BACKGROUND SCREENING

Applicants who are pursuing employment opportunities as a direct service provider to the elderly with an Area Agency on Aging (AAA), Lead Agency, or a local service provider must submit to a  Level 2 background screening, which includes employment and criminal history checks.  Local and statewide criminal checks are performed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), and national criminal checks are  performed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by electronic livescan.   

The Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse, referred to as the “Clearinghouse,” is a web-based system that provides arrest and criminal history information to designated agencies and entities participating in the screening process.  Providers must register with the Clearinghouse under all agencies with jurisdiction over the services provided.   Information collected by livescan providers, including an applicant’s fingerprints and photograph, are entered into the Clearinghouse to assist agencies and qualified entities to determine employment eligibility and whether an employee or contractor has disqualifying offenses in their background.

For additional information related to the Background Screening Clearinghouse, please see section 435.012, Florida Statutes

and  https://info.flclearinghouse.com/.

Instruction Guides and DOEA Forms

Clearinghouse Instructions

Clearinghouse User Registration Training Video

CRW Account Registration [  61.7 MB ]

Clearinghouse Results Training Video

CRW Initiate New Screening [  24.5 MB ]

Clearinghouse Results Website Guide

CRW Guide [  7.4 MB ]

Clearinghouse Logon

https://crw.flclearinghouse.com/

New or Existing Providers

All new providers are required to have a fully executed contract with an Area Agency on Aging, Lead Agency, or local service provider.

Completing the DOEA Template to update information on your Provider’s List does not update information in any other agency’s portal within the Clearinghouse Results Website (CRW). Any changes made will only appear in your DOEA portal.

New and Existing Providers

1. To Contact BSU, please use the following information.

Phone: (850)414-2124 or (850)414-2093
Email:  doeanetwork@elderaffairs.org, and include

Subject line: New Provider or Changes to Provider’s List

2. Complete the Template and e-mail the Template to doeanetwork@elderaffairs.org. All requested actions take 24 hours.
3. CRW https://crw.flclearinghouse.com/ and follow the prompts to activate an account.
4. Print and sign the User Agreement and return to doeanetwork@elderaffairs.org.

If additional information is needed to create a CRW account, please refer to the HELP tab in the upper right corner of the CRW website.  The HELP tab provides additional information through videos and screenshots with instructions to guide the applicant through the process.

• Applicant Demographic Request Form
• Privacy Policy Acknowledgement
• DOEA – Revised Attestation of Compliance – Applicant – Form 236
• DOEA Background Screening Updated Attestation of Compliance – Employer – Form 235
• Attestation of Compliance – Clearinghouse Agency Security Policy Form 238

Disqualifying offenses are listed in sections 430.0402(5), 435.04(2) and 435.07(4)(c), Florida Statutes.  Under certain conditions, an applicant who has been disqualified due to a listed criminal offense may be eligible to request an exemption from disqualification.  An exemption, if granted, allows the applicant to be considered for employment,  but does not alter an individual’s criminal history.

Level 2 background screening is not required by the Department for the following direct service providers:

• Licensed physicians, nurses, or other professionals licensed by the Department of Health who have been fingerprinted and undergone background screening as part of their licensure.
• Relatives, including the father, mother, stepfather, stepmother, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandmother, grandfather, great-grandmother, great-grandfather, grandson, granddaughter, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister of the client.
• Volunteers who assist on an intermittent basis for less than 20 hours per month and who have  not been placed on Career Offender or National Sex Offender lists.

Individuals classified as sexual predators, sexual offenders, or career offenders are not eligible to receive an Exemption from Disqualification.

The Department Secretary may grant an exemption from disqualification for:

• Felonies for which at least 2 years have elapsed since the applicant for the exemption has completed or been lawfully released from confinement, supervision, or nonmonetary condition imposed by the court;
• Misdemeanors for which the applicant has completed or been lawfully released from confinement, supervision, or nonmonetary condition imposed by the court;
• Offenses that were felonies when committed but that are now misdemeanors and for which the applicant for the exemption has completed or been lawfully released from confinement, supervision, or nonmonetary condition imposed by the court; or
• Findings of delinquency. For offenses that would be felonies if committed by an adult and the record has not been sealed or expunged, at least 3 years have elapsed since the applicant for the exemption has completed or been lawfully released from confinement, supervision, or nonmonetary condition imposed by the court.

Further, any fee, fine, fund, lien, application, costs of prosecution, trust, or restitution as part of the judgment and sentence must have been paid in full.

Once a disqualifying determination has been made, applicants meeting the above criteria will receive an exemption packet that includes an application and detailed instructions—along with a checklist— describing  the information required to be submitted with the  request for exemption.  Required documentation includes, but is not limited to, arrest reports, court dispositions or final judgments, letters of recommendation, a notarized personal statement explaining the circumstances surrounding the disqualifying offense, and clear and convincing evidence demonstrating rehabilitation, consistent with section 435.07(3)(a), Florida Statutes. All required documents listed in the Background Screening Request for Exemption must be submitted within thirty (30) days of filing the exemption application.

When evaluating an exemption request, the  Secretary may consider the applicant’s conduct following the arrest and any subsequent convictions.Although one agency may choose to grant an exemption for a disqualifying offense, that decision does not bind another agency. A subsequent agency may consider the prior exemption but still retains full authority to reach its own determination.

Employees or applicants of treatment providers who treat adolescents 13 years of age and older who are disqualified from employment solely because of crimes specified in section 435.07(2) may receive an exemption from a disqualifying offense without having to complete the 2 year waiting period.

Inquiries regarding  Level 2 background screening or a request for an exemption from disqualification should be directed to:

State of Florida Department of Elder Affairs
Background Screening Unit
4040 Esplanade Way, Suite 315C

Office of General Counsel
Tallahassee, FL 32399-7000

Phone: (850) 414-2093

E-mail: doeanetwork@elderaffairs.org

Out of State Applicants

Several Livescan Service Providers located outside Florida offer Livescan and photo services that can initiate background screenings through the Clearinghouse. To begin the background screening process, you may start the request in the Clearinghouse and select your state when searching for an approved Livescan Service Provider. For more information, visit the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) at https://ahca.myflorida.com/health-quality-assurance/bureau-of-central-services/background-screening/livescan.html.

State Laws and Regulations

Chapter 435, Florida Statutes
Section 430.0402, Florida Statutes
Section 817.568, Florida Statutes
Section 408.809, Florida Statutes
Section 943.0542, Florida Statutes

Sealed and Expunged Records

For information regarding sealed and expunged records, please refer to sections 430.0402(5), 435.04(2) and (4), and 435.07(4)(c), Florida Statutes.

Livescan and Livescan Providers

For information regarding Livescan and Livescan providers, please contact the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) at https://ahca.myflorida.com/health-quality-assurance/bureau-of-central-services/background-screening/livescan.html.