(a) The Commissioner of Early Childhood shall, within available appropriations, require any person, other than a relative, who provides child care services to a child and who receives a child care subsidy from the Office of Early Childhood, to submit to comprehensive background checks, including state and national criminal history records checks. The criminal history records checks required pursuant to this subsection shall be conducted in accordance with § 29-17a. The commissioner shall also request a check of the state child abuse registry established pursuant to § 17a-101k.

(b) The Commissioner of Early Childhood shall, within available appropriations, require any relative who provides child care services to a child and who receives a child care subsidy from the Office of Early Childhood, to submit to a check of (1) the National Sex Offender Public Website maintained by the United States Department of Justice and the registry established and maintained pursuant to § 54-257, (2) the state child abuse registry established pursuant to § 17a-101k, and (3) the Connecticut Criminal History Request System maintained by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. If such check reveals that the name of any such relative appears in such databases, on said registry or in said system, the commissioner may require such relative to submit to state and national criminal history records checks conducted in accordance with § 29-17a.

(c) The commissioner shall have the discretion to refuse payments for child care under any financial assistance program administered by him or her if the person or relative providing such child care has been convicted in this state or any other state of a felony, as defined in § 53a-25, involving the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against another person, of cruelty to persons under § 53-20, injury or risk of injury to or impairing morals of children under § 53-21, abandonment of children under the age of six years under § 53-23 or any felony where the victim of the felony is a child under eighteen years of age, or of a violation of § 53a-70b of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to January 1, 2019, or § 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-71, 53a-72a, 53a-72b or 53a-73a, or has a criminal record or was the subject of a substantiated report of child abuse in this state or any other state that the commissioner reasonably believes renders the person or relative unsuitable to provide child care.