Does your state require background checks for nursing-home employees? All of them? A new federal report says 92 percent of nursing homes employ someone with a criminal record, and "About 5 percent of nursing home workers—or one out of every 20—had at least one conviction, according to the report, which took a random sample of 260 nursing homes certified by Medicare and ran FBI background checks on their workers," writes Marian Wang of ProPublica, the nonprofit investigative news agency.
Most states require such facilities to check the backgrounds of applicants for employment, but the standards vary. The lack of national standards allows people convicted in one state to work in another—a more significant factor in states that border several other states and have population centers on the borders.
“The current system of background checks is haphazard, inconsistent and full of gaping holes in many states,” Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, told The New York Times. “Predators can easily evade detection during the hiring process, securing jobs that allow them to assault, abuse and steal from defenseless elders.”
Most states require such facilities to check the backgrounds of applicants for employment, but the standards vary. The lack of national standards allows people convicted in one state to work in another—a more significant factor in states that border several other states and have population centers on the borders.
“The current system of background checks is haphazard, inconsistent and full of gaping holes in many states,” Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, told The New York Times. “Predators can easily evade detection during the hiring process, securing jobs that allow them to assault, abuse and steal from defenseless elders.”
Where *should* those with criminal past seek employment?
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