Criminal checks now required on prospective medical students
Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed legislation Monday requiring medical schools to perform criminal background checks on prospective students. The law, which takes effect immediately, requires new medical school students to undergo fingerprinting and have the Illinois State Police check their past for violent felonies like murder. Read more
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Study Finds FBI Criminal Database Search Ineffective for Employment Background Checks
As US employers increasingly utilize criminal background checks in their hiring process, the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) has identified one source of information that employers should avoid: the FBI Criminal Database. Read more.
Background checks screen hires: Extensive investigations becoming more common
Extensive investigations becoming more common. Medium- and small-sized companies are increasingly using background checks to verify whether job applicants are fibbing or telling the truth about their education, employment history and even their credit records… Read more.
Potential Employees Checked Out
Job applicants are having a harder time keeping their skeletons in the closet as more companies and organizations turn to background checks for help with hiring decisions. Read more.
As US employers increasingly utilize criminal background checks in their hiring process, the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) has identified one source of information that employers should avoid: the FBI Criminal Database. Read more.
Background checks screen hires: Extensive investigations becoming more common
Extensive investigations becoming more common. Medium- and small-sized companies are increasingly using background checks to verify whether job applicants are fibbing or telling the truth about their education, employment history and even their credit records… Read more.
Potential Employees Checked Out
Job applicants are having a harder time keeping their skeletons in the closet as more companies and organizations turn to background checks for help with hiring decisions. Read more.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
The Importance of a Complete Background Check
In a recent background check for a client, InfoLink Screening Services, a national background screening firm, learned that the applicant transposed the last two numbers of her Social Security number (SSN) and provided the employer a false date of birth (DOB) when she applied for employment. Based on the information the applicant provided, InfoLink might have reported “No Record Found” if its Quality Assurance had not identified discrepancies which lead to InfoLink’s uncovering 8 criminal convictions on the applicant’s record. Read more.
Background Checks Could Have Problems
More and more employers require employee background checks, which is why it's no surprise more and more private companies are popping up offering to provide them. A Target Five Investigation shows it can be risky business. A bad background check nearly cost Eric Williams a job. Read more.
Pre-Employment Screening A Must For Employers
What's the worst thing an employer can find out after hiring a new employee? That there should have been a good background check. It could have saved a lot of money, time and frustration and a lot more. InfoLink Screening Services performs pre-employment background checks, drug testing and employment physical exams nationwide. Read more.
Protect Your Organization Against Negligent Hiring Suits
Speaking to a packed house June 20 during his session at the SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition, Nadell said that nothing takes the place of thorough applicant background checking. However, no background checking process is foolproof, so it's crucial for companies to know how to obtain the most accurate information while remaining compliant with the myriad federal and state laws that regulate the industry. Read more.
In a recent background check for a client, InfoLink Screening Services, a national background screening firm, learned that the applicant transposed the last two numbers of her Social Security number (SSN) and provided the employer a false date of birth (DOB) when she applied for employment. Based on the information the applicant provided, InfoLink might have reported “No Record Found” if its Quality Assurance had not identified discrepancies which lead to InfoLink’s uncovering 8 criminal convictions on the applicant’s record. Read more.
Background Checks Could Have Problems
More and more employers require employee background checks, which is why it's no surprise more and more private companies are popping up offering to provide them. A Target Five Investigation shows it can be risky business. A bad background check nearly cost Eric Williams a job. Read more.
Pre-Employment Screening A Must For Employers
What's the worst thing an employer can find out after hiring a new employee? That there should have been a good background check. It could have saved a lot of money, time and frustration and a lot more. InfoLink Screening Services performs pre-employment background checks, drug testing and employment physical exams nationwide. Read more.
Protect Your Organization Against Negligent Hiring Suits
Speaking to a packed house June 20 during his session at the SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition, Nadell said that nothing takes the place of thorough applicant background checking. However, no background checking process is foolproof, so it's crucial for companies to know how to obtain the most accurate information while remaining compliant with the myriad federal and state laws that regulate the industry. Read more.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Felons found working in elder care
By Gary Heinlein / The Detroit News
June 1, 2005
Cox vows to tighten laws after thousands with warrants identified in state nursing homes.
LANSING - A yearlong study by Attorney General Mike Cox has revealed that workers accused or convicted of felonies such as abuse, illegal drug use and other offenses are caring for vulnerable, elderly patients despite state efforts to screen nursing home and adult foster care workers.
