Wyo. Code R. 049-0014-3
Central Registry for Child & Disabled Adult Protection
Chapter 3: Central Registry Checks/Division of Criminal Investigation Prescreens
Effective Date: 03/03/2006 to 12/13/2013
Rule Type: Superceded Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 049.0014.3.03032006
AND VULNERABLE ADULT PROTECTION CASES
CENTRAL REGISTRY CHECKS/DIVISION OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION PRESCREENS
Central Registry record checks concerning children and vulnerable adults shall be conducted by the Department upon proper application.
(a) Child Abuse/Neglect: Record checks of the child abuse registry may be requested by the following: any chapter of a nationally recognized youth organization, a child caring facility certified under W.S. § 14-4-101 (et seq.), a public or private school or any state institution. Record checks will only be performed on volunteers and prospective employees who may have unsupervised access to children, and who authorize the release of child abuse/neglect record information regarding them, according to W.S. § 14-3-214.
(b) Vulnerable Adult Abuse/Neglect, Exploitation, or Abandonment: Record checks for abuse, neglect, exploitation and abandonment of vulnerable adults may be requested by the following: any individual, nursing home, adult care facility, educational facility, service provider of adult workshop programs or home health care provider, residential programs or any service provider or program in an institution or community-based program, or to any state institution. Record checks will be performed for volunteers and prospective employees and employees who may have unsupervised access to vulnerable adults and who authorize the release of abuse, neglect, exploitation and abandonment record information regarding them, per W.S. § 35-20-116.
(a) The Department shall receive and process all requests for Central Registry record checks and DCI prescreens which:
(i) Are in writing and legible (preferably typed);
(ii) Are accompanied by an Authorization of Release of Information form, which must be signed by the volunteer, prospective employee or employees and must contain the following information:
(A) Last, middle, and first names;
(B) Aliases and nicknames;
(C) Maiden name and prior married names; (D) Social security number; (E) Race; (F) Sex; (G) Date of birth; (H) Current address; (I) All addresses for the past ten (10) years; (J) Include a pre-stamped, pre-addressed envelope; and
Person being checked may voluntarily submit the names of the prospective or volunteer employee's children;
Record checks will be completed within ten (10) working days of the receipt of the requests.
(a) The applicant shall include a check or money order, payable to the State of Wyoming, in the amount of Ten Dollars ($10.00), multiplied by the number of record checks requested. If the organization pays by check, it should use a check drawn on the organization's account. This payment includes DCI prescreening.
(b) Arrangements must be made in advance with the Department if the employer or state agency wants to be billed or to perform a budget to budget transfer.
(a) The Department shall check for an individual's presence on the Central Registry using the information on the submitted authorization form. Accuracy will be determined by:
(i) A reasonable and factual basis that the name on the Central Registry and the one submitted for screening are one and the same; and
(ii) File review; or (iii) Police records; or (iv) Court records; or
(v) Written statements from Department staff who can attest to the facts to ensure the accuracy of the information; or
(vi) Telephone contact with the subject of the application.
(b) If examination of the data submitted by the applicant matches a name in the Department records, the Department shall report to the requesting agency the individual is listed on the Central Registry. If it is more likely than not the individual who is the subject of the request is not an individual whose name is on the Central Registry, the Department shall report to the applicant the individual is not listed on the Central Registry. The State Office Consultant and the Field Office Manager or Designee will review case file information to determine if:
(i) Identifying information is correct;
(ii) There is a pending appeal;
(iii) Findings on the Central Registry are supported by documentation in the file;
(iv) There is a voluntary statement.
When the case file has been destroyed and other supportive documentation is not available through court records, or police records, or by Department staff affidavits, information provided to the applicant will indicate that the name did not appear on the Central Registry.
(d) The Department shall provide the results of the records check to the applicant by certified mail if the records check confirms the existence of a report “under investigation” or a “substantiated” finding of abuse or neglect. Otherwise, the Department shall provide the results of the records check to the applicant by United States mail.
(a) The Department will return a copy of the SS-26 form, Authorization of Release of Child or Vulnerable Adult Central Registry and Wyoming Criminal History Record Information, to the applicant, informing him/her of the search results.
(b) When the individual being checked is named in a case which is listed as “under investigation,” the Department shall notify the applicant that, according to Department records, the volunteer or prospective employee or employee is under investigation. The Department shall notify any applicant receiving information under this subsection of any subsequent reclassification of the information pursuant to W.S. § 14-3-213(e).
(c) When the individual being checked is named on a substantiated allegation, the Department will notify the applicant that the individual was named as a perpetrator on a substantiated allegation. If the individual was mentioned on more than one substantiated allegation, all of the allegations will be listed. The following information about each substantiated allegation shall be released to the applicant:
(i) Date of finding;
(ii) Maltreatment type;
(iii) A copy of the perpetrator's voluntary statement, if submitted; and
(iv) Any information of a pending appeal.
(d) If the perpetrator was a minor at the time of the incident, the Department will not reveal any information about the allegation. If the minor was tried as an adult in criminal court on charges arising from the same incident, information about the allegation may be released in accordance with these rules.