EmployeeScreenIQ

A proposed bill in California would stop people with a criminal past from conducting criminal background checks at certain agencies.

Following signing the state budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger now has more than 100 new bills to look at. Among them is Senate Bill 447, which would prohibit those with criminal records from conducting background checks for prospective employees and members at agencies.

Sen. Leland Yee, of San Francisco, sponsored the bill and said the loophole could lead to an ex-con supervising an organization's background check process without any other agency members knowing.

The bill would require the state Department of Justice to review the criminal past of potential record custodians to confirm whether they are suited for the position.

According to an article by the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, lawmakers expect the bill to reach Schwarzenegger within the next week. Once the bill is sent, he will have 12 days to sign it. The Assembly already signed the bill in July after it was approved by the Senate in May.

"It's a great, great idea," Susan Warren, co-founder and co-director of Project Think, a summer program for those in preschool through eighth grade, said in the article. "I don't think we can be too careful checking the backgrounds of individuals who are going to be working with children, or checking those supervising children, who are our most important resources for the future."

There are currently 36,000 youth organizations in California that require criminal background checks for prospective members. However, the person conducting the background checks also can review his or her own past.

There are 36,000 youth organizations in California that require criminal background checks for prospective members. But the person conducting the background checks can also review his or her own past.

"We can't take that chance because that could ruin a child's life," Warren said.

Labels: Background checks