A Better Way to Background Check for Your Schools

Screening Employees

All applicants for employment in Indiana schools must receive an "Expanded Criminal History Check" (ECHC), which is defined as:

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Option 1:

• Verification of the applicant's identity
• Search of all names associated with applicant (AKAs)
• County-level search of each county in Indiana where the applicant has lived
• County-level search of each county outside of Indiana where the applicant has lived
• Search of U.S. district courts (Federal courts) where the applicant has lived
• Check of sex offender registries in every state or the national sex offender registry
• Multistate criminal database search

OR

Option 2:
Search of national criminal background check (FBI); AND a check of all 50 states' sex offender registry or a check of national sex offender registry.

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The law further states that the applicant must pay for the search and that a search can not be required more than once in a five-year period.

Option A can be facilitated by a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) and would be considered the more reliable search because it involves county-level searches.

Screening Volunteers

Volunteers may be required to undergo only a "limited background check" which is a search of the Indiana State Police database. However, those with direct student contact must submit to an ECHC.

While both have data on Indiana arrests, neither should be used as a primary source. Here's 10 reasons why:

1. The ISP database consists of Indiana criminal offenses only.
2. Only 47% of arrests in the ISP database have a disposition.*
3. Arrests over one year old that do not have a disposition will not be returned in ISP searches.
4. ISP databases contain felonies and Class A Misdemeanors only.
5. Name-based ISP searches do not include aliases or name variations.
6. The FBI database only has ~40 million criminal records; BIB's National Record Locator has well over 450 million.
7. Over 50% of the records in the FBI database are missing a final disposition.
8. Not all states or counties report to the FBI database.
9. The FBI itself warns against using its database as a sole source.
10. The FBI database only contains fingerprint-related offenses which often excludes lower-level misdemeanors.

*Source: US Department of Justice

Why shouldn't I use incomplete records in employment screening?
The use of arrest records without a final disposition in employment screening was featured in the EEOC's 2012 Guidance document to employers, warning against doing so.

Indiana Schools Background Checks by BIB consist of all these elements:

1. Address History Trace [AHT]: This is a report revealing various names, DOBs and addresses associated with a specific Social Security number. An AHT should go back at least seven years.
   Why it's important: Because an AHT creates a profile of an individual's residence history; this profile determines what jurisdictions should be searched.
2. County Searches: Based on the profile created from the AHT, each jurisdiction/county identified should be searched.
   Why it's important: County courts are considered the official court of record because most cases are filed and maintained here. The most complete and accurate information is located at the county level.
3. Nationwide Criminal Record Locator: A database search of over 450 million criminal records regularly collected from over 2,500 public and proprietary sources.
   Why it's important: Because supplementing a county search with databases casts a wider net and helps find more records.
4. National Sex Offender Registry: A comprehensive, real-time search of registered sex offender registries in all 50 states plus Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and Native American Tribal Registries.
   Why it's important: Because searching every available sex offender registry in real-time provides maximum protection from registered sex offenders gaining access to your students.
5. Federal Search: A search of any federal courts in the jurisdictions identified in the AHT.
   Why it's important: Because federal crimes can only be found in federal courts and can be either criminal and civil offenses.
6. AKAs: These can include maiden names, nicknames or aliases.
   Why it's important: Because everyone doesn't always use the same name! And not every applicant will provide all AKAs. Having as many possible names to search increases your chances of finding records that may have otherwise been missed.

Indiana Schools Background Checks by BIB helps ensure compliance with all state and federal regulations by sending the required communications to applicants that do not meet your guidelines. If applicants want to dispute any information in the report, they can contact us, and we will launch an investigation. Your district doesn't have to worry about a thing!

With Indiana Schools Background Checks by BIB, there is ZERO cost to your district. There is no software investment, no set-up costs and no membership fees. Applicants pay for the screens directly, so you don't even have to collect payments!

Price per screen: $19.95 (Includes all steps included in the Best Practices Screen and AKAs)

Indiana Schools Background Checks by BIB provides credential ID cards with the applicant's name (volunteers and employees) and school district. You can also choose to have an expiration date that indicates when rescreening should occur. BIB's facilitates the delivery of these cards to those who have been approved.