Private, public, and nonprofit employers can use information from criminal history records for non-criminal-justice purposes, such as screening an individual’s suitability for working with children, the elderly, or other vulnerable populations. States primarily create and maintain criminal history records, but the FBI facilitates the interstate sharing of these records for criminal and non-criminal-justice purposes. Specifically, state central record repositories collect criminal history information from law enforcement agencies, courts, and other agencies throughout the state and submit records to the FBI. For example, state repositories collect arrest records from local police departments and disposition records from prosecutors or courts. The FBI maintains a fingerprint-based criminal history record repository called the Next Generation Identification (NGI) System (previously the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System). The NGI System contains records from all states and territories, as well as from federal and some international criminal justice agencies. The FBI’s Interstate Identification Index provides for the decentralized interstate exchange of criminal history record information for authorized criminal and non- criminal-justice purposes and functions as a part of the NGI System. In general, states conduct FBI criminal history record checks by searching an applicant’s fingerprints against records in the NGI System (see fig. 1). In general, the FBI provides the results of a FBI criminal history record check to a designated agency—such as a state department of health and human services or board of occupational licensing—through a criminal history summary. This summary—often referred to as a criminal history record, or rap sheet—includes the name of the agency that submitted the criminal record to the FBI; the date of the arrest; the arrest charge; and the disposition of the arrest, if known, to the FBI. Federal laws that require or authorize states to conduct FBI criminal history record checks for non-criminal-justice purposes—including employment and licensing—cover a wide range of industries, such as those that serve vulnerable populations. These federal laws may authorize states to conduct FBI checks using just the authority of the federal law without requiring a related state statute.addresses the states’ use of three federal laws, as shown in table 1. In addition to federal laws, states may pass statutes that the Attorney General approves pursuant to Public Law 92-544 that require or authorize employers or organizations to request FBI criminal record checks for applicants seeking employment or licensing in their state. For example, states can require FBI checks for non-criminal-justice purposes in areas regulated by the state, such as civil servants and nursing home workers. States can also pass laws to implement federal laws, which can include, for example, additional provisions on the types of criminal activities that would disqualify an applicant from employment or licensing. All state laws related to Public Law 92-544 have to be approved by the Attorney General. According to FBI officials, as of 2014, states had passed a total of about 2,800 laws that require or authorize FBI criminal history record checks, which include checks for employment or licensing purposes. DOJ, states, and others have emphasized the importance of having complete records when conducting FBI checks—records that contain the arrest charge and the disposition of the arrest (e.g., conviction or acquittal)—since incomplete records can lead to delays in completing checks and have adverse impacts on applicants. In 1995, DOJ established the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) to enhance the quality, completeness, and accessibility of criminal history record information maintained by the states. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories have received grant awards. The FBI also helps to ensure the integrity of state-level criminal record systems through periodic audits. Employers can also obtain background information—including criminal record information—from private sector companies that compile and sell information that they may obtain from state courts or other public sources. These companies are classified as consumer reporting agencies under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This act contains provisions that are intended to require these agencies to adopt reasonable procedures for using consumer credit, personnel, insurance, and other information in a manner that is fair and equitable to the consumer, with regard to the confidentiality, accuracy, relevancy, and proper utilization of such information. At the federal level, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regulate private background companies and employers that conduct background checks that may contain criminal record information. In addition, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulates and oversees employers’ use of criminal record information provided by private background companies under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Most states that responded to our nationwide survey reported that they conduct FBI record checks for individuals working with vulnerable populations and other employment sectors we reviewed. States not conducting such checks reported lacking designated state agencies to review the check results, among other challenges. The Attorney General has proposed expanding FBI record checks to employers and other third parties, but also noted that any expansion should consider concerns about securing data and protecting personal information. The National Child Protection Act (NCPA), as amended, authorizes states to have procedures that require qualified entities designated by the state to contact an authorized state agency to request an FBI criminal background check. This check is for the purpose of determining whether a person has been convicted of a crime that bears upon the person’s fitness to have responsibility for the safety and well-being of children, the elderly, or individuals with disabilities. Our survey results show that 45 of 48 respondents conduct FBI record checks for individuals seeking jobs or licenses to be teachers in schools—positions that are typically regulated by states. The largest gap in FBI record checks was for volunteers serving the elderly or individuals with disabilities, where 36 of 47 respondents reported conducting such checks, but 11 of 47 respondents did not, as shown in figure 2. The primary reasons states reported not conducting FBI criminal history record checks for employment or volunteer positions covered by the NCPA were the lack of a designated state agency to review the FBI record check results or the states did not have licensing or regulatory requirements to check volunteers. One survey respondent noted that, in some cases, state legislatures do not support expanding the availability of background checks to certain classes of employees, despite the existence of federal laws that seek to encourage such checks. Recognizing concerns about the background check process available to volunteer organizations, the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003 established the Child Safety Pilot Program. The act required the Attorney General to establish an 18-month program that would provide for the FBI to conduct 100,000 criminal history record check requests from certain youth-serving organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Under the pilot, the FBI provided the results of a check to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children—rather than through a state agency— which made suitability determinations and conveyed the decision to the organization that made the request. According to officials from the national center, of the approximately 105,000 FBI checks that the organization conducted over the 8-year pilot, about 6,500 (6.2 percent) of all applicants had a criminal record that disqualified them from working with children. Officials who represent volunteer organizations said that they plan to continue to pursue legislation in upcoming congressional sessions that would provide for certain youth-serving organizations to use information from FBI record checks to screen applicants. Some states have also developed programs that allow volunteer organizations to obtain information from FBI criminal record checks. For example, according to officials from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida has established a program—which the FBI approved—that authorizes certain volunteer organizations to receive the results of FBI record checks from the department and determine an applicant’s suitability for employment, rather than relying on a Florida agency to adjudicate the results on the organization’s behalf. Senior officials from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement noted that the state requires volunteer organizations to sign a user agreement before gaining access to FBI-maintained criminal records, a requirement that is intended to help ensure that the organizations properly use and safeguard the records. The Florida officials also said that the department can audit these entities to ensure compliance with the agreement. In general, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act requires, with limited exceptions, that entities conduct FBI criminal history checks for certain individuals working with vulnerable populations. These individuals serve in positions that provide the individuals with a living allowance, stipend, national service educational award, or salary through a program receiving assistance under national service laws. Among other things, these individuals can tutor children in reading, run after- school programs, provide health information to a vulnerable population, and conduct neighborhood watch programs. Our survey results show that 30 of 44 respondents conduct FBI record checks for national service program grant recipients and 14 of 44 respondents did not conduct such checks. Of the 14 respondents that did not conduct FBI checks, 12 reported not having procedures or agencies in place to review the results of checks for national service program grant recipients, 6 reported lacking sufficient resources to review check results, and 5 reported lacking a state licensing or regulatory need to conduct such checks. According to a senior official from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)—the federal entity that administers programs established under national service laws—CNCS has received hundreds of requests from national service program grantees for an exemption from the FBI record check requirement and for approval to use an alternative screening procedure, such as the ability to use a substantially equivalent process. The officials noted that a subset of these requests are from organizations that seek an exemption to the FBI record check requirement because of the difficulties they have encountered in obtaining such checks. Survey respondents could provide more than one reason for not conducting checks. conducting state and national fingerprint-based criminal history record checks for national service program participants, in part to allow states to make their own suitability determinations.