Maryland 2022 Regular Session

Maryland House Bill HB1269 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	hb1269
6	6
7	7	HOUSE BILL 1269
8	8	D4 2lr2125
9	9
10	10	By: Delegate Shoemaker
11	11	Introduced and read first time: February 11, 2022
12	12	Assigned to: Judiciary
13	13
14	14	A BILL ENTITLED
15	15
16	16	AN ACT concerning 1
17	17
18	18	Family Law – Child Care – Volunteer Clearance 2
19	19
20	20	FOR the purpose of requiring employers of certain volunteers who work with children to 3
21	21	require from the volunteers certain criminal history records checks and certain child 4
22	22	abuse and neglect clearances; requiring certain volunteers who work with children 5
23	23	to submit a certain child abuse and neglect clearance renewal after a certain amount 6
24	24	of time; requiring the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to 7
25	25	maintain certain confidential records; authorizing the dissemination of certain 8
26	26	records kept by the Department only to certain individuals; establishing a database 9
27	27	of certain information about certain volunteers that is maintained by the 10
28	28	Department; and generally relating to child care and volunteer clearance. 11
29	29
30	30	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 12
31	31	Article – Family Law 13
32	32	Section 5–551, 5–552(b), 5–553, and 5–554(a), (c)(4), and (d) 14
33	33	Annotated Code of Maryland 15
34	34	(2019 Replacement Volume and 2021 Supplement) 16
35	35
36	36	BY adding to 17
37	37	Article – Family Law 18
38	38	Section 5–551.1 19
39	39	Annotated Code of Maryland 20
40	40	(2019 Replacement Volume and 2021 Supplement) 21
41	41
42	42	BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 22
43	43	Article – Family Law 23
44	44	Section 5–552(c) and 5–554(e) and (f) 24
45	45	Annotated Code of Maryland 25
46	46	(2019 Replacement Volume and 2021 Supplement) 26
47	47	2 HOUSE BILL 1269
48	48
49	49
50	50	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 1
51	51	That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 2
52	52
53	53	Article – Family Law 3
54	54
55	55	5–551. 4
56	56
57	57	(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, an employee and 5
58	58	employer in a facility identified in subsection (b) of this section and individuals identified 6
59	59	in subsection (c) of this section shall apply for a national and State criminal history records 7
60	60	check at any designated law enforcement office in this State or other location approved by 8
61	61	the Department. 9
62	62
63	63	(b) The following facilities shall require employees and employers to obtain a 10
64	64	criminal history records check under this Part V of this subtitle: 11
65	65
66	66	(1) a child care center required to be licensed under Title 9.5, Subtitle 4 of 12
67	67	the Education Article; 13
68	68
69	69	(2) a family child care home or large family child care home required to be 14
70	70	registered under Title 9.5, Subtitle 3 of the Education Article; 15
71	71
72	72	(3) a child care home required to be licensed under this subtitle or under 16
73	73	Title 9 of the Human Services Article; 17
74	74
75	75	(4) a child care institution required to be licensed under this subtitle or 18
76	76	under Title 9 of the Human Services Article; 19
77	77
78	78	(5) a juvenile detention, correction, or treatment facility provided for in 20
79	79	Title 9 of the Human Services Article; 21
80	80
81	81	(6) a public school as defined in Title 1 of the Education Article; 22
82	82
83	83	(7) a private or nonpublic school required to report annually to the State 23
84	84	Board of Education under Title 2 of the Education Article; 24
85	85
86	86	(8) a foster care family home or group facility as defined under this subtitle; 25
87	87
88	88	(9) a recreation center or recreation program operated by the State, a local 26
89	89	government, or a private entity primarily serving minors; 27
90	90
91	91	(10) a day or residential camp, as defined in Title 10, Subtitle 16 of the Code 28
92	92	of Maryland Regulations, primarily serving minors; or 29
93	93
94	94	(11) a home health agency or residential service agency licensed by the 30
95	95	Maryland Department of Health and authorized under Title 19 of the Health – General 31
96	96	Article to provide home– or community–based health services for minors. 32 HOUSE BILL 1269 3
