606 CMR, § 14.04
Affiliated: Regular association with an EEC licensed, approved or funded Program through employment, contract or an informal agreement with the Program or parents for the purpose of providing services on behalf of the Program or a child in attendance.
Background Record Check (BRC): The process of requesting, receiving and evaluating information to determine whether a candidate is eligible for affiliation with an EEC licensed, approved or funded program. Such checks include data provided by the Massachusetts Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS); the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF); the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB); the state and national fingerprint databases; as well as all relevant state and national criminal history, child welfare and sex offender registries, databases and repositories.
Candidate: Any person seeking to obtain, renew or retain an EEC license or approval; engage in permanent or temporary employment or internships, regardless of whether such individuals have unsupervised access to the children served; or volunteer in an unsupervised capacity within EEC licensed, approved or funded programs. Family child care candidates include family child care licensees and assistants, as well as household members, and those regularly on the premises of a family child care home, 15 years of age or older. Candidate includes individuals providing services to children within EEC licensed, approved or funded programs in an unsupervised capacity, regardless of whether the individuals have a direct relationship to the Program. All transportation personnel are presumed to have unsupervised access to children. Candidates may also include applicants for approval as foster or adoptive parents, as well as their household members 15 years of age or older.
Child Care Candidate: Used to identify those Programs subject to the CCDBG requirements, which includes all EEC licensed, approved and funded programs eligible to receive a subsidy, regardless of whether such entities actually receive a subsidy. This includes a family child care licensee as well as their household members and persons regularly on the premises 15 years of age or older; all family child care assistants; small and large group, center-based and after school child care licensees, employees, volunteers and interns; and anyone who provides services on behalf of such programs, who affiliate with or are present in such programs in an unsupervised capacity. Child Care Candidate also includes all candidates who operate or are employees, volunteers or interns in a program that receives CCDF funding for subsidized child care, even though it is not subject to licensure or approval by EEC.
Child Care Development Fund (CCDF): A grant issued by the federal government at 42 USC § 9858 to lead agencies from each state responsible for implementing subsidized child care program rules and requirements with the goal of providing a work support to families seeking to find a child care program fitting each family's needs. EEC is the lead agency in Massachusetts responsible for administering CCDF funding to its recipients pursuant to M.G.L. c. 15D, § 2.
Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG): The 2014 Act that reauthorized the law governing CCDF for the first time since 1996. The law makes sweeping changes to the requirements in various areas, such as implementing mandatory background record checks on child care staff at all licensed, approved and funded programs. CCDBG added mandatory disqualifications; requires EEC to review all adverse record information; mandates a 45-day turnaround time; and adds criminal, child welfare and sex offender checks for each state where a candidate has resided within the prior five years.
Conditional Hire: An individual who has the potential for unsupervised contact with children and who is part of a department licensed, funded or approved program or a provider of transportation services on behalf of any department licensed, funded or approved program and was hired prior to the obtaining of the results of a state and national fingerprint-based criminal history check because the employer determined that hiring the individual was necessary.
Criminal Justice Official: The candidate's probation officer, parole officer or correctional facility superintendent (or designee), depending on who has had the most recent responsibility for supervising the candidate. In cases where the candidate was last supervised in a correctional facility, the candidate may advise EEC of any employee of the correctional facility who may have specific information about the candidate that would assist the superintendent or designee with their assessment.
Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI): As used in 606 CMR 14.00, the term Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) shall reflect the same meaning as the definition of the same term in M.G.L. c. 6, § 167 (2018 official edition) and 803 CMR 2.00: Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI). EEC is legally authorized to receive information pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6, §§ 172 and 172F, including information in addition to CORI. CORI checks completed for candidates include all information referenced in M.G.L. c. 6, §§ 172 and 172F that EEC is legally authorized to receive.
Department of Children and Families (DCF): A Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services agency, it maintains and provides child welfare information, including a central registry of substantiated findings of abuse or neglect of children in the Commonwealth.
Department of Children and Families (DCF) Check: A check of Massachusetts DCF databases including its Central Registry and Registry of Alleged Perpetrators to determine if a candidate has been identified as the person responsible for abuse or neglect of a child in a supported M.G.L. c. 119, § 51B Report or is the alleged perpetrator of a pending investigation for abuse or neglect under M.G.L. c. 119, § 51A.
Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS): A Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security agency, the DCJIS provides access to critical criminal justice information, including criminal record data, to authorized Commonwealth and national criminal justice and non-criminal justice agencies.
Direct Visual Supervision: Continuous observation within an individual's immediate eyesight in an unobstructed manner. Supervision in this manner cannot occur through use of a camera. Supervision may occur through the presence of the child or resident's parent or guardian; through presence of state agency staff; or presence of program staff with a suitability decision on file.
Discretionary Disqualification: A candidate with an adult or juvenile offense, regardless of its disposition, including pending and resolved charges for any crime, or a pending or supported finding for any child welfare offense as described in 606 CMR 14.10(3), unless the candidate is granted approval after complying with the EEC review process described in 606 CMR 14.12(2).
EEC Funded Program/Caregiver: Any program or individual that is exempt or not subject to EEC licensure or approval, who receives funding for subsidized child care from EEC. EEC Funded Program/Caregiver includes, but is not limited to, individuals who provide care in a child's home whether related or unrelated to the child; public schools; summer camps; and out of school time programs regardless of whether such entity is licensed or approved by EEC.
Family Child Care Candidate: The family child care licensee; family child care assistants; and all household members and persons regularly on the premises of the family child care home 15 years of age or older, regardless of whether the individuals are present during child care hours.
Family Child Care Licensee: The family child care provider or educator who is legally responsible for the operations of a family child care program.
Final Suitability Determination: A conclusion that a candidate is "suitable" or "not suitable" after completing all mandatory components of EEC's BRC process.
Fingerprint-based Check: A scan of a candidate's fingerprints submitted to state law enforcement and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to search against the state and national criminal history databases.
51A Report: A report filed with the Massachusetts DCF, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 119, § 51A, alleging that there is reasonable cause to believe that a child younger than 18 years old has been subject to abuse or neglect.
51B Report: A report prepared pursuant to M.G.L. c. 119, § 51B detailing the MA DCF investigation into allegations of abuse or neglect upon a child and a determination by DCF whether there is reasonable cause to believe a child identified in the report has been, or is at risk of being, abused or neglected. A 51B Report will either support or unsupport the allegations of abuse or neglect.
Funding from EEC: Reimbursement for the provision of subsidized child care including monies from CCDF.
In-home Non-relative Caregiver: An individual receiving CCDF funding through EEC for subsidized child care to provide care to an unrelated child in the child's own home.
Intern: Any person who provides their services to an EEC licensed, approved or funded program in order to gain work experience in and knowledge of a field. Internships may be paid or unpaid, part of a formal educational program or informally designed. Internships are usually for limited periods of time.
Licensee: Any person holding a license or approval issued by the Department and responsible for the Program's operations and acting as the designated authority on behalf of a Program.
Mandatory Disqualification: A candidate is ineligible for approval if the candidate has any offense within a BRC described in 606 CMR 14.10(1), unless the candidate is granted approval. Mandatory disqualifications do not require review under 606 CMR 14.12(2) unless explicitly permitted by 606 CMR 14.00.
Materially False Statement: Information provided by a candidate to EEC that is false or misleading and should have been identified by the candidate as inaccurate. Such information could have caused EEC to perform an invalid BRC, or lead to the omission of relevant BRC information. As an example, intentionally providing inaccurate identifying information.
National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) Check: The NSOR Check is a review of the sex offender information maintained by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). Such information includes whether a candidate is registered as a sex offender in any other state or territory.
Out of State Check: A search of available out of state records, registries, repositories and databases for any known criminal history, sex offender information, and child welfare information where a candidate has resided within the prior five years.
Pending: A criminal offense shall be considered pending if the criminal record indicates that the offense remains open and without final resolution, including that the case has been continued without a finding and remains open or if the disposition information is unavailable on criminal record information. A child welfare check, including a DCF check, shall be considered pending if the abuse or neglect allegation of a child has been filed with a child welfare agency, but the investigation findings have not been issued by the agency.
Placement Agency: A department, agency, or institution of the Commonwealth, or any political subdivision thereof, or any organization incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth, one of whose principal purposes is providing custodial care and services to children, which receives by agreement with a parent or guardian, by contract with a state agency or as a result of a referral by a court of competent jurisdiction, any child younger than 18 years old, for placement in family foster care or in a residential facility, except that for the purposes of adoption placement, a "placement agency" shall be a department, agency, or institution of the Commonwealth, or any political subdivision thereof, or any organization incorporated under M.G.L. c. 180, one of whose principal purposes is providing custodial care and social services to children, which receives by agreement with a parent or guardian, by contract with a state agency or as a result of referral by a court of competent jurisdiction, any child younger than 18 years old, for placement in adoption.
