Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7998 – Purpose; application; definitions
(a) The purpose of this subchapter is to protect the safety and well-being of children who receive services from the Department of Health and Social Services by requiring individuals who visit children in their homes and in the community or have regular, direct access to children or adolescents under the age of 18 to submit to a criminal background check.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7998
- Criminal background check: means a report of an individual's federal and state criminal history record from the Delaware State Bureau of Identification and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7998
- Department: means the Department of Health and Social Services. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7998
- Direct access: means the opportunity to have personal, unsupervised contact with persons receiving care or education during the course of one's assigned duties. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7998
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(b) All of the following individuals must submit to a criminal background check:
(1) A current employee, contractor, or volunteer of the Department who has not completed a criminal background check.
(2) A current employee of the Department who is seeking a promotion within the same program or another child-serving program.
(3) An individual seeking to become an employee, contractor, or volunteer of the Department.
(4) A current employee, contractor, or volunteer of the Department who the Department has a reasonable basis to suspect has been arrested for a disqualifying crime since becoming employed or commencing work with the Department.
(5) All students volunteering for the Department, including those completing required clinical hours.
(c) As used in this subchapter:
(1) “Child Protection Registry” means as defined under § 921 of Title 16.
(2) “Criminal background check” means a report of an individual’s federal and state criminal history record from the Delaware State Bureau of Identification and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(3) “Conviction” or “convicted” means as defined under § 902 of Title 16.
(4) “Department” means the Department of Health and Social Services.
(5) “Direct access” means the opportunity to have personal, unsupervised contact with persons receiving care or education during the course of one’s assigned duties.
(6) “Disqualifying criminal conviction” means those convictions set forth in § 309(d)(1) of Title 31 and the length of prohibition is the same as that set forth under that paragraph.
(d) This subchapter does not apply to individuals who are otherwise required by state or federal law or regulation to submit to a background check.