SB 1093 And AB-1720 – Revises Criminal Background Check Requirements For Childcare And Daycare Facilities

Senate Bill 1093 (SB 1093) and Assembly Bill 1720 (AB 1720) are companion bills that collectively revise the criminal background check requirements for childcare and daycare facilities.

Under current law, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) regulates the licensure and operation of childcare facilities.  As part of these duties, CDSS is required to obtain a criminal history record for all applicants for licenses for these facilities and specified individuals connected with these facilities, including employees, volunteers, and officers.  Persons with certain criminal convictions are prohibited from obtaining a license.  Specified individuals are also prohibited from being present in childcare facilities before obtaining either a criminal record clearance or a criminal record exemption from CDSS.

AB 1720 authorizes CDSS to grant a simplified criminal record exemption to an applicant for a license or special permit to operate or manage childcare facilities and the specified individuals connected with these facilities if the following criterion is met:

1. The individual has not been convicted of a violent crime.
2. The individual has not been convicted of a crime within the last five years.
3. The individual has not been convicted of a felony within the last 10 years.
4. The individual has five or fewer misdemeanor convictions.
5. The individual has no more than one felony conviction.
6. The individual has not been convicted of a crime for which the department is prohibited from granting an exemption.

CDSS has the discretion to require an individual who is otherwise eligible for a simplified criminal record exemption to complete the standard exemption process if CDSS determines completing the standard exemption process will protect the health and safety of any person at the childcare facility.  Being granted a simplified criminal record exemption does not relieve the person from compliance with other applicable background check requirements.

Both SB 1093 and AB 1720 remove the requirement that specified individuals connected with childcare facilities sign a declaration under penalty of perjury regarding any prior criminal convictions and prohibit CDSS from requiring an applicant for a license to disclose their criminal history information prior to receipt of live scan results.

SB 1093 revises current law, which permits an individual to transfer a current criminal record clearance from one childcare facility to another following a written request to CDSS that accompanies verification of the individual’s identity, such as valid photo identification.  SB 1093 instead requires individuals to request a transfer of a criminal record clearance and verify their identity by completing and submitting a form provided by CDSS or via CDSS’s secure online portal.

(AB 1720 amends Sections 1522, 1568.09, 1569.17, 1596.871, 1796.19, 1796.23, 1796.24, 1796.25, and 1796.26 of, and adds Section 1522.7 to, the Health and Safety Code.)