(Revision. 8/1/21)
AS 12.62.160 Release and Use of Criminal Justice Information
AS 45.05.310 Criminal History; Criminal History Check; Compliance
AS 47.05.330(a)(3) Identification of civil history databasis for a civil history check; confidentiality
AS 47.10.093 Disclosure of Agency Records
AS 47.14.100 Powers and Duties of Department over Care of Child
AS 47.17.040 Central Registry; Confidentiality
7 AAC 10.910 Request for Criminal History Check
7 AAC 10.930 Request for a Variance
7 AAC 10.9500 Purpose and Applicability
7 AAC 67.990(40) Definitions (relative)
7 AAC 54, Art. 1 Privacy of Client Records: Child Protection Services
13 AAC 68 Central Repository of Criminal Justice Information
42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20) State Plan for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance (Title IV-E)
To promote the safety of children in out-of-home care by conducting background checks on placement resources.
Federal law requires background checks for prospective adoptive parents, guardians, and foster parents.
The background checks include:
criminal record checks; and
child and abuse registry checks in each state where the prospective adoptive parents, guardians, or foster parents have lived in the preceding five years.
The fingerprint-based, criminal background checks are required.
A name-based criminal background check is conducted when fingerprint results show that the fingerprints were rejected solely because the fingerprint impressions were of low quality due to lack of technological capacity or use of improper techniques. The federal requirement for a criminal background check is not met based on a name-based criminal background check. Consequently, a federal adoption/guardianship subsidy, or foster care reimbursement costs may not be approved.
Federal law prohibits Title IV-E reimbursement for adoption or guardianship assistance or foster care costs for a child who is placed in an adoptive, guardian, or foster home where a prospective adoptive parent or guardian or a foster parent has committed any of the following crimes:
A felony conviction at any time for:
child abuse or neglect;
spousal abuse;
a crime against children (including child pornography); or
a crime involving violence, including rape, sexual assault, or homicide, but not including other physical assault or battery.
A felony conviction within the past five years, for physical assault, battery, or a drug-related offense.
State regulations require a fingerprint-based criminal background check of prospective adoptive parents, guardians, and foster care applicants and all other members of the household who are age 16 or older. This requirement does not apply to individuals age 16 or older who are recipients of services: for example, children in state custody placed in the home. The department may issue notification of a provisional valid criminal history check after screening the individual under 7 AAC 10.915(a) and reviewing the criminal justice information provided by the Department of Public Safety.
If fingerprints are rejected as unreadable, a name-based criminal background check is conducted through the Department of Public Safety (DPS). If the name-based criminal background check reveals no evidence of a barrier crime, the results are considered as satisfying the state requirement of a DPS criminal background check.
The department may waive the fingerprint requirement under AS 47.06.010.310(e) if an individual is unable to provide fingerprints due to a medical or physical condition that is documented by a licensed physician.
State regulations allow the department to grant a variance for any household member convicted of certain permanent barrier crimes or conditions (7 AAC 10.930).
Confidentiality of Criminal Justice Information: Under state and federal laws and regulations, criminal justice information is confidential and may not be released to any other individual or agency except that some information may be released to perform licensing and adoption activities. OCS may not provide copies of criminal justice information to the individual who is subject to the criminal justice information, but an individual may request copies of their criminal justice information from the Department of Public Safety.
Confidentiality of Child Protection Records: Under federal law, Child Abuse and Neglect Registry information obtained from another state to conduct background checks in foster and adoptive placement cases may not be used for any other purpose.
Before placing a child in an unlicensed home, the following background checks will be conducted:
ORCA for child protection and licensing/provider history: Conduct a check on each household member who is 16 years old or older. If any of the adults in the household have lived in another state in the preceding five years, request information from that state’s child abuse and neglect registry.
JOMIS (for children 12-15 that are not in states custody, only the JOMIS check is required);
Sex Offender Registry; and
Alaska Court System/Court View.
Placements Under Emergency Conditions:
In this context “placement under emergency conditions” means:
Placement after emergency custody;
Identification has occurred of a relative who wants to care for the child in OCS custody; or
An emergency exists such that a child must be emergency placed.
Background Checks:
In this situation, placement may occur under emergency conditions before the receipt of the fingerprint results. However, completion of an APSIN computer check and the background checks in Policy (A) (1) above are required. The individuals must agree to be fingerprinted within 30 days.
If the unlicensed relative already has current fingerprint results due to having another relative placed in their home, APSIN will not need to be run on the individual.
The Background Check Program (BCP) in the Division of Health Care Services will process background checks on individuals required to have a criminal background check. Prospective adoptive parents, unlicensed relatives, guardians, foster parents, and household members age 16 and older will all have their background checks processed through the BCP.
Procedures for background checks for foster home license applicants and household members are addressed in chapter 600 of the Community Care Licensing Manual.