The State of Tennessee, Department of Human Services (the “State” or “Agency” or “DHS”), and (the “Contractor”), is for the provision of criminal background checks for Child Care provider employees seeking employment or continued employment with DHS licensed child care providers and for all State employees, contractors, and subcontractors who will have access to Federal Tax Information. Sex Offender Registry Checks shall also be required for Child Care provider employees seeking to work at DHS licensed childcare providers in Tennessee. The Contractor shall develop and maintain the ability to securely store and receive criminal background check requests from the State and securely return results for such checks in a format determined by the State. Pursuant to T.C.A. § 71-3-507, the Contractor shall perform a criminal background check for each Child Care provider employee seeking employment or continued employment with DHS licensed child care providers who has lived, worked, or attended school outside of Tennessee in one or more of the states and territories listed in Appendix A to this Contract within five (5) years of applying for a background check to work in childcare in Tennessee. Statewide criminal checks shall be performed using state police and court records. If statewide criminal checks are not available for a state or territory listed in Appendix A, the Contractor shall perform county criminal checks based on the provider employee’s residence(s) in that state or territory. The Contractor shall return the criminal background check results for Child Care provider employee as required under this Contract in compliance with 45 CFR 98.43(e)(1), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. § 1681), and all applicable state and federal laws. In addition, the Contractor shall search the Sex Offender Registry and include the results within the same time frame required for criminal background checks submitted to the State. The Contractor shall conduct criminal background checks for State employees, contractors, and subcontractors who will have access to Federal Tax Information (FTI) as required by Publication 1075 and T.C.A. § 4-3-105. The Contractor shall search only the requested county for criminal background checks within the specified state for Federal Tax Information (FTI) related checks. The Contractor shall process background checks from two (2) categories: County Criminal Court Search (when available) and Social Security Number Trace. The Contractor must currently have the ability to conduct backgrounds checks autonomously as a consumer reporting agency in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
