarding the present operation of the child care facility. Several Child Care Providers Received Federal Funds. At least four of the child care facilities—two licensed and two unlicensed—received federal funds from HHS’s Head Start program or its Child Care Development Fund (CCDF). In all four cases, we attempted to determine the amount of funds received during the time that a sex offender was employed or resided at the child care facility, although we can not be certain when offenders began living or working at some facilities because the operators did not keep comprehensive records. The Head Start program delivers comprehensive educational, social, health, nutritional, and psychological services to low-income families and their children who are below the age of compulsory school attendance. These services include preschool education, family support, health screenings, and dental care. The Office of Head Start makes grants directly to approximately 1,600 local organizations, including community-action agencies, school systems, tribal governments and associations, and for- profit and nonprofit organizations. Administered by HHS as a block grant to the states, CCDF subsidizes child care for low-income children under age 13 whose parents work or attend educational or job-training programs. In September 2010, we reported that criminals could obtain CCDF subsidies to provide child care because at least five states did not conduct criminal-history checks, verify SSNs, or compare provider information to sex-offender registries. In our current investigation, we notified the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at HHS of the four cases where sex offenders worked or resided at child care facilities that received federal funds. Details regarding our four cases follow. In one case, owners of the licensed Washington, D.C., child care facility that hired their son, an offender convicted for attempting to sexually abuse a child, to work as a janitor, received at least $1 million in assistance from the Head Start program between April 2008 and December 2010. Head Start requires that grantees conduct a state or national criminal-history check on prospective employees, depending on state law. The District of Columbia requires both state and national checks for all owners, volunteers, and employees of licensed child care facilities with 6 or more children. ACF has informed us that this facility’s Head Start contract has been terminated. In the three remaining cases, two in Missouri and one in New York, child care facilities received funds from CCDF. In New York, a licensed facility hired a custodian in 2007 who was convicted for sexually abusing a minor and the facility received nearly $750,000 in financial assistance from CCDF between July 2007 and June 2008. In one Missouri case, a man convicted for attempted child molestation worked at a child care facility that received nearly $250,000 in federal assistance from the CCDF between 2001 and 2003. In the other, an offender convicted for sexually assaulting a minor resided in his girlfriend’s unlicensed, home-based day care, which received more than $4,200 in federal assistance from CCDF between 2001 and 2002. Although Missouri is 1 of 11 states that requires facilities that receive state or federal funds to perform criminal-history checks, there are no federal requirements for CCDF grantees to conduct these checks. Table 2 provides a summary of the 10 cases we examined. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs can be found on the last page of this report. Convicted sex offenders may not be employed within 2,000 feet of a child care facility. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all employment applicants, employees, and volunteers of licensed child care facilities (1 or more children). Violation of the licensing requirements, including failing to report criminal-history information, is a misdemeanor. Convicted sex offenders with child victims may not operate a licensed child care facility. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all owners, employees, contractors, unsupervised volunteers, and other persons present on the premises of licensed child care facilities (5 or more children). Intentional or criminally negligent violation of the licensing requirements related to health or safety is a misdemeanor. Registered sex offenders may not volunteer or be employed at a licensed child care center. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all employees and volunteers of licensed child care facilities (5 or more children). Violation of the licensing requirements is a misdemeanor and may also result in civil penalties of up to $100 per violation per day. Registered sex offenders may not operate or serve as a contractor or employee of a child care center. State fingerprint-based criminal- history checks are required of all operators, employees, contractors, and employment applicants of licensed child care facilities (6 or more children or one that accepts state or federal funds). National checks are required if the individual has not been a state resident during the last 5 years. Periodic checks are required every 5 years. Violation of the licensing requirements, including failure to perform criminal- history checks, may result in civil penalties of up to $100 per violation per day. Registered sex offenders with child victims may not be an employer, employee, contractor, or volunteer that involves working with children. