435.12 Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse.—
(1) The Agency for Health Care Administration in consultation with the Department of Law Enforcement shall create a secure web-based system, which shall be known as the “Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse” or “clearinghouse,” and which shall be implemented to the full extent practicable no later than September 30, 2013, subject to the specified agencies being funded and equipped to participate in such program. The clearinghouse shall allow the results of criminal history checks provided to the specified agencies for screening of persons qualified as care providers under s. 943.0542 to be shared among the specified agencies when a person has applied to volunteer, be employed, be licensed, or enter into a contract that requires a state and national fingerprint-based criminal history check. The Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Law Enforcement may adopt rules to create forms or implement procedures needed to carry out this section.
(2)(a) To ensure that the information in the clearinghouse is current, the fingerprints of an employee required to be screened by a specified agency and included in the clearinghouse must be:
1. Retained by the Department of Law Enforcement pursuant to s. 943.05(2)(g) and (h) and (3), and the Department of Law Enforcement must report the results of searching those fingerprints against state incoming arrest fingerprint submissions to the Agency for Health Care Administration for inclusion in the clearinghouse.
2. Retained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the national retained print arrest notification program as soon as the Department of Law Enforcement begins participation in such program. Arrest prints will be searched against retained prints at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and notification of arrests will be forwarded to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and reported to the Agency for Health Care Administration for inclusion in the clearinghouse.
3. Resubmitted for a Federal Bureau of Investigation national criminal history check every 5 years until such time as the fingerprints are retained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
4. Subject to retention on a 5-year renewal basis with fees collected at the time of initial submission or resubmission of fingerprints.
5. Submitted with a photograph of the person taken at the time the fingerprints are submitted.
(b) Until such time as the fingerprints are enrolled in the national retained print arrest notification program at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, an employee with a break in service of more than 90 days from a position that requires screening by a specified agency must submit to a national screening if the person returns to a position that requires screening by a specified agency.
(c) An employer of persons subject to screening by a specified agency must register with the clearinghouse and maintain the employment status of all employees within the clearinghouse. Initial employment status and any changes in status must be reported within 10 business days.
(d) An employer must register with and initiate all criminal history checks through the clearinghouse before referring an employee or potential employee for electronic fingerprint submission to the Department of Law Enforcement. The registration must include the employee’s full first name, middle initial, and last name; social security number; date of birth; mailing address; sex; and race. Individuals, persons, applicants, and controlling interests that cannot legally obtain a social security number must provide an individual taxpayer identification number.
(3)(a) Employees of each district unit under s. 1001.30, special district units under s. 1011.24, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind under s. 1002.36, the Florida Virtual School under s. 1002.37, virtual instruction programs under s. 1002.45, charter schools under s. 1002.33, hope operators under s. 1002.333, private schools participating in an educational scholarship program established pursuant to chapter 1002, and alternative schools under s. 1008.341 must be rescreened in compliance with the following schedule:
1. Employees for whom the last screening was conducted on or before June 30, 2019, must be rescreened by June 30, 2024.
2. Employees for whom the last screening was conducted between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2021, must be rescreened by June 30, 2025.
3. Employees for whom the last screening was conducted between July 1, 2021, and December 31, 2022, must be rescreened by June 30, 2026.
(b) A person is not required to be rescreened before January 1, 2023, solely for the purpose of retention under this section if the person was screened before participation by the specified agencies named in paragraph (a) in the clearinghouse.
History.—s. 12, ch. 2012-73; s. 9, ch. 2014-84; s. 2, ch. 2022-154.
