That's right, according to the Associated Press the influx of CCW background checks is going to mean shortages of camp counsellors. And forget it if you're trying to adopt. Since the law requires the permit to be issued within 45 days, CCW checks are going to the head of the line.
Jeff
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...ed+to+wait+for+a+background+check+in+Missouri
Be prepared to wait for a background check in Missouri
By KELLY WIESE
The Associated Press
04/25/2004
JEFFERSON CITY - Schools that need to check out a potential teacher and churches seeking information about youth group volunteers sometimes wait months in Missouri to receive the results of a state background check.
The time on hold can mean scaled-back church camps, delays in certifying teachers and school bus drivers or, in another area where background checks are required, an even longer wait for couples trying to adopt a child.
Part of the delay stems from the sheer volume of requests to the agencies that examine individuals' personal histories for crimes and other significant details. But there's a new factor - Missouri's concealed guns law, which has poured thousands of requests for background checks into the system.
Much of the work is done by the Missouri Highway Patrol, which performs checks for - among others - police investigating crimes, sheriffs processing concealed gun applications, school districts hiring teachers and bus drivers, and people seeking to adopt.
Separately, the state Health and Senior Services Department's Family Care Safety Registry checks the backgrounds of people who work with children, the elderly and the disabled. About 260,000 names are already in the registry.
The Highway Patrol has 56 employees handling background check requests, although some also have other duties, said Lt. Tim Hull, a patrol spokesman.
No staff has been added since sheriffs began submitting citizens' applications for concealed handgun permits in March, Hull said, adding that more than 4,500 applications have been received so far.
Those applications are going to the head of the line for background checks, since state law requires sheriffs to issue permits if no background check is returned within 45 days.
"It's the one that actually has a priority on it," Hull said. "Some of the other background requests might get pushed to the back of the pile."
The patrol did not have an estimate of the total number of pending background requests.
School districts are also a big source of requests for criminal background checks, which are now taking about six weeks to complete, said Jim Morris, spokesman for the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Teachers cannot be certified until the background check is completed, but some districts hire them anyway, Morris said, and bus drivers often are issued provisional certificates.
"School districts will take a chance, with the understanding that the application is pending, and they will put the teacher to work. We certainly don't encourage that," he said. "Obviously it's a particular bind for school districts and for applicants."
In the private sector, the Missouri United Methodist Church requires anyone who volunteers at conference-wide events, such as summer camps or mission trips, to pass a background check through the Family Care Safety Registry.
Individual churches set their own policies, though many also choose to require the checks for local programs such as preschool, said Peggy Eshelman, the church's coordinator of foundation and justice ministries.
The Family Care Safety Registry is a one-stop place to check people against many records, including criminal background checks, child-abuse records, the state sex offender registry and other resources.
State law requires people who are employed in settings with children, the elderly and the disabled to register, and others may do so voluntarily. Employers or individuals planning to hire someone can check that person's history for free.
Eshelman said the registry's checks once took about a week, but now are taking nearly four months, which causes problems for church programs.
For example, the church's camping program is planning to fill just half of the slots because there aren't enough adult volunteers who already have cleared background checks, said director Lee Walz.
Nancy Schulte, manager of the Family Care Safety Registry, said a check on someone already in the registry's system can be completed in a day. But more time may be needed to clear an individual who has not previously worked with children.
The registry was expanded last year to include people who provide in-home services for the elderly, so its caseload has grown, Schulte said. She estimated there are "several thousand" new registrations yet to be entered into the system, creating about a two-month backlog.
But she said businesses can inform the registry if a case is a priority and needs to be done quicker.
"There's always a lot of work to do. We try to respond as quickly as we can based on need," she said.
Jeff
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...ed+to+wait+for+a+background+check+in+Missouri
Be prepared to wait for a background check in Missouri
By KELLY WIESE
The Associated Press
04/25/2004
JEFFERSON CITY - Schools that need to check out a potential teacher and churches seeking information about youth group volunteers sometimes wait months in Missouri to receive the results of a state background check.
The time on hold can mean scaled-back church camps, delays in certifying teachers and school bus drivers or, in another area where background checks are required, an even longer wait for couples trying to adopt a child.
Part of the delay stems from the sheer volume of requests to the agencies that examine individuals' personal histories for crimes and other significant details. But there's a new factor - Missouri's concealed guns law, which has poured thousands of requests for background checks into the system.
Much of the work is done by the Missouri Highway Patrol, which performs checks for - among others - police investigating crimes, sheriffs processing concealed gun applications, school districts hiring teachers and bus drivers, and people seeking to adopt.
Separately, the state Health and Senior Services Department's Family Care Safety Registry checks the backgrounds of people who work with children, the elderly and the disabled. About 260,000 names are already in the registry.
The Highway Patrol has 56 employees handling background check requests, although some also have other duties, said Lt. Tim Hull, a patrol spokesman.
No staff has been added since sheriffs began submitting citizens' applications for concealed handgun permits in March, Hull said, adding that more than 4,500 applications have been received so far.
Those applications are going to the head of the line for background checks, since state law requires sheriffs to issue permits if no background check is returned within 45 days.
"It's the one that actually has a priority on it," Hull said. "Some of the other background requests might get pushed to the back of the pile."
The patrol did not have an estimate of the total number of pending background requests.
School districts are also a big source of requests for criminal background checks, which are now taking about six weeks to complete, said Jim Morris, spokesman for the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Teachers cannot be certified until the background check is completed, but some districts hire them anyway, Morris said, and bus drivers often are issued provisional certificates.
"School districts will take a chance, with the understanding that the application is pending, and they will put the teacher to work. We certainly don't encourage that," he said. "Obviously it's a particular bind for school districts and for applicants."
In the private sector, the Missouri United Methodist Church requires anyone who volunteers at conference-wide events, such as summer camps or mission trips, to pass a background check through the Family Care Safety Registry.
Individual churches set their own policies, though many also choose to require the checks for local programs such as preschool, said Peggy Eshelman, the church's coordinator of foundation and justice ministries.
The Family Care Safety Registry is a one-stop place to check people against many records, including criminal background checks, child-abuse records, the state sex offender registry and other resources.
State law requires people who are employed in settings with children, the elderly and the disabled to register, and others may do so voluntarily. Employers or individuals planning to hire someone can check that person's history for free.
Eshelman said the registry's checks once took about a week, but now are taking nearly four months, which causes problems for church programs.
For example, the church's camping program is planning to fill just half of the slots because there aren't enough adult volunteers who already have cleared background checks, said director Lee Walz.
Nancy Schulte, manager of the Family Care Safety Registry, said a check on someone already in the registry's system can be completed in a day. But more time may be needed to clear an individual who has not previously worked with children.
The registry was expanded last year to include people who provide in-home services for the elderly, so its caseload has grown, Schulte said. She estimated there are "several thousand" new registrations yet to be entered into the system, creating about a two-month backlog.
But she said businesses can inform the registry if a case is a priority and needs to be done quicker.
"There's always a lot of work to do. We try to respond as quickly as we can based on need," she said.
