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Overview of the CNCS
Criminal History Check
Compliance Assessment
Process
Assessment Period
October 13 to November
30, 2014
Background
CNCS staff, CNCS grantees and the Office of Inspector General
auditors are working together to eliminate grantee confusion and non-compliance
related to requirements for criminal history checks during monitoring
activities and audits. This message includes details on a required assessment
plan to ensure all grantees meet the CNCS requirements. In preparation for this
assessment period, we have identified the following specific challenges as
examples of what must be corrected:
CNCS staff, CNCS grantees and OIG auditors continue to
encounter grantee confusion and non-compliance related to CNCS’s requirements
for criminal history checks during monitoring activities and audits. We
continue to see the following:
-
Some grantees secured
checks through vendors and did not know the vendors were not using CNCS-designated state
repositories.
- Senior Corps grantees
did not conduct the required checks on program employees paid with grant funds.
-
NSOPW checks were not completed before participants started
service or staff were hired.
- State and/or FBI checks
were not initiated before participants started service or staff were hired.
- Some grantees
interpreted the regulations incorrectly and assumed their implementation was in
compliance when it was not.
- Some programs did not
adequately document that individuals with pending state or FBI checks were
always accompanied by another individual with a completed check until the pending
check was completed.
- Some programs assumed
training hours could be accrued prior to checks being completed.
-
Some programs assumed
there was the same 30-day period in which to complete the NSOPW as there is to
enroll AmeriCorps members in the Portal, and thus performed the check late.
- Some programs used
vendors that supplied incorrect checks.
Assessment
Plan
CNCS is
instituting an assessment period that will begin in mid-October and last for
six weeks. During that period all CNCS grantees and sub-grantees must
review the files of all currently serving national service participants and
currently employed staff to identify any criminal history checks that are not
compliant with CNCS requirements. Program staff will also be required to
undergo training during the assessment period. This assessment period is a
unique opportunity for grantees to conduct a thorough review of their records
and compliance policy and correct instances of non-compliance without
penalty. Any findings of non-compliance during this period will not
result in disallowed costs with the following exceptions:
- If the individual refused to
undergo the criminal history checks or self-certify, as applicable.
- If the individual gave a
false statement when the program inquired about his or her criminal history.
-
If a check component did not
clear and the individual was registered or required to be registered on a state
sex offender registry, or had been convicted of murder.
-
If a program has not
initiated the required checks (NSOPW, State, and/or FBI checks) on all
of the individuals actively working or serving in covered positions in their
program as of the start date of the assessment period.
This moratorium
on collection of costs will not apply to any pending questioned costs in OIG
audits. Decisions on disallowance in those cases will follow the normal audit
resolution process. The assessment period includes findings from
monitoring activities for which CNCS has not issued a debt collection letter.
CNCS will
require grantees to confirm that they have completed the required review,
document and report their findings to CNCS, and implement any corrective action
needed to achieve complete and accurate compliance by the end of the assessment
period, including conducting any missing criminal history check
components.
After the
assessment period, CNCS will issue formal guidance related to the consequences
for future non-compliance with the criminal history check requirements.
We are only requiring programs to review the results for currently serving
covered individuals. However, any findings of non-compliance identified
during routine monitoring for past national service participants and staff will
also not be disallowed if the program documents its self-assessment process,
took corrective action and is now compliant.
Next Steps
CNCS is
developing a toolkit for grantees to conduct the assessment and report
results. We will require certain staff members to take the online course
on criminal history check requirements and complete the assessment process by
November 30, 2014. CNCS is also developing online resources to train grantees on both the
criminal history check requirements and the assessment procedures. Materials,
including full instructions and frequently asked questions, will be distributed
in early October.
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