His findings parallel those of a Detroit News investigation in November that revealed an unnoticed epidemic of malnutrition and dehydration had killed nearly 14,000 nursing home patients between 1999 and 2002, including 800 in Michigan. The News discovered that, as in the case of required background checks for workers, state regulations have failed to prevent inattention and abuse.
Using records in the Law Enforcement Information Network, attorney general staff members project that as many as 3,500 of Michigan's 40,490 certified nurse's aides - those most directly involved in nursing home patient care - have outstanding criminal warrants. As many as 607 are accused of crimes that would bar them from working in nursing homes under current law, Cox estimates.
The statewide estimates are extrapolated from a sampling of 5,533 certified nurse aides in the Flint, Saginaw, Bay City, Midland and Detroit areas. To test the accuracy of those findings, Cox says his staff then conducted background checks on all the direct-care employees of four nursing homes.
"It's really disturbing that many people with an outstanding warrant or a criminal history are working in nursing homes unbeknownst to the operators or for operators who are callously allowing them to do so," Cox said.
He called the findings "stunning," especially in view of the tens of thousands of baby boom generation Michiganians who are approaching retirement and expected eventually to swell the demand for institutional care. About 100,000 Michiganians already live in nursing homes, adult foster care facilities and homes for the aged.
"If we're not looking closely at things as basic as criminal history (of workers), what other things are we missing?" Cox said.
As proof the new laws haven't made things better, a quarter of all workers charged with crimes against residents since May 2002 had backgrounds involving retail fraud, drug abuse, illegal use of weapons, homicide and other crimes, Cox says.
A representative of the state's nursing home association said additional regulations Cox proposes would be a burden for facility operators already facing a 4 percent cut in the state Medicaid allotment for long-term care.
"I think his intent is in the right place, but the state has to give us a way to do that," said Kristen Parker, communications director for the Health Care Association of Michigan. "We obviously want to provide as safe a place as possible for our patients."
Examples of cases included in Cox's study:
• Jeffrey Wolos, a unit supervisor at Medilodge nursing home in Howell, was accused of stealing prescription pain killers from hospice patients after other employees found him comatose on a bathroom floor in December 2003. Authorities said he injected himself with narcotics he siphoned from pain patches, and then put the diminished or empty patches back on the patients. Wolos, 32, of Swartz Creek pleaded guilty to a felony controlled substance violation and patient abuse, for which he is to begin serving a 90-day jail sentence today in Livingston County.
• Michelle Thomas-Hicks, former medical records clerk for the Cambridge East Health Care Center in Madison Heights, was accused last March of making unauthorized electronic withdrawals from a 91-year-old resident's checking account for debts and to pay for telephone, TV and Internet services. She also used a 74-year-old patient's name and credit history to help her buy a car, police said. Hicks, a 33-year-old Riverview resident, was convicted of identity theft last year in Wayne County. She's on two years' probation, barred from jobs that provide access to finances and ordered to perform 125 hours of community service. She also was assessed about $400 in fees and court costs.
• A former southeast Michigan nursing home administrator was convicted of Medicaid fraud for filing false statements regarding nursing staff levels. Despite being on a five-year sanction against working in federally supported health care programs, Cox says, she now is a corporate consultant to several nursing homes eligible for Medicare and Medicaid funds.
Cox wants to expand Michigan laws to include such crimes as drug abuse as reasons to prohibit nursing homes from hiring workers who'd be involved in patient care.
Current laws only prevent nursing homes from hiring people whose offenses involve abuse of older and vulnerable residents, he says.
He wants to eliminate a "grandfather" provision that prevents nursing homes from getting rid of workers convicted of crimes before the 2002 and 2004 laws took effect. He'll recommend stiffer penalties for those who abuse vulnerable citizens.
Background checks should be required once a year for all nursing home patient care workers, and also for other employees who could take advantage of residents even though not regularly involved in direct care, Cox also says.
He plans to work with lawmakers on a package of nursing home bills to be introduced before the Legislature recesses for the summer at the end of June.
By Gary Heinlein / The Detroit News
June 1, 2005
Cox vows to tighten laws after thousands with warrants identified in state nursing homes.