Presumptive Disqualification: A candidate is ineligible for BRC approval if their EEC BRC reflects any offense as described in 606 CMR 14.10(5), unless the candidate is granted approval after completing the review process described in 606 CMR 14.12(2). Such disqualifications create a presumption of a disqualification for licensure, employment or other services that result in unsupervised access to children, due to the presumed unacceptable risk to children posed by the nature of the crime to persons receiving services. Certain disqualifications will be deemed presumptive and subject to further scrutiny and may require the candidate to submit additional information.
Program: An EEC licensed, approved or CCDF funded entity, including but not limited to, family child care, group, school aged, center-based and residential programs as well as placement agencies. Program includes entities that are in receipt of CCDF funding for subsidized child care but also not licensed by EEC or exempt from EEC's licensing oversight.
Program Administrator (BRC): A person designated by a Program or an entity designated by EEC to submit candidate information during the BRC process, including BRC requests, consent forms for candidates, employment and affiliation decisions and any other information requested by EEC's BRC Unit. Candidates must at least be in provisional status with the Program when designated as BRC Program Administrator unless an exception defined by EEC policy applies.
Provisional Hire/Status: A candidate who has completed the required sex offender and a fingerprint-based check who a Program seeks to utilize in a supervised capacity after EEC has completed the preliminary screening process. Provisional hires must at all times be under the direct visual supervision of a Program staff person that has a current final suitability determination of "suitable" from EEC. The candidate will remain in this category until EEC issues a final suitability determination. This category does not apply to family child care candidates, in home non relative caregiver, relative caregiver, transportation personnel, temporary agency staff, and contracted/service providers.
Qualified Mental Health Professional: A psychiatrist, licensed to practice medicine under M.G.L. c. 112, § 2, a psychologist, licensed under M.G.L. c. 112, §§ 118 through 121, a psychiatric nurse licensed to practice nursing under M.G.L. c. 112, §§ 74 and 80E, or a licensed independent clinical social worker (LICSW) licensed under M.G.L. c. 112, §§ 130 through 132; provided that the psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric nurse, or licensed independent clinical social worker has at least 1,000 hours of experience over a minimum of two years involving assessment, treatment, and consultation concerning individuals with behavior that presents a risk of harm to others in the community, in the workplace, in treatment settings, or in correctional facilities; and provided further that the psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric nurse or licensed independent clinical social worker. Such individual may not have personally provided treatment to the candidate.
Regularly on the Premises: Individuals who are present at a family child care home on a recurring basis, but do not reside at the home and are not employed by the program.
Relative Caregiver: A person who is a parent, grandparent, great grandparent, aunt, uncle, great aunt, great uncle or sibling by blood, marriage or adoption of a child, receiving payment from EEC to provide care to a child in his or her home or the child's home.
Sex Offender: A person designated, registered or required to be registered as a sex offender in any sex offender registry, repository or database by any state or federal agency.
Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB): A Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security agency, SORB classifies, maintains and provides information regarding persons who have been convicted or adjudicated of a sexual offense.
Sex Offender Registry Information (SORI): Information and classifications maintained by the Massachusetts SORB regarding those who have been convicted or adjudicated of a sexual offense. SORI includes the type of sex offense(s) committed, the date(s) of conviction, the sex offender's home and work/school addresses, and identifying information about the sex offender, such as age, height, and weight.
Transportation Personnel: Any individual or a corporation who provides transportation services on behalf of any Program licensed, approved or CCDF-funded, whether directly employed or subcontracted with the Program. All transportation drivers and monitors are presumed to provide services in an unsupervised capacity.
Unsupervised Capacity/Access: When a person has a reasonable likelihood of contact with children without being in the direct visual supervision of an EEC approved employee found "suitable" by EEC.
Volunteer: Any person who assists in an unpaid and unsupervised capacity for an EEC licensed, approved or CCDF-funded program.
Youthful Offender: As used in 606 CMR 14.00, the term Youthful Offender shall reflect the same meaning as the definition of the same term in M.G.L. c. 119, § 52 (2018 official edition).
606 CMR, § 14.04