CCLU News and Updates
The latest news, information, and communications for child care providers in New Hampshire!
September 13, 2024
As you know, as part of the background record check (BRC) process, individuals who lived in states other than NH in the previous 5 years are required to complete an abuse and neglect registry check for those states.
Effective October 1, 2024 we will be implementing the out-of-state criminal record checks required by the 2014 CCDF Reauthorization Act. The Bureau of Child Development and Head Start Collaboration (BCDHSC) and the Child Care Licensing Unit (CCLU) have been working on the process for complying with the out-of-state criminal background record check requirement for individuals who lived in another state within the previous 5 years.
What this means: As of October 1, 2024, when individuals who lived in another state within the previous 5 years submit for a BRC in NHCIS, the email they receive after submission will include a link to the website that includes instructions for both the abuse and neglect registry checks and the criminal record checks for each state and U.S. territory.
The CCLU website will be updated on October 1, 2024. The information for the out-of-state criminal checks and the abuse and neglect registries will be together, so individuals can select the state and find both processes described.
Will everyone who lived out of state in the previous 5 years need to complete a criminal record check for those states?
The good news is, not all individuals who lived out of state will be required to complete additional requests for criminal records information. Twenty-six (26) states are known as NFF Participation states, which means that the fingerprint check results received from the FBI provides all the information from those states' criminal records. Twenty-four (24) states, Washington D.C., and U.S. territories are not NFF states, and so individuals from those states/areas will require the additional information as described above. The see this list, go to the FBI website. "Participation Only" are the states that will require additional information. "NFF Participation" states will NOT require additional information, as the state criminal results are provided through the FBI fingerprint results.
The BRC website will clearly indicate if out-of-state criminal requests are required. The abuse and neglect registry process is not changing. The registry check is conducted for findings of abuse and neglect, and is not a criminal record check.
Will this further delay eligibility determinations and when individuals can start?
Individuals will still be able to work under supervision once CCLU receives the results of their FBI checks, provided the individuals submitted all the required out-of-state information so that CCLU has a complete BRC request. Based on federal requirements, we cannot make a final eligibility determination until we receive results from all background checks or 45 days from the submission of a complete BRC request, whichever occurs first.
Will there be additional fees?
Each state's criminal records unit determines the fees charged, which will be indicated on the website. The fees range from $50.00, with many between $15.00-$25.00.
Please let us know if you have any questions!
June 7, 2024
Effective Immediately - Eligibility cards are no longer required.
Governor Sununu has signed legislation which removed the requirement for eligibility cards. The legislation's effective date is July 1, 2024, but we will begin to return any eligibility card fees we receive starting today. NHCIS is in development to remove references to the card and payment as well.
July 8, 2024
CCLU is requesting all child care programs read this notification carefully. We are finding that programs are not compliant with the background record check (BRC) process, and we hope this communication will assist with compliance.
Every employee/household member must be on the program's Staff Roster in the NH Connections Information System portal (NHCIS) with an Eligibility Status of:
- "Eligible"; OR
- "Pending" with an Application Status of "Working Under Supervision."
If individuals in your program are not on your Staff Roster, or their status is Ineligible or Pending only, they cannot be in the program until they have completed the BRC process and have one of the statuses noted about. This includes staff whose expiration dates are in the past; once expired, their status is changed to "Ineligible."
Staff who previously completed the BRC process must remain Eligible by completing the process every 5 years. When staff leave employment and do not work in a licensed NH child care program for more than 180 days, their eligibility expires, and their status is changed to "Ineligible."
You can review the Staff Roster by logging into your portal: NHCIS
- "Eligible" means the staff has a current BRC and can be in the program.
- "Ineligible" means the staff does not have current BRC and cannot be present in the program until they are deemed eligible.
- "Pending" means the staff are not eligible to work because they are awaiting BRC results UNLESS the Application status on the Staff Roster indicates "Working Under Supervision," which indicates CCLU has received and reviewed the NH State and FBI results, but the results for their out-of-state submission(s) have not yet been received/reviewed.
For assistance on understanding the Staff Roster, updating it when staff leave, and the BRC process in NHCIS, please review the NHCIS Guide.
When CCLU determines that an ineligible staff is at the program, a Directed Corrective Action Plan is immediately issued, and the employee cannot work until they completed the background record check process and are determined Eligible as noted above. This can cause tremendous disruption to programs as well as families, if exclusion of the staff means that there are not sufficient staff to care for the enrolled children. In addition, if a program repeats this citation, it can lead to enforcement action, such as assessment of administrative fines.
CCLU staff are available to answer questions on the process if you need further clarification after reviewing the guide. It is the responsibility of the program to ensure that their staff/household members complete the BRC process upon hire and every 5 years while they remain in the program. The Staff Roster was created to assist programs with compliance, and we want to ensure that programs understand it and refer to it regularly.
Thank you for your assistance in ensuring compliance with background record check requirements.
June 7, 2024
Effective Immediately - Eligibility cards are no longer required.
Governor Sununu has signed legislation which removed the requirement for eligibility cards. The legislation's effective date is July 1, 2024, but we will begin to return any eligibility card fees we receive starting today. NHCIS is in development to remove references to the card and payment as well.
June 7, 2024
As described in the NHCIS Guide under Injury Reporting, programs can report the serious injuries in NHCIS as described in rule:
He-C 4002.12 Record of Injury
(a) If any child has a serious injury while in the care of the program, consisting of fractures, dislocations, stitches, second or third degree burns, concussions, loss of consciousness, or requires emergency medical treatment or hospitalization, the family child care provider, center director, or site director shall:
- Immediately notify emergency personnel and the child's parents;
- Notify the department within 48 hours via e-mail, fax, or the NH Connections portal; and
- Within 7 days, provide the department a written report via e-mail, fax, of the NH Connections portal, detailing the nature and circumstances of the serious injury.
Programs are only required to report those specific items in the rule, and only those options are available in the drop down "Type of Incident" in NHCIS.
Please only report what is required in rule to the department. As described on the NH Connections website:
Serious Injury
- The Serious Injury and Death Report collects information on annual number of deaths, serious injuries and incidences of substantiated child abuse in a child care setting. "Serious injury" means any accident or illness occurring at the program that results in medical treatment by a physician or other heatlh care professional, hospitalization, or death.
- To view the current Serious Injury and Death Report, please click here.
The data for this report comes from the information submitted by providers in NHCIS or to our office. Therefore, please only report those instances that are required to be reported.
If you choose to submit the injury form to our office, those items required to be reported are bolded and noted with an asterisk.