Georgia facilities check owners and workers before hiring

Facilities and license applicants must arrange background and registry checks for owners, applicants, and workers. These rules cover community living arrangements, licensed drug treatment programs, and adult residential mental health programs. Owners include people with direct or indirect ownership interests. Direct access workers have routine personal contact with clients or access to their property or financial information; some outside service providers are excluded. A registry check comes before the criminal background check. A professional license check is required when applicable. The checks include state and national criminal records. Facilities may use additional screening methods. Checks are required with an application for a new facility license and before hiring an applicant or allowing a current employee to work.

Facilities must not hire or keep certain people who fail a check, and the department must act on ineligible findings. These rules apply to covered applicants and employees, including people barred by a registry result, certain substantiated abuse, neglect, or property misuse findings, or an ineligible criminal record determination. They also apply to facility owners. A worker may be kept during an administrative review or appeal. A person whose professional license is not in good standing may work in a role that does not require that license if they provide a fingerprint check determination. The department must take steps to end an ineligible employee's employment and revoke a facility license when an owner is ineligible. A facility that knowingly or reasonably should know it employs a disqualified person may face $500 per day, capped at $10,000; no penalty applies during an allowed review or appeal period. The daily fine runs from when the facility knew or should have known of the violation until the worker's employment ends, subject to the review and appeal exception.

Owners, applicants, and workers may challenge certain findings and appeal disqualifying decisions. The appeal process covers owners, applicants, and employees with an ineligible determination or registry listing. License refusal or revocation applies when the owner has such a finding. Department rules may provide an administrative review, which must be completed before an appeal. In an appeal hearing, the officer must consider time since the crime, later charges, the circumstances, and signs of rehabilitation. A facility owner with an ineligible finding or registry listing may not operate or hold a license, and the department must refuse or revoke the facility's license. Owners, applicants, and employees must complete any administrative review offered by department rules before filing an appeal.