Workforce Background Check

The Child Care Background Check Program is for the comprehensive background check of the following individuals connected to a licensed child care home or center:

• Applicants/licensees.
• Licensee designees.
• Program directors.
• Child care staff members.
• Unsupervised volunteers.
• Adult household members in child care homes.

Please allow up to 45 days for processing fingerprints.

The laws authorize a state and federal fingerprint-based criminal history record check for:

• Employees
• Independent contractors
• Individuals being granted clinical privileges

...who have direct access or provide direct services to patients or residents and are under your facility’s control.

“Direct access" means access to a resident or resident's property, financial information, medical records, treatment information, or any other identifying information.

• Volunteers are NOT covered by the background check requirement except for certain positions in a hospice facility, or unless they are being granted clinical privileges
• Students are NOT covered by the background check requirement, unless they are being granted clinical privileges

The time required to receive an applicant’s prints will vary from 48 hours to 30 days. Over 80% of background checks are completed within 48 hours of fingerprinting. In some cases, the fingerprint image quality must be enhanced or manually processed, and the background check laws allow the Michigan State Police 30 days to provide LARA with the criminal history record. Additionally, fingerprint images that are rejected by the FBI may take six weeks to process. Therefore, please wait 30 days after the fingerprinting has occurred before contacting us to inquire about the background check results. A longer length of time to receive results does not imply that there will be findings.

Frequently Asked Questions