IN HB1357

Employees of preventative providers, home-based family preservation services, child caring institutions, group homes, and child placing agencies must undergo federally required background checks within 4 years of hire and every 4 years thereafter, effective July 1, 2026.

Employees who complete a federally required background check for child welfare services are exempt from completing a separate background check when providing additional child welfare services for the same employer.

Criminal history checks for child caring institutions, group homes, and child placing agencies must cover applicants, directors/managers, employees, volunteers, and contractors with potential unsupervised contact with children.

New hires may begin employment before full background check completion if preliminary checks (fingerprint-based national crime database, sex offender registry, in-state criminal records, child protection index) are done and employment is limited to training without child contact or record access.

Applicants or facilities bear responsibility for background check fees, and individuals may request copies of their own criminal history reports from the state police department.