Background Checks – Before an applicant can become licensed, MDCPS will

Background Checks – Before an applicant can become licensed, MDCPS will conduct a screening of the applicant and all household members. 1. Screening. The background screening will include: a. Obtaining signed permission for background checks and verifying forms of identification on the applicant and all household members aged eighteen (18) and older. b. Conducting a MACWIS/PATHWAYS check and identifying any history with MDCPS on the applicant and all household members aged eighteen (18) and older; c. Conducting a search of the paper MDCPS records in the county where the applicant resides and all household members aged eighteen (18) and older; d. Fingerprinting the applicant and all household adults aged eighteen (18) and older; e. Conducting local criminal background checks (local police department AND county sheriff’s office) on the applicant and all household members aged eighteen (18) and older where the applicant lived in the last five (5) years; f. Submitting the Child Abuse Central Registry Check form through Child Abuse Central Registry Check Form (DocuSign) on the applicant and all household members age eighteen (18) and older; and g. Checking the United States Department of Justice Sex Offender Registry (https://www.nsopw.gov/) on the applicant and all household members aged eighteen (18) and older. 2. Criminal History. A Relative / Fictive Kin applicant or person residing in the home who has a criminal conviction or pending indictment - misdemeanor or felony - that bears upon the individual’s fitness to ensure the safety and well-being of a foster child, that person is not permitted to be licensed as a foster parent. The license application will be denied if a fingerprint check reveals that an applicant or person residing in the home has been convicted of one of the following offenses and it bears upon the individual’s ability to ensure the safety and well-being of a foster child: a. Felony offense against a partner; b. Felony offense against a child; c. Sexual assault; d. Rape; e. Murder; f. Felony physical assault or battery within the past five years; or g. Felony drug-related offense within the past five years. 3. Agency History. If a Relative / Fictive Kin applicant or person residing in the home is found to be a substantiated perpetrator in an Abuse, Neglect, or Exploitation (ANE) assessment, MDCPS will review and make a determination on closing the application. The determination will be placed in the Foster Parent file. 4. Criminal History Justification. If an applicant’s background check uncovers arrests or convictions, MDCPS will send the applicant the results of the background check along with a Criminal History Justification Form by U.S. mail, marked confidential and addressed only to the applicant. The applicant has ten (10) calendar days from the date they receive the justification form to complete it and return it to the Office of Criminal Background Checks. A timely completed form will be considered and a determination made regarding whether to proceed with licensure. 5. Confidentiality. Criminal history information may be shared only within MDCPS and directly with the applicant, but cannot and may not be shared with MDCPS contractors, other states, spouses, or other household members.