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all operators, employees, volunteers, and adult residents of child care facilities. Abuse-registry checks are also required of all operators. Willful or repeated violation of the licensing requirements is a misdemeanor. Failure to perform criminal-history checks may result in civil penalties of up to $500 (or $3,000 for repeated offenses). Convicted sex offenders may not operate or be employed or reside at a licensed child care facility. Abuse-registry and fingerprint-based state criminal-history checks are required of all owners, employees, and other adult residents of licensed child care facilities (5 or more children) and those accepting state funds. National checks are required if the individual has not been a state resident during the last 2 years. Violation of the licensing requirements is a misdemeanor and may also result in civil penalties of up to $100 per day. Abuse-registry and national and state criminal-history checks are required of all prospective employees (who will care for children) of licensed day care centers (13 or more children), group day care homes (7 to 12 children cared for in a residence), and family day care homes (1 to 6 children cared for in a residence). Violation of the licensing requirements, including failure to report criminal-history information, may result in civil penalties of up to $100 per day. Failure to report criminal convictions to a day care center by an employee or prospective employee is a misdemeanor. Convicted sex offenders with child victims are prohibited from being employed in a position having direct access to children. National and state criminal-history checks are required of all prospective employees (with regular, direct access to children) of licensed child care centers (1 or more children) and child care facilities receiving federal funds. Failure by a child care center to perform a criminal-history check of an employee is a misdemeanor. Failure by a prospective employee to report accurate sex-offense history is a felony. Convicted sex offenders may not be employed at a licensed day care center. Abuse-registry and fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all owners, volunteers, and employees of licensed child care centers (6 or more children). Failure by a prospective employee or volunteer to report criminal-history information is punishable by fines of up to $1,000 or imprisonment of up to 180 days, or both. Sex offenders on supervised release whose victims were minors may not work or volunteer at any child care facility. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all prospective employees of licensed child care centers (6 or more children) or family day care homes (children from more than one family cared for in a residence). Violation of the licensing requirements may result in fines of up to $100 per violation per day ($500 for violations that could cause serious harm). Misrepresentation associated with an employment or licensing application is a misdemeanor. Registered sex offenders may not be employed by or reside at any child care facility. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all owners and employees (and adult residents present when children are present) of licensed day care centers (19 or more children), group day care homes (7-18 children), or family day care homes (3-6 children cared for in a residence). Violation of the licensing requirements is a misdemeanor and may also result in civil penalties of up to $500 per day. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history and abuse registry checks are required of all operators and employees of licensed child care facilities (generally 3 or more children). Violation of the licensing requirements may result in civil penalties of up to $1,000 for the first violation and up to $3,000 for subsequent violations. Registered sex offenders may not be employed by or be present at any day care center. National and state criminal-history checks are required of all operators, employees, and other persons with unsupervised direct contact with children at child care facilities with 4 or more children. Failure to perform the criminal-history checks is a misdemeanor. Registered sex offenders may not operate, be employed by, volunteer, or be present at any day care center. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all owners and employees of licensed child care facilities (1 or more children). Violation of the licensing requirements is a misdemeanor. Convicted sex offenders may not be employed or volunteer at child care facilities. National and state criminal-history checks are required of all employees, volunteers, and adult residents of licensed child care facilities (1 or more children). Violation of the licensing requirements is a misdemeanor and may also result in civil penalties of up to $1,000. Registered sex offenders whose victims were minors may not be employed by, volunteer at, or serve as a contractor for a child care facility. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history and abuse-registry checks are required of all operators and employees (with direct responsibility or access to children) and residents of licensed child care facilities (7 or more children) and individuals who accept public funds for child care. Failure to perform criminal-history checks is a misdemeanor. Convicted violent or sexual offenders may not reside, work, or volunteer at a child care facility. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all employees, volunteers, and residents of licensed child care facilities (1 or more children). Violation of the licensing requirements that significantly and adversely affect the health or safety of children may result in civil penalties of up to $500 per day. Registered sex offenders may not enter a licensed child care facility without advance permission of the director. Child care centers may not hire sex offenders for any position involving direct contact with a minor. Criminal-history checks are required of all employees of licensed child care facilities (7 or more children) or family child care homes (4 to 6 children). Violation of the licensing requirements may result in fines of up to $500. Violations involving allowing violent and sexual offenders to have contact with children may result in fines between $500 and $1,000. Persons convicted of sexual offenses against victims under 13 may not be present within 1,000 feet of a day care center without permission. Registered