97	97
98	98
99	99
100	100	(b–1) A contractor or subcontractor shall require an employee that will have direct, 1
101	101	unsupervised, and uncontrolled access to children in a facility listed in subsection (b) of this 2
102	102	section to obtain a criminal history records check under this Part V of this subtitle. 3
103	103
104	104	(c) The following individuals shall obtain a criminal history records check under 4
105	105	this Part V of this subtitle: 5
106	106
107	107	(1) an individual who is seeking to adopt a child through a child placement 6
108	108	agency; 7
109	109
110	110	(2) an individual who is seeking to become a guardian through a local 8
111	111	department; 9
112	112
113	113	(3) an individual whom the juvenile court appoints as a guardian of a child; 10
114	114
115	115	(4) an adult relative with whom a child, committed to a local department, 11
116	116	is placed by the local department; 12
117	117
118	118	(5) any adult known by a local department or the State Department of 13
119	119	Education to be residing in: 14
120	120
121	121	(i) a family child care home or large family child care home required 15
122	122	to be registered under this title; 16
123	123
124	124	(ii) a home where informal child care, as defined in child care subsidy 17
125	125	regulations adopted under Title 13A of the Code of Maryland Regulations, is being provided 18
126	126	or will be provided to a child who does not reside there; 19
127	127
128	128	(iii) a home of an adult relative of a child with whom the child, 20
129	129	committed to a local department, is placed by the local department; 21
130	130
131	131	(iv) a foster care home or child care home required to be approved 22
132	132	under this title; 23
133	133
134	134	(v) a home of an individual seeking to adopt a child through a child 24
135	135	placement agency; or 25
136	136
137	137	(vi) a home of an individual seeking to become a guardian through a 26
138	138	local department; 27
139	139
140	140	(6) an individual who agrees to provide, or to continue providing, informal 28
141	141	child care, as defined in child care subsidy regulations, adopted under Title 13A of the Code 29
142	142	of Maryland Regulations; and 30
143	143
144	144	(7) if requested by a local department: 31
145	145	4 HOUSE BILL 1269
146	146
147	147
148	148	(i) a parent or guardian of a child who is committed to the local 1
149	149	department and is or has been placed in an out–of–home placement within the past year; 2
150	150	and 3
151	151
152	152	(ii) any adult known by the local department to be residing in the 4
153	153	home of the parent or guardian. 5
154	154
155	155	(d) (1) An employer at a facility under subsection (b) of this section [may] 6
156	156	SHALL require a volunteer WHO WORKS WITH CHILDREN at the facility to obtain: 7
157	157
158	158	(I) a criminal history records check under this Part V of this 8
159	159	subtitle; AND 9
160	160
161	161	(II) A CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT CLEARANCE FROM THE 10
162	162	DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES. 11
163	163
164	164	(2) AN EMPLOYER AT A FACI LITY UNDER SUBSECTIO N (B) OF THIS 12
165	165	SECTION MAY REQUIRE A VOLUNTEER WHO DOES NOT WORK WITH CHILDREN AT THE 13
166	166	FACILITY TO OBTAIN A CRIMINAL HISTORY R ECORDS CHECK UNDER T HIS PART V OF 14
167	167	THIS SUBTITLE. 15
168	168
169	169	(e) A local department [may] SHALL require a volunteer of that department who 16
170	170	works with children to obtain: 17
171	171
172	172	(1) a criminal history records check under this Part V of this subtitle; AND 18
173	173
174	174	(2) A CHILD ABUSE AND NEGL ECT CLEARANCE FROM T HE 19
175	175	DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES. 20
176	176
177	177	(f) An employer at a facility not identified in subsection (b) of this section who 21
178	178	employs individuals to work with children may require employees[, including volunteers,] 22
179	179	to obtain a criminal history records check under this Part V of this subtitle. 23
180	180
181	181	(G) AN EMPLOYER AT A FACI LITY NOT IDENTIFIED IN SUBSECTION (B) OF 24
182	182	THIS SECTION WHO EMPLOYS VOLUNTEERS TO WORK W ITH CHILDREN SHALL 25
183	183	REQUIRE THE VOLUNTEERS TO OB TAIN: 26
184	184
185	185	(1) A CRIMINAL HISTORY R ECORDS CHECK UNDER THIS PART V OF 27