LANSING - A yearlong study by Attorney General Mike Cox has revealed that workers accused or convicted of felonies such as abuse, illegal drug use and other offenses are caring for vulnerable, elderly patients despite state efforts to screen nursing home and adult foster care workers.
His findings parallel those of a Detroit News investigation in November that revealed an unnoticed epidemic of malnutrition and dehydration had killed nearly 14,000 nursing home patients between 1999 and 2002, including 800 in Michigan. The News discovered that, as in the case of required background checks for workers, state regulations have failed to prevent inattention and abuse.
Using records in the Law Enforcement Information Network, attorney general staff members project that as many as 3,500 of Michigan's 40,490 certified nurse's aides - those most directly involved in nursing home patient care - have outstanding criminal warrants. As many as 607 are accused of crimes that would bar them from working in nursing homes under current law, Cox estimates.
The statewide estimates are extrapolated from a sampling of 5,533 certified nurse aides in the Flint, Saginaw, Bay City, Midland and Detroit areas. To test the accuracy of those findings, Cox says his staff then conducted background checks on all the direct-care employees of four nursing homes.
"It's really disturbing that many people with an outstanding warrant or a criminal history are working in nursing homes unbeknownst to the operators or for operators who are callously allowing them to do so," Cox said.
He called the findings "stunning," especially in view of the tens of thousands of baby boom generation Michiganians who are approaching retirement and expected eventually to swell the demand for institutional care. About 100,000 Michiganians already live in nursing homes, adult foster care facilities and homes for the aged.
"If we're not looking closely at things as basic as criminal history (of workers), what other things are we missing?" Cox said.
As proof the new laws haven't made things better, a quarter of all workers charged with crimes against residents since May 2002 had backgrounds involving retail fraud, drug abuse, illegal use of weapons, homicide and other crimes, Cox says.
A representative of the state's nursing home association said additional regulations Cox proposes would be a burden for facility operators already facing a 4 percent cut in the state Medicaid allotment for long-term care.
"I think his intent is in the right place, but the state has to give us a way to do that," said Kristen Parker, communications director for the Health Care Association of Michigan. "We obviously want to provide as safe a place as possible for our patients."
Examples of cases included in Cox's study:
• Jeffrey Wolos, a unit supervisor at Medilodge nursing home in Howell, was accused of stealing prescription pain killers from hospice patients after other employees found him comatose on a bathroom floor in December 2003. Authorities said he injected himself with narcotics he siphoned from pain patches, and then put the diminished or empty patches back on the patients. Wolos, 32, of Swartz Creek pleaded guilty to a felony controlled substance violation and patient abuse, for which he is to begin serving a 90-day jail sentence today in Livingston County.
• Michelle Thomas-Hicks, former medical records clerk for the Cambridge East Health Care Center in Madison Heights, was accused last March of making unauthorized electronic withdrawals from a 91-year-old resident's checking account for debts and to pay for telephone, TV and Internet services. She also used a 74-year-old patient's name and credit history to help her buy a car, police said. Hicks, a 33-year-old Riverview resident, was convicted of identity theft last year in Wayne County. She's on two years' probation, barred from jobs that provide access to finances and ordered to perform 125 hours of community service. She also was assessed about $400 in fees and court costs.
• A former southeast Michigan nursing home administrator was convicted of Medicaid fraud for filing false statements regarding nursing staff levels. Despite being on a five-year sanction against working in federally supported health care programs, Cox says, she now is a corporate consultant to several nursing homes eligible for Medicare and Medicaid funds.
Cox wants to expand Michigan laws to include such crimes as drug abuse as reasons to prohibit nursing homes from hiring workers who'd be involved in patient care.
Current laws only prevent nursing homes from hiring people whose offenses involve abuse of older and vulnerable residents, he says.
He wants to eliminate a "grandfather" provision that prevents nursing homes from getting rid of workers convicted of crimes before the 2002 and 2004 laws took effect. He'll recommend stiffer penalties for those who abuse vulnerable citizens.
Background checks should be required once a year for all nursing home patient care workers, and also for other employees who could take advantage of residents even though not regularly involved in direct care, Cox also says.
He plans to work with lawmakers on a package of nursing home bills to be introduced before the Legislature recesses for the summer at the end of June.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Respecting and Protecting Elders
By Elliot A. Boxerbaum, CPP, and Patrick F. Donaldson
Security Management, May 2005
As the U.S. population ages, and more people reside in long-term-care facilities, security professionals must learn to assess and address the unique risks of these facilities.