sex offenders may not operate, own, or participate in the governance of a child care facility. Licensed child care facilities (7 or more children) must arrange to have criminal background checks on any employees given supervisory or disciplinary authority over children. Abuse-registry checks are required of all owners, operators, employees, and volunteers of licensed child care facilities. Failure by an owner, operator, employee, or volunteer to report abuse history is a misdemeanor. Convicted sex offenders whose victims were under 14 may not initiate contact with a child under 14 at a child care facility. State criminal-history and child- protection checks are required of all employees, owners, and volunteers of licensed child care centers (3 or more children), as well as persons who provide for care for children in their home and accept state or federal funds. Violation of children’s rights, including abuse, may result in financial penalties of up to $50 per incident. Providing false information in the licensure process may result in financial penalties of up to $500 per incident. Registered sex offenders may not enter child care facilities. National and state criminal-history checks are required of all employees, adult residents, and owners of licensed child care centers and registered child care homes. Failure to perform criminal-history checks or to disclose criminal-history information is a misdemeanor. Violation of the licensing requirements is a misdemeanor. The commissioner of probation must establish exclusion zones for persons on probation for sexually violent offenses or offenses against children to minimize contact with children. Criminal-history checks are required of all persons with the potential for unsupervised contact with children (including adult residents) in licensed child care facilities (the nonoccasional care of children). Violation of the licensing requirements may result in criminal sanctions of up to a $5,000 fine or 2-½ years imprisonment, as well as civil fines up to $250 per violation. State criminal-history checks are required of all employees and contractors of licensed child care organizations (1 or more children). Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all owners and operators of licensed facilities. Violation of the licensing requirements is a misdemeanor. Sexual and violent offenders may not have direct contact with children at a child care facility. Abuse registry and state criminal- history checks are required of all operators, adult residents, and current and prospective employees, volunteers and contractors with direct contact with children of licensed child care facilities (providing care to the children of more than one family). National checks are required if there is reasonable cause to do so. Violation of the licensing requirements, including failure to perform criminal- history checks, may result in fines of up to $200 per violation. Registered sex offenders may not own, operate, work, or volunteer at a child care facility. Abuse registry and fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all operators and adult residents of licensed child care facilities (6 or more children). Failure to perform criminal-history checks may result in a penalty of up to $10,000 per violation. Operation of a child care facility by a sex offender is a felony. Employment of a sex offender by a child care facility is a misdemeanor. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history and abuse-registry checks are required of all employees of licensed child care facilities (5 or more children). Individuals receiving federal or state funds for child care and any other residents of their homes must submit to criminal-history checks. Violation of the licensing requirements may result in fines of up to $200. Subsequent violations are misdemeanors. State criminal-history and child- protection checks are required of all owners, employees, and adult residents of licensed day care facilities (3 or more children). National fingerprint-based checks are required if the individual lived outside of the state during the last 5 years. Violation of the licensing requirements may result in license revocation; continued operation after revocation is a misdemeanor. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services is authorized to conduct national and state criminal- history checks of the owners and employees of licensed child care facilities (4 or more children). Violation of the licensing requirements may result in civil penalties of up to $5 per child authorized to be enrolled per day. A mandatory condition of probation/parole for sexual offenders is a prohibition of coming within 500 feet of a child care facility. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all owners, employees, and adult residents of licensed child care facilities (5 or more children). Violation of the licensing requirements may result in administrative fines of up to $100 per violation. Abuse-registry and fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all employees with regular contact with children and adult residents of licensed and registered child day care centers (4 or more children) and those that receive state funds. Violation of the licensing requirements is a misdemeanor and may also result in administrative fines of up to $2,000 per violation. Felons with violent, sexual, or child- victim convictions are prohibited from employment at a licensed child care center. National and state criminal-history checks are required of all owners, volunteers, contractors, and employees of licensed child care centers (6 or more children). Abuse- registry checks are required of any day care provider and adult residents of their household accepting state subsidies. Violation of the licensing requirements may result in criminal penalties, including up to 18 months imprisonment. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all operators, employees, and staff of child care facilities that provide care for children for 20 hours or more per week. Violation of the licensing requirements may result in civil penalties of up to $5,000 per day. A mandatory condition of parole for sexual offenders whose victims were minors is a prohibition on entering any facility used for the care or treatment of children. Sex offenders are prohibited from operating or working or volunteering at a day care center unless the Office of Children & Family Services determines there is no risk to the health, safety, or welfare of the children. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all operators, employees, and volunteers of all child care facilities (providing care for children for more than 3 hours per day). Willful violation of the licensing requirements is a misdemeanor. Registered sex offenders may not be present at child care facilities or work or volunteer at any position involving the supervision, care, or instruction of minors. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all operators and employees of licensed child care facilities (3 or more children) and all providers who accept federal or state subsidies. Violation of the licensing requirements is a misdemeanor and may also result in civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation per day. Willful or repeated violations are a felony. Registered sex offenders may not provide child care services. Abuse-registry and fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all operators, residents, and employees of licensed child care facilities (more than 4 infants or 5 children). Violation of the licensing requirements, including employment of a sex offender, is a misdemeanor and may also result in fiscal sanctions of $5 per violation per day. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all owners, operators, and employees (with responsibility for the care, custody, or control of children) of licensed child care facilities (7 or more children). Periodic checks are required every 4 years. Failure to disclose criminal-history information is a misdemeanor. Registered sex offenders may not work in businesses providing services to children or loiter within 500 feet of a licensed child care facility. Criminal-history checks are required of all operators, employees, and adult residents and of licensed child care facilities (providing care for more than 15 hours per week). Violation of the licensing requirements or failure to perform criminal-history checks is a misdemeanor. Employment of a sex offender in a child care facility may result in an administrative penalty up to $10,000. Predatory and violent sex offenders may not be on the premises of a child care facility. National and state criminal-history and abuse-registry checks are required of all operators and employees of child care facilities with 4 or more children. Periodic checks are required every 2 years. Violation of the licensing requirements may result in civil penalties of up to $100 per violation or up to $500 for subsequent violations. Violent and sexual felons are prohibited from working at a licensed child care facility. Abuse-registry and fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all employees (with direct contact with children) of licensed child care facilities (7 or more children) and of all employees and adult residents of registered family day care homes (4 or more children). Violation of the criminal-history check requirements may result in civil penalties up to $2,500. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all operators and employees of licensed child care facilities (1 or more children) and registered family day care homes (4 or more children cared for in a residence). Violation of the licensing requirements may result in criminal penalties of up to $500 fine or 6 months imprisonment, or both ($1,000 or 1 year imprisonment, or both, for subsequent offenses). Registered sex offenders may not work at a child care center. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all operators and employees of licensed child care facilities (13 or more children) or licensed group child care homes (7 to 12 children cared for in a residence) and of operators and adult residents of family child care homes (no more than 6 children cared for in a residence). Violation of the licensing requirements is a misdemeanor. Registered sex offenders may not reside or be employed at any child care facility or day care home. Abuse-registry and fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all operators, administrators, adult residents, and employees or volunteers who provide care or supervision to children in licensed child care facilities (13 or more children). Hiring a sex offender or recent felon or employment by a sex offender or recent felon in a child care facility is a misdemeanor. Registered sex offenders whose victims were minors may not be employed within 1,000feet of any licensed child care facility. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all employees and volunteers (who work more than 20 hours per month) of all child care facilities. Misrepresentation in the licensure process, including in regards to the eligibility of employees to work in a child care facility, is a misdemeanor. A mandatory condition of parole for sexual offenders whose victims were minors is a prohibition on entering a day care facility. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all operators, owners, employees, and adult residents of licensed child care facilities (more than 1 child). Failure to perform criminal background checks or to preclude an individual with a criminal history from employment or residence at a child care facility is a misdemeanor. Registered sex offenders may not enter the premises of a licensed day care facility. