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The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act requires states and territories to have requirements, policies, and procedures in effect to conduct comprehensive background checks for all licensed and license exempt child care providers.
In Delaware, comprehensive background checks are required for:
Below are some Questions & Answers related to comprehensive background checks for individuals in child-serving entities in Delaware.
All child care center staff and volunteers, age 18 and over, who have direct access to children or who have the opportunity for unsupervised access to children.
The licensed family child care provider, staff, all household members (age 18 and over), any substitutes, and anyone with direct access to children or who has the opportunity for unsupervised access to children. In both types of care, anyone with direct access to children or who has the opportunity for unsupervised access to children needs to be fingerprinted.
The relative child care provider and all household members (age 18 and over). *Note, relative care providers are not required to complete out of state checks.
All camp employees and volunteers, age 18 and over, and anyone who will have direct access to children or who has the opportunity for unsupervised access to children.
Individuals requiring a comprehensive background check must be fingerprinted at a specified Delaware State Police location. The comprehensive background check includes:
Additionally, individuals residing out of state or who have resided outside of Delaware in the past 5 years (except license-exempt relative care providers) must complete the following additional checks in those states:
Child care providers working in Delaware are not charged for the fingerprinted criminal check or the Delaware Child Abuse Registry check.
However, there are additional checks required of Delaware providers living outside the state or who have lived outside the state in the previous 5 years. There may be costs associated with those checks. Fees are determined by each state.
Persons determined ineligible or prohibited will be sent a letter informing them of the ineligible or prohibited offense and if they choose, how to request an administrative review of the determination.
These Questions & Answers will help individuals working in Delaware and have lived in Delaware during the entire past 5 years, understand the comprehensive background checks process.
Step 1) A center administrator, large family child care provider, or family child care provider logs into the Delaware ECE Portal, generates a background check form, and prints the pre-filled background check form for an applicant.
Background Check First Time User Video
If you have already created a profile for the Delaware ECE Portal:
If you need to create a profile for the Delaware ECE Portal:
My Early Childhood Career Journey Video
Step 2) The applicant completes, signs, and dates the form and returns it to the Criminal History Unit (CHU) via email: DSCYF_CHU@delaware.gov or via fax: (302) 633-5191.
Step 3) Upon receipt of the completed form, CHU will email the person the IdentoGO Service Code and No Charge Authorization Code.
Step 4) The applicant signs up for an IdentoGO appointment online using the service code and provides the no-charge authorization code for payment. The IdentoGo helpline phone number is 1-844-539-5541 for any issues setting up your appointment.
Step-by-step guide on How to Register for your Appointment
Step-by-step video on How to Register for your Appointment
List of appointment locations
Step 5) The applicant attends their selected, in-person appointment.
Step 6) CHU receives the background check results and sends an eligibility determination or provisional eligibility notification to the CHU contact. Individuals only receive a determination letter via mail (sent to the address provided on the form) when they are either determined ineligible or prohibited from employment.
You can get details on this website: https://dsp.delaware.gov/obtaining-a-certified-criminal-history/
If a child care provider is living, or has lived in another state in the past 5 years, they need to get the state specific background checks from each of those states. This is in addition to the Delaware checks. However, relative child care providers are excluded from the out-of-state requirement.
For the state the individual is living or for all states the individual has lived in during the past 5 years:
The individual who is living, or has lived, in another state in the past 5 years must obtain the following out-of-state checks:
The final check is completed by Delaware’s Criminal History Unit (CHU).
Refer to the following website for the Interstate Child Care Background Check Contact List: https://childcareta.acf.hhs.gov/resource/child-care-subsidy-criminal-background-check-contact-list-0
What does a child care provider do with the out-of-state background check information received?
The individual must immediately give a copy of the out-of-state check results to their employer/licensed child care provider or license exempt summer camp provider.
The employer/licensed child care provider or license exempt summer camp provider must submit the results of the out-of-state background checks to:
DSCYF, Criminal History Unit
The Concord – Hagley Building,
3411 Silverside Road,
Wilmington, De 19810
OR
via email: DSCYF_CHU@delaware.gov
via fax: 302-633-5191
phone: 302-892-4525
When a child care provider works in another state but is living, or has lived, in Delaware in the past 5 years, they need to get background checks from Delaware.
This is handled by the Delaware State Police – State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).
Details can be found on the following website: https://dsp.delaware.gov/obtaining-a-certified-criminal-history/.
Click the button for out-of-state residents for further information. The cost is $72.00.
Search the online registry. Follow the directions provided by the state for which you are requesting the check. https://sexoffender.dsp.delaware.gov/
The Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, Criminal History Unit manages the Delaware Child Protection Registry Portal. The out-of-state employer or child care individual registers on the Portal and completes a request to have a Delaware check completed. The results are available in the Portal to the requesting party within 15 days.
https://childprotectionregistry.delaware.gov/. The cost is $14.00.