According to the United States Census Bureau's projections on aging, more than 40 million U.S. citizens will be of retirement age by 2010, including approximately 6.1 million who will be 85 years old or older. By 2050, the government projects that some 86.7 million Americans will be age 65 and above and 20.9 million will be 85 or older. Many of these people will enter eldercare facilities, convalescent care centers, extended care facilities, and independent living or congregant care communities. And because residents of these facilities are often weak and vulnerable, the potential for them to be victimized is great. Among the threats are theft of personal property, abuse, physical assault, diversion of assets, extortion, and other crimes. Security professionals must know how to assess and address the risks.
Long-term-care facilities vary greatly in size, but whatever the size of the facility, it will face some of the same issues, many of which are unique to that environment. For example, during hospital stays, patients are encouraged to leave valuable items and keepsakes at home. But for many individuals, the long-term-care facility is their primary domicile, and residents bring these items with them. Thus, security of those items must be addressed.
Unfortunately, as residents continue to age, their memories and cognitive abilities may deteriorate to the level of unreliability. Because of this, reported incidents of property loss are sometimes written off as imagined events and not fully investigated. That type of response clearly does not serve the residents or the facility well.
Currently, the long-term-care (LTC) community includes more than 20,500 nursing homes. Most are for-profit institutions, placing them squarely in the purview of private security. However, a recent search of the ASIS International membership revealed fewer than a dozen members who list nursing homes, long-term-care facilities, convalescent facilities, or similar organizations as their primary employer. Based on the authors' experiences, this is because security services to the eldercare facilities are generally provided by contractors who report to facility administrators. In some instances, security is the responsibility of the maintenance or nursing supervisor. At hospital-based facilities, by contrast, there is usually an in-house security director or manager. Perhaps as the LTC industry matures, its approach to security will also evolve.
…..
Those within. Crimes at LTC facilities are not limited to those perpetrated by trespassers or burglars. Staff may also pose threats, especially as a resident's vulnerability increases and he or she becomes more dependent on caregivers. Elements to consider when assessing threats within an LTC environment include current employee recruitment processes, screening and background checks, and supervision of employees.
In some communities, the demand for entry-level resident care and custodial workers is high. Staff turnover in these jobs is also high, and some organizations have chosen to reduce costs by cutting back on reference checks that provide vitally important information about potential employees. These organizations run the risk of both increased security incidents and increased resultant liability costs. Negative publicity could also taint the reputation of the facility.
Additionally, the facility's incident reporting policies and procedures should be reviewed, as well as resident property tracking and management, and the training and regular reevaluation of both the security and care staff. Internal security audits should also be studied.
Another concern is the threat that residents may pose to one another. For example, more than 400 registered sex offenders were LTC residents, according to a 2004 study, "Predators in America's Nursing Homes, Registered Sex Offenders Residing in Nursing Homes Analysis," conducted by A Perfect Cause, a disability and elder-rights advocacy organization.
The study identified one 144-bed skilled-care and intermediate-care facility in Ohio as the residence of 15 registered sex offenders-more than half of whom were convicted rapists. A Missouri nursing home mentioned in the study was reportedly the home of 12 sexual offenders. The study also cited multiple cases of offenders committing assaults and rapes in the facilities where they were housed.
Because of these incidents, LTC providers and advocacy groups debate whether a facility has a responsibility to notify residents and their families when residents who may pose a threat-especially registered sex offenders-are admitted.
One way to address the risk of patient-on-patient crime is a patient-background screening program similar to employee preemployment screening. Checking the backgrounds of residents can be controversial, however.
If patient background checks are conducted, the intent should not be to reject a resident, but rather to provide the facility with information that it may need to ensure the safety of that resident, other residents, visitors, and staff. Confidentiality of information, communication of adverse information, and other related issues need to be addressed in well-constructed policies and procedures. Certain types of background checks may require a signed release by the resident or disclosure of the results by the requesting organization. Policies such as this should be reviewed by legal counsel prior to implementation.
…..
To protect residents, family, and staff, LTC facilities should assess their needs, understand the risks and threats inherent in their unique environment, and develop strategies to address them. Following this course of action will help to ensure that the residents' golden years will not be tarnished.