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all operators, directors, employees, volunteers, and adult residents of licensed child care facilities and those accepting public funds. Violation of the licensing requirements is a misdemeanor and may also result in civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day if the violation is likely to lead to the harm of a child or $5,000 if actual harm to a child occurs. Abuse-registry and criminal-history checks are required of all employees of licensed child care facilities (3 or more families) and any facility that accepts public subsidies. Violation of the licensing requirements may result in license revocation; continued operation after revocation may result in civil penalties of up to $100 per violation. Sexual or violent offenders may not be employed or volunteer at a day care facility. Registered sex offenders may not operate a family day care home. Abuse-registry and fingerprint-based state criminal-history checks are required of all operators, employees, adult residents, and volunteers of licensed child care facilities (1 or more children cared for in a residence; or 2 or more children cared for elsewhere) and of any facility that receives state funds. Employment of a sexual offender or child abuser is a misdemeanor. Misrepresentation in the licensure process is a misdemeanor. Violation of the licensing requirements may result in civil penalties of up to $500 if the health and safety of children are at risk. A mandatory condition of supervised release for sexual offenders whose victims were minors is a prohibition on serving in a paid or volunteer capacity in a position involving control or supervision of children. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all operators and employees who have not lived in the state for the past 3 years of licensed child care facilities. Violation of the licensing requirements may result in civil penalties of up to $250 per violation per day. A mandatory condition of supervised release for sexual offenders whose victims were minors is a prohibition on employment within 1,000 feet of a child care facility. Fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all operators and employees responsible for the care of children in all child care facilities. Violation of the licensing requirements may result in license revocation; continued operation after revocation is a misdemeanor. Convicted sex offenders whose victims were minors may not be employed or volunteer in a position that requires interaction with children. Abuse-registry and fingerprint-based national and state criminal-history checks are required of all operators, adult residents, and employees and contractors with regular, direct contact with children, and adult residents of licensed child care facilities (4 or more children). Periodic checks are required every 4 years. Violation of the licensing requirements may result in civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation per day. Abuse-registry and state criminal- history checks are required of all staff of licensed child care facilities (3 or more children). Violation of the licensing requirements may result in license revocation; continued operation after revocation is a misdemeanor.

Summary: Very little is known about sexual abuse among children that are regularly cared for by more than 1.3 million child care providers every week in the United States. In this context, GAO was asked to (1) provide an overview of federal and state laws related to the employment of sex offenders at child care facilities and (2) examine cases where individuals who were convicted of serious sexual offenses were subsequently employed or present at child care facilities. To provide an overview of selected laws, GAO searched for prohibitions against offenders being present at child care facilities, requirements for conducting criminal-history checks, and penalties for violating these requirements. The cases GAO examined focus only on individuals who were convicted of serious sexual offenses and cannot be generalized to all child care facilities. To identify the cases, GAO reviewed open-source information from 2000 to 2010. GAO also compared the years 2007 to 2009 in employment databases from 20 states and the District of Columbia to data in the National Sex Offender Registry. GAO ultimately selected 10 cases from eight states and the District of Columbia for review. For each case, GAO reviewed court documents and interviewed law enforcement personnel. Our methodology was not designed to assess the prevalence of sex offenders working at child care facilities. This product contains no recommendations. Where applicable, GAO referred its cases for further investigation. Federal laws regulate the employment of sex offenders at federal child care facilities. For example, federally operated facilities are required to conduct criminal-history checks on employees, as are facilities receiving grants from the Department of Health and Human Services' Head Start program. At the state level, laws vary widely. For example, all 50 states require criminal-history checks for owners and employees of licensed child care facilities, but many state laws exempt facilities from licensing if they do not exceed certain thresholds, such as a minimum number of children. Penalties for violating licensing requirements can range from a $5 administrative fine to imprisonment for a term of years. The cases GAO examined show examples of individuals convicted of serious sexual offenses who gained access to child care facilities as maintenance workers, spouses or friends of providers, a cafeteria worker, and a cook. At least seven of these cases involve offenders who previously targeted children, and in three of the cases, the offenders used their access to children at the facilities to offend again. Among the cases, GAO found instances of providers who (1) knowingly hired offenders and (2) did not perform preemployment criminal-history checks. GAO also found examples of facilities operating without licenses, and facilities that employed offenders while receiving federal funds. The following four cases illustrate the nature of the situations GAO identified.