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Employee Background Check Information

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) has expanded its on-going criminal history screenings of current employees. This was implemented July 1, 2019. The Office of School Safety and Security has and continues to screen about 1,500 employees each year. An employee will be notified if selected by email prior to conducting the background check.

The School Safety and Security and Human Resources offices will complete the screenings randomly and on a revolving basis. The screening is conducted using Social Security numbers and employees do not need to provide any additional information to the school system.

How will results be reported?

A member of the Office of School Safety and Security will notify an employee if something appears in the background check that needs further discussion. If an employee does not hear from the Office of School Safety and Security, it means the additional background check was clear. All background checks should be completed in early August.

CCPS requires employees to self-report any arrest and/or criminal charge within three (3) days of the violation. Employees do not have to self-report minor traffic violations. An employee who needs to self-report an issue should call the Office of School Safety and Security at 301-392-5551.

A little history

CCPS has required all employees to submit to criminal background checks as a condition of employment dating back to the 1980s. Prior to 2018, CCPS relied on fingerprint identification technology to conduct initial and ongoing background screenings. However, criminal justice reforms over the last two decades have challenged the comprehensiveness of the fingerprint-based screening. To fill the gap, CCPS has contracted with a company to complete additional background screenings on employees.

CCPS now requires two separate background checks for new employees, substitutes, and temporary staff. New hires are fingerprinted and undergo a social security-based background screening, which complements its long-standing fingerprint screening.

CCPS is working with the Sterling Volunteers to conduct the random employee screenings. This is the same company CCPS uses to conduct secure background checks on new employees and volunteers this school year.

Questions?

Employees who have questions about the new process may contact Jason Stoddard, Director of School Safety and Security, at 301-392-5550 or jstoddard@ccboe.com.

More information about the Sterling Volunteer check

The background check includes:

  • Address History Trace – Reveals various names, dates of birth, and addresses associated with a specific social security number.
  • County Court Search (Multi-County) — A criminal records search in each unique jurisdiction discovered through Sterling Volunteer’s Address History Trace. Jurisdictions are limited to a person’s past seven-year(7) residential history. Records include both felony and misdemeanor offenses and traffic citations when available.
  • Criminal Record Database — A database search of more than 400 million unique criminal records regularly aggregated from over 2,400 different governmental and proprietary sources. Records include full dispositions and are verified through the official court of record before being reported.
  • Sex Offender Registry Search — A comprehensive database search of registered sex offenders regularly aggregated from all 50 states plus Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and Native American Tribal Registries.
  • Security Watch List — A database search of information obtained from more than 30 global agencies.