(a) To help the department determine the suitability of a person for volunteer services or employment and verify the accuracy of information submitted in support of an application to work for the department, any person who applies to work for the department as an employee, or any volunteer, whose function would include direct contact with or direct responsibility for persons with mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disabilities shall:

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 33-2-1201

  • Department: means the department of mental health and substance abuse services. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Mental illness: means a psychiatric disorder, alcohol dependence, or drug dependence, but does not include intellectual disability or other developmental disabilities as defined in title 52. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Serious emotional disturbance: means a condition in a child who currently or at any time during the past year has had a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder of sufficient duration to meet psychiatric diagnostic criteria that results in functional impairment that substantially interferes with or limits the child's role or functioning in family, school, or community activities and includes any mental disorder, regardless of whether it is of biological etiology. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Support: means any activity or resource that enables a service recipient to participate in a service for mental illness or serious emotional disturbance or in community life. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
(1) Agree to the release of all investigative records about the person from any source, including federal, state and local governments; and
(2) Supply a fingerprint sample for the conduct of a criminal background investigation by the Tennessee bureau of investigation. If no disqualifying record is identified, the bureau shall send the fingerprints to the federal bureau of investigation for a national criminal history record check.
(b) The department shall pay the costs for conducting any investigation under this section.