New Background Check Form out Oct. 9th 2009

It's important and fair to give credit where credit is due and I'll find out the names of persons to thank and update you.

The "Background Check" form is a VITAL piece of the licensing process regarding persons who will have access to your children. Access means basically they are or have legal rights (say they own or live there) to be in the building or on the grounds of a licensed facility; or in a vehicle with your children.

"Background Check" means checking what law enforcement has but also includes a whole host of other areas to "Check".

Google the "Department of Early Learning" and find the form to review yourself.

After more than five years someone has returned valuable questions to the form like having to identify where the applicant lived in the last seven years. This was a valuable quality control question that got taken out under DCCEL.

The form gives the applicant clarity that information will be disclosed to say the day care center owner/director or the family home day care provider, where the applicant has been hired to work. It does so in pretty much regular English, so hey, kudos for that.

I am a little puzzled by the second bullet on the form.

At the bottom of the 2nd page where is says "CAMIS files checked by" is in need of clarification as CAMIS has been put out to pasture. FAMLINK is the new CAMIS from what I understand. Both, for parents information, is simply a computer system that houses TONS of information on families and individuals.

Your State Auditor was going to and then didn't on behalf of parents of Washington State audit this program instead Brian Sonntag only audited the "criminal" part of the "BACKGROUND CHECK".

Folks, there is so much secrecy in your government, confusion, layer upon layer of reform; and to see a return to some VITAL basic information that must be given a nod and thumbs up.

As they say, "the proof is in the pudding" so is there a plan to check out the use of the form so that it translates to persons who are mean, unkind, abusive, etc have no access to your children?

I'll check into that too. Dr. Betty Hyde is the newest director and a thank you probably starts there, because quality comes from the top down. But I want to know the other players to thank for moving in the right direction.