1. (a) The following facilities shall require employees and employers to obtain a criminal history records check under this Part V of this subtitle:

   1. (1) a child care center required to be licensed under Title 9.5, Subtitle 4 of the Education Article;
   2. (2) a family child care home or large family child care home required to be registered under Title 9.5, Subtitle 3 of the Education Article;
   3. (3) a child care home required to be licensed under Title 9 of the Human Services Article;
   4. (4) a child care institution required to be licensed under this subtitle by an administration of the Department;
   5. (5) a child care institution required to be licensed under Title 9 of the Human Services Article;
   6. (6) a juvenile detention, correction, or treatment facility provided for in Title 9 of the Human Services Article;
   7. (7) a public school as defined in Title 1 of the Education Article;
   8. (8) a private or nonpublic school required to report annually to the State Board of Education under Title 2 of the Education Article;
   9. (9) a foster care family home or group facility as defined under this subtitle;
   10. (10) a recreation center or recreation program operated by the State, a local government, or a private entity primarily serving minors;
   11. (11) a day or residential camp, as defined in Title 10, Subtitle 16 of the Code of Maryland Regulations, primarily serving minors; or
   12. (12) a home health agency or residential service agency licensed by the Maryland Department of Health and authorized under Title 19 of the Health--General Article to provide home- or community-based health services for minors.

2. (b) The following individuals shall obtain a criminal history records check under this Part V of this subtitle:

   1. (1) an individual who is seeking to adopt a child through a child placement agency;
   2. (2) an individual who is seeking to become a guardian through a local department;
   3. (3) an individual whom the juvenile court appoints as a guardian of a child;
   4. (4) an adult relative with whom a child, committed to a local department, is placed by the local department;

   5. (5) any adult known by a local department or the State Department of Education to be residing in:

      1. (i) a family child care home or large family child care home required to be registered under this title;
      2. (ii) a home where informal child care, as defined in child care subsidy regulations adopted under Title 13A of the Code of Maryland Regulations, is being provided or will be provided to a child who does not reside there;
      3. (iii) a home of an adult relative of a child with whom the child, committed to a local department, is placed by the local department;
      4. (iv) a foster care home or child care home required to be approved under this title;
      5. (v) a home of an individual seeking to adopt a child through a child placement agency; or
      6. (vi) a home of an individual seeking to become a guardian through a local department;
   6. (6) an individual who agrees to provide, or to continue providing, informal child care, as defined in child care subsidy regulations, adopted under Title 13A of the Code of Maryland Regulations;

   7. (7) if requested by a local department:

      1. (i) a parent or guardian of a child who is committed to the local department and is or has been placed in an out-of-home placement within the past year; and
      2. (ii) any adult known by the local department to be residing in the home of the parent or guardian; and

   8. (8) an adult or an individual who is not a relative and who agrees to provide care as a result of a sudden unavailability of the child's primary caretaker, including:

      1. (i) a neighbor;
      2. (ii) a friend;
      3. (iii) an acquaintance;
      4. (iv) a community member; or
      5. (v) a colleague or coworker of the child's primary caretaker.
3. (c) An employer at a facility under subsection (a) of this section may require a volunteer at the facility to obtain a criminal history records check under this Part V of this subtitle.
4. (d) A local department may require a volunteer of that department who works with children to obtain a criminal history records check under this Part V of this subtitle.
5. (e) An employer at a facility not identified in subsection (a) of this section who employs individuals to work with children may require employees, including volunteers, to obtain a criminal history records check under this Part V of this subtitle.
6. (f) An employer, as defined in § 5-550(h)(2) of this subtitle, shall require an employee, as defined in § 5-550(g)(2) of this subtitle, to obtain a criminal history records check under this Part V of this subtitle.

7. (g)

   1. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a person who is required to have a criminal history records check under this Part V of this subtitle shall pay for:

      1. (i) the mandatory processing fee required by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history records check;
      2. (ii) reasonable administrative costs to the Department, not to exceed 10% of the processing fee; and
      3. (iii) the fee authorized under § 10-221(b)(7) of the Criminal Procedure Article for access to Maryland criminal history records.
   2. (2) A volunteer under subsection (c), (d), or (e) of this section who volunteers for a program that is registered with the Maryland Mentoring Partnership is required to pay only the mandatory processing fee required by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history records check.

8. (h)

   1. (1) An employer or other party may pay for the costs borne by the employee or other individual under subsection (g) of this section.

   2. (2) The local department shall reimburse:

      1. (i) an adult residing in a foster care home for the costs borne by the individual under subsection (g) of this section; and
      2. (ii) an individual described in subsection (b)(7)(ii) of this section for the costs borne by the individual under subsection (g) of this section.

Added as Family Law § 5-561 Acts 1986, c. 110, § 1, eff. July 1, 1986. Amended by Acts 1987, c. 290, § 9, eff. July 1, 1987; Acts 1988, c. 6, §§ 8, 10, eff. Feb. 18, 1988; Acts 1988, c. 247, § 6, eff. July 1, 1988; Acts 1989, c. 5, § 1, eff. March 9, 1989; Acts 1989, c. 324, § 1, eff. July 1, 1989; Acts 1990, c. 6, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 1990; Acts 1991, c. 55, § 1, eff. April 9, 1991; Acts 1991, c. 78, § 1, eff. July 1, 1991; Acts 1992, c. 22, § 1, eff. April 7, 1992; Acts 1992, c. 302, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1992; Acts 1994, c. 481, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1994; Acts 1995, c. 298, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1995; Acts 1996, c. 10, § 1, eff. April 9, 1996; Acts 1996, c. 19, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1996; Acts 2000, c. 284, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2000; Acts 2001, c. 35, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2001; Acts 2001, c. 192, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2001; Acts 2005, c. 359, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2005; Acts 2005, c. 464, § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2006; Acts 2005, c. 507, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2005; Acts 2007, c. 8, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2007; Acts 2007, c. 521, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2007; Acts 2010, c. 18, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2010; Acts 2011, c. 65, § 1, eff. April 12, 2011; Acts 2011, c. 564, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2012; Acts 2013, c. 49, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2014; Acts 2013, c. 50, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2014; Acts 2013, c. 51, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2014; Acts 2013, c. 52, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2014; Acts 2015, c. 180, § 1, eff. July 1, 2015. Renumbered as Family Law § 5-551 by Acts 2016, c. 185, § 3, eff. June 1, 2016. Amended by Acts 2016, c. 8, § 5; Acts 2016, c. 185, § 4, eff. June 1, 2016; Acts 2017, c. 62, § 6; Acts 2023, c. 144, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2023; Acts 2026, c. 266, § 1, eff. April 28, 2026.