186	186	THIS SUBTITLE; AND 28
187	187
188	188	(2) A CHILD ABUSE AND NE GLECT CLEARANCE FROM THE 29
189	189	DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES. 30
190	190	HOUSE BILL 1269 5
191	191
192	192
193	193	[(g)] (H) An employer, as defined in § 5–550(e)(2) of this subtitle, shall require 1
194	194	an employee, as defined in § 5–550(d)(2) of this subtitle, to obtain a criminal history records 2
195	195	check under this Part V of this subtitle. 3
196	196
197	197	[(h)] (I) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a person 4
198	198	who is required to have a criminal history records check under this Part V of this subtitle 5
199	199	shall pay for: 6
200	200
201	201	(i) the mandatory processing fee required by the Federal Bureau of 7
202	202	Investigation for a national criminal history records check; 8
203	203
204	204	(ii) reasonable administrative costs to the Department, not to exceed 9
205	205	10% of the processing fee; and 10
206	206
207	207	(iii) the fee authorized under § 10–221(b)(7) of the Criminal 11
208	208	Procedure Article for access to Maryland criminal history records. 12
209	209
210	210	(2) A volunteer under subsection (d), (e), or [(f)] (G) of this section who 13
211	211	volunteers for a program that is registered with the Maryland Mentoring Partnership is 14
212	212	not required to pay for costs or fees under paragraph (1)(ii) and (iii) of this subsection. 15
213	213
214	214	[(i)] (J) (1) An employer or other party may pay for the costs borne by the 16
215	215	employee or other individual under subsection [(h)] (I) of this section. 17
216	216
217	217	(2) The local department shall reimburse: 18
218	218
219	219	(i) an adult residing in a foster care home for the costs borne by the 19
220	220	individual under subsection [(h)] (I) of this section; and 20
221	221
222	222	(ii) an individual described in subsection (c)(7)(ii) of this section for 21
223	223	the costs borne by the individual under subsection [(h)] (I) of this section. 22
224	224
225	225	5–551.1. 23
226	226
227	227	(A) THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTION AL SERVICES 24
228	228	SHALL MAINTAIN A CEN TRALIZED CONFIDENTIA L DATABASE OF VOLUNTEERS WHO 25
229	229	HAVE BEEN APPROVED T O WORK WITH CHILDREN UNDER § 5–551(D), (E), OR (G) OF 26
230	230	THIS SUBTITLE. 27
231	231
232	232	(B) THE DATABASE SHALL IN CLUDE: 28
233	233
234	234	(1) THE IDENTIFICATION O F EACH VOLUNTEER ; 29
235	235
236	236	(2) THE VOLUNTEER ’S PREVIOUS VOLUNTEER AND PAID POSITIONS; 30
237	237	6 HOUSE BILL 1269
238	238
239	239
240	240	(3) THE VOLUNTEER ’S REFERENCES ; 1
241	241
242	242	(4) THE VOLUNTEER ’S CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS CHECK; AND 2
243	243
244	244	(5) THE VOLUNTEER ’S CHILD ABUSE AND NE GLECT CLEARANCE . 3
245	245
246	246	(C) THE INFORMATION IN TH E CENTRALIZED CONFID ENTIAL DATABASE 4
247	247	SHALL BE ACCESSIBLE ONLY TO: 5
248	248
249	249	(1) THOSE INVOLVED IN TH E VOLUNTEER APPROVAL PROCESS 6
250	250	UNDER § 5–551(D), (E), OR (G) OF THIS SUBTITLE; AND 7
251	251
252	252	(2) THE INDIVIDUAL WHO I S THE SUBJECT OF THE INFORMATION . 8
253	253
254	254	(D) THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTION AL SERVICES: 9
255	255
256	256	(1) SHALL MAINTAIN THE D ATABASE IN A MANNER THAT ENSURES 10
257	257	THE SECURITY OF THE INFORMATION ; AND 11
258	258
259	259	(2) MAY ADOPT REGULATION S NECESSARY TO IMPLEME NT THE 12
260	260	PROVISIONS OF THIS S ECTION. 13
261	261
262	262	5–552. 14
263	263
264	264	(b) As part of the application for a criminal history records check, the employee, 15
265	265	employer, and individual identified in § 5–551(c), (d), (e), [or] (f), OR (G) of this subtitle 16
266	266	shall submit: 17
267	267
268	268	(1) except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, a complete set of 18
269	269	legible fingerprints at any designated State or local law enforcement office in the State or 19
270	270	other location approved by the Department; 20
271	271
272	272	(2) the disclosure statement required under § 5–553 of this subtitle; and 21
273	273
274	274	(3) payment for the costs of the criminal history records check. 22
275	275
276	276	(c) The requirement that a complete set of legible fingerprints be submitted as 23
277	277	part of the application for a criminal history records check may be waived by the 24
