Revision: Jan. 17, 2013, midnight
HB 295 – AS INTRODUCED
2013 SESSION
05/04
HOUSE BILL 295
AN ACT requiring criminal background checks for volunteers and employees at youth skill camps.
SPONSORS: Rep. LeBrun, Hills 32; Rep. Harding, Graf 13
COMMITTEE: Resources, Recreation and Development
This bill requires criminal background checks for volunteers and employees at youth skill camps.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
13-0547
05/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Thirteen
AN ACT requiring criminal background checks for volunteers and employees at youth skill camps.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Subdivision; Youth Skill Camps. Amend RSA 170-E by inserting after section 50 the following new subdivision:
Youth Skill Camps
170-E:51 Youth Skill Camps.
I. For the purposes of this subdivision:
(a) “Youth skill camp” means any camp operated by a private entity for the purpose of teaching a skill to minors. Such camps include the teaching of sports, the arts, and scientific inquiry.
(b) “Staff” means employees employed by the youth skill camp or its organizing entity and volunteers at the youth skill camp.
II. A youth skill camp shall submit to the department, the names, birth names, birth dates, and addresses of current staff and other information required by the department as prescribed by rules adopted by the commissioner under RSA 541-A. The persons described in this paragraph shall submit directly to the department of safety a notarized criminal history records release form, as provided by the New Hampshire division of state police, which authorizes the release of the person’s criminal records, if any, to the department. The person shall submit with the release form a complete set of fingerprints taken by a qualified law enforcement agency or an authorized employee of the department of safety. The department of safety shall complete the criminal history records check and forward such record, if any, to the department. In the event that the first set of fingerprints is invalid due to insufficient pattern, a second set of fingerprints shall be necessary to complete the criminal history records check. If, after 2 attempts, a set of fingerprints is invalid due to insufficient pattern, the department may, in lieu of the criminal history records check, accept police clearances from every city, town, or county where the person has lived during the past 5 years.
III.(a) The department shall, for every name submitted on an application, in the registration process, and for each individual for whom information is required to be submitted pursuant to paragraph II, review the names, birth names, birth dates, and current and previous addresses of such persons against the state registry of founded abuse and neglect reports.
(b) The department of safety shall submit the criminal history records release form to the New Hampshire division of state police, which shall conduct a criminal history records check through its records and, upon the request of the youth skill camp operator, through the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Upon completion of the background investigation, the division of state police shall release copies of the criminal conviction records to the department. The department shall maintain the confidentiality of all criminal history records information received pursuant to this paragraph.
(c) The costs of criminal history record checks shall be borne by the youth skill camp or the private entity that runs the camp; provided, that the youth skill camp may require a staff applicant to pay the actual costs of the criminal history check of the employee or volunteer.
IV. If a staff member of one youth skill camp is offered employment or volunteers at another youth skill camp, the individual shall not be required to submit a new set of fingerprints and undergo a new criminal records check through the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as required in subparagraph III(b), provided that the individual has submitted fingerprints and undergone such a criminal records check under this section within 3 years of the individual’s first day of employment or volunteer service at the original youth skill camp. Before entering employment or volunteering with the new youth skill camp, the individual shall undergo a New Hampshire state criminal records check through the department of safety.
V. If any individual whose name has been submitted for a check under this section has been convicted of a violent or sexually-related crime against a child, or of a crime which shows that the person might be reasonably expected to pose a threat to a child, such as a violent crime or a sexually-related crime against an adult, the department shall inform the youth skill camp or organizing private entity that the individual poses a threat to children and give the youth skill camp or organizing private entity an opportunity to take immediate corrective action to remove the individual from the youth skill camp, and, in conjunction with the department, to develop a corrective action plan, approved by the department, which shall ensure that the individual will not be on the premises of the youth skill camp and shall have no contact with children enrolled in the youth skill camp.
VI. The commissioner shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to the confidentiality of information collected under this section and to the release, if any, of such information.
VII. The criminal background check otherwise required under this section shall not apply to any employee or volunteer who, within the last 3 years, has had a criminal background check as a condition of employment or volunteerism.
VIII. The requirements of this section shall not apply to youth recreation camps licensed by the department of environmental services under RSA 485-A.
2 New Subparagraph; Licensing as Child Care Agency; Exceptions. Amend RSA 170-E:3, I by inserting after subparagraph (h) the following new subparagraph:
(i) Youth skill camps as provided in RSA 170-E:51.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 30 days after its passage.