By Elliot A. Boxerbaum, CPP, and Patrick F. Donaldson
Security Management, May 2005
As the U.S. population ages, and more people reside in long-term-care facilities, security professionals must learn to assess and address the unique risks of these facilities.
According to the United States Census Bureau's projections on aging, more than 40 million U.S. citizens will be of retirement age by 2010, including approximately 6.1 million who will be 85 years old or older. By 2050, the government projects that some 86.7 million Americans will be age 65 and above and 20.9 million will be 85 or older. Many of these people will enter eldercare facilities, convalescent care centers, extended care facilities, and independent living or congregant care communities. And because residents of these facilities are often weak and vulnerable, the potential for them to be victimized is great. Among the threats are theft of personal property, abuse, physical assault, diversion of assets, extortion, and other crimes. Security professionals must know how to assess and address the risks.
Long-term-care facilities vary greatly in size, but whatever the size of the facility, it will face some of the same issues, many of which are unique to that environment. For example, during hospital stays, patients are encouraged to leave valuable items and keepsakes at home. But for many individuals, the long-term-care facility is their primary domicile, and residents bring these items with them. Thus, security of those items must be addressed.
Unfortunately, as residents continue to age, their memories and cognitive abilities may deteriorate to the level of unreliability. Because of this, reported incidents of property loss are sometimes written off as imagined events and not fully investigated. That type of response clearly does not serve the residents or the facility well.
Currently, the long-term-care (LTC) community includes more than 20,500 nursing homes. Most are for-profit institutions, placing them squarely in the purview of private security. However, a recent search of the ASIS International membership revealed fewer than a dozen members who list nursing homes, long-term-care facilities, convalescent facilities, or similar organizations as their primary employer. Based on the authors' experiences, this is because security services to the eldercare facilities are generally provided by contractors who report to facility administrators. In some instances, security is the responsibility of the maintenance or nursing supervisor. At hospital-based facilities, by contrast, there is usually an in-house security director or manager. Perhaps as the LTC industry matures, its approach to security will also evolve.
…..
Those within. Crimes at LTC facilities are not limited to those perpetrated by trespassers or burglars. Staff may also pose threats, especially as a resident's vulnerability increases and he or she becomes more dependent on caregivers. Elements to consider when assessing threats within an LTC environment include current employee recruitment processes, screening and background checks, and supervision of employees.
In some communities, the demand for entry-level resident care and custodial workers is high. Staff turnover in these jobs is also high, and some organizations have chosen to reduce costs by cutting back on reference checks that provide vitally important information about potential employees. These organizations run the risk of both increased security incidents and increased resultant liability costs. Negative publicity could also taint the reputation of the facility.
Additionally, the facility's incident reporting policies and procedures should be reviewed, as well as resident property tracking and management, and the training and regular reevaluation of both the security and care staff. Internal security audits should also be studied.
Another concern is the threat that residents may pose to one another. For example, more than 400 registered sex offenders were LTC residents, according to a 2004 study, "Predators in America's Nursing Homes, Registered Sex Offenders Residing in Nursing Homes Analysis," conducted by A Perfect Cause, a disability and elder-rights advocacy organization.
The study identified one 144-bed skilled-care and intermediate-care facility in Ohio as the residence of 15 registered sex offenders-more than half of whom were convicted rapists. A Missouri nursing home mentioned in the study was reportedly the home of 12 sexual offenders. The study also cited multiple cases of offenders committing assaults and rapes in the facilities where they were housed.
Because of these incidents, LTC providers and advocacy groups debate whether a facility has a responsibility to notify residents and their families when residents who may pose a threat-especially registered sex offenders-are admitted.
One way to address the risk of patient-on-patient crime is a patient-background screening program similar to employee preemployment screening. Checking the backgrounds of residents can be controversial, however.
If patient background checks are conducted, the intent should not be to reject a resident, but rather to provide the facility with information that it may need to ensure the safety of that resident, other residents, visitors, and staff. Confidentiality of information, communication of adverse information, and other related issues need to be addressed in well-constructed policies and procedures. Certain types of background checks may require a signed release by the resident or disclosure of the results by the requesting organization. Policies such as this should be reviewed by legal counsel prior to implementation.
…..
To protect residents, family, and staff, LTC facilities should assess their needs, understand the risks and threats inherent in their unique environment, and develop strategies to address them. Following this course of action will help to ensure that the residents' golden years will not be tarnished.
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