278	278	Department if: 25
279	279
280	280	(1) the application is submitted by a person who has attempted to have a 26
281	281	complete set of fingerprints taken on at least 2 occasions; 27
282	282
283	283	(2) the taking of a complete set of legible fingerprints is not possible 28
284	284	because of a physical or medical condition of the person’s fingers or hands; 29 HOUSE BILL 1269 7
285	285
286	286
287	287
288	288	(3) the person submits documentation satisfactory to the Department of 1
289	289	the requirements of this subsection; and 2
290	290
291	291	(4) the person submits the other information required for a criminal history 3
292	292	records check. 4
293	293
294	294	5–553. 5
295	295
296	296	As part of the application process for a criminal history records check, the employee, 6
297	297	employer, and individual identified in § 5–551(c), (d), (e), [or] (f), OR (G) of this subtitle 7
298	298	shall complete and sign a sworn statement or affirmation disclosing the existence of a 8
299	299	criminal conviction, probation before judgment disposition, not criminally responsible 9
300	300	disposition, or pending criminal charges without a final disposition. 10
301	301
302	302	5–554. 11
303	303
304	304	(a) (1) (i) The Department shall conduct the criminal history records check 12
305	305	and issue the printed statement provided for under this Part V of this subtitle. 13
306	306
307	307	(ii) It shall update an initial criminal history records check for an 14
308	308	employee, employer, or individual identified in § 5–551(c), (d), (e), [or] (f), OR (G) of this 15
309	309	subtitle and issue a revised printed statement in accordance with federal law and 16
310	310	regulations on dissemination of FBI identification records. 17
311	311
312	312	(2) The Department shall adopt regulations requiring: 18
313	313
314	314	(i) employers to verify periodically the continuing employment of an 19
315	315	employee and the continuing assignment of a volunteer; 20
316	316
317	317	(II) EMPLOYERS TO REQUIRE A VOLUNTEER UNDER § 5–551(D), 21
318	318	(E), OR (G) OF THIS SUBTITLE TO SUBMIT A CHILD ABUSE AND NEGL ECT CLEARANCE 22
319	319	EVERY 36 MONTHS; 23
320	320
321	321	[(ii)] (III) State or local agencies that license, register, approve, or 24
322	322	certify any of the facilities identified in § 5–551(b) of this subtitle to verify periodically the 25
323	323	continuing licensure, registration, approval, or certification of a facility or the continuing 26
324	324	assignment of individuals identified in § 5–551(e) of this subtitle; and 27
325	325
326	326	[(iii)] (IV) child placement agencies that place a child as described in 28
327	327	§ 5–551(c) of this subtitle to verify periodically the continuing participation or presence of 29
328	328	individuals identified in § 5–551(c) of this subtitle. 30
329	329
330	330	(3) The employee, employer, volunteer, or other individual identified in § 31
331	331	5–551 of this subtitle is not responsible for payment of any fee to update criminal history 32
332	332	records checks. 33 8 HOUSE BILL 1269
333	333
334	334
335	335
336	336	(c) (4) Upon completion of the criminal history records check of an individual 1
337	337	identified in § 5–551(c), (d), (e), [or] (f), OR (G) of this subtitle, the Department shall submit 2
338	338	the printed statement to the appropriate child placement or registering agency. 3
339	339
340	340	(d) Information obtained from the Department under this Part V of this subtitle 4
341	341	shall be confidential and may be disseminated only to the individual who is the subject of 5
342	342	the criminal history records check OR CHILD ABUSE AND N EGLECT CLEARANCE and to 6
343	343	the participants in the hiring or approval process. 7
344	344
345	345	(e) Information obtained from the Department under this Part V of this subtitle 8
346	346	may not: 9
347	347
348	348	(1) be used for any purpose other than that for which it was disseminated; 10
349	349	or 11
350	350
351	351	(2) be redisseminated. 12
352	352
353	353	(f) Information obtained from the Department under this Part V of this subtitle 13
354	354	shall be maintained in a manner to ensure the security of the information. 14
355	355
356	356	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 15
357	357	October 1, 2022. 16