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*hb0281*
HOUSE BILL 281
E4, D4 EMERGENCY BILL (6lr0098)
ENROLLED BILL
— Judiciary/Judicial Proceedings —
Introduced by Chair, Judiciary Committee (By Request – Departmental – Public
Safety and Correctional Services)
Read and Examined by Proofreaders:
_______________________________________________
Proofreader.
_______________________________________________
Proofreader.
Sealed with the Great Seal and present ed to the Governor, for his approval this
_______ day of _______________ at ________________________ o’clock, ________M.
______________________________________________
Speaker.
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
Family Law – Child Care Providers – Criminal Background Investigations 2
FOR the purpose of altering provisions relating to criminal background investigations for 3
certain individuals who care for or supervise children; requiring certain facilities to 4
apply to the Criminal Justice Information System Central Repository for a national 5
and State criminal history records check for each employee, employer, individual, or 6
volunteer; altering provisions relating to the process under which a certain State or 7
local law enforcement agency conducts a ce rtain name –based check on certain 8
individuals; and generally relating to child care and criminal background 9
investigations. 10
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 11
Article – Family Law 12
Section 5–551(a) and (b), 5–555, and 5–559 13
2 HOUSE BILL 281
Annotated Code of Maryland 1
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 2
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 3
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 4
Article – Family Law 5
5–551. 6
(a) The following facilities shall require employees and employers to obtain a 7
criminal history records check under this Part V of this subtitle: 8
(1) a child care center required to be licensed under Title 9.5, Subtitle 4 of 9
the Education Article; 10
(2) a family child care home or large family child care home required to be 11
registered under Title 9.5, Subtitle 3 of the Education Article; 12
(3) a child care home required to be licensed [under this subtitle or] under 13
Title 9 of the Human Services Article; 14
(4) A CHILD CARE INSTITU TION REQUIRED TO BE LICENSED UNDER 15
THIS SUBTITLE BY AN ADMINISTRATION OF THE DEPARTMENT; 16
[(4)] (5) a child care institution required to be licensed [under this 17
subtitle or] under Title 9 of the Human Services Article; 18
[(5)] (6) a juvenile detention, correction, or treatment facility provided for 19
in Title 9 of the Human Services Article; 20
[(6)] (7) a public school as defined in Title 1 of the Education Article; 21
[(7)] (8) a private or nonpublic school required to report annually to the 22
State Board of Education under Title 2 of the Education Article; 23
[(8)] (9) a foster care family home or group facility as defined under this 24
subtitle; 25
[(9)] (10) a recreation center or recreation program operated by the State, 26
a local government, or a private entity primarily serving minors; 27
[(10)] (11) a day or residential camp, as defined in Title 10, Subtitle 16 of 28
the Code of Maryland Regulations, primarily serving minors; or 29
HOUSE BILL 281 3
[(11)] (12) a home health agency or residential service agency licensed by 1
the Maryland Department of Health and authorized under Title 19 of the Health – General 2
Article to provide home– or community–based health services for minors. 3
(b) The following individuals shall obtain a criminal history records check under 4
this Part V of this subtitle: 5
(1) an individual who is seeking to adopt a child through a child placement 6
agency; 7
(2) an individual who is seeking to become a guardian through a local 8
department; 9
(3) an individual whom the juvenile court appoints as a guardian of a child; 10
(4) an adult relative with whom a child, committed to a local department, 11
is placed by the local department; 12
(5) any adult known by a local department or the State Department of 13
Education to be residing in: 14
(i) a family child care home or large family child care home required 15
to be registered under this title; 16
(ii) a home where informal child care, as defined in child care subsidy 17
regulations adopted under Title 13A of the Code of Maryland Regulations, is being provided 18
or will be provided to a child who does not reside there; 19
(iii) a home of an adult relative of a child with whom the child, 20
committed to a local department, is placed by the local department; 21
(iv) a foster care home or child care home required to be approved 22
under this title; 23
(v) a home of an individual seeking to adopt a child through a child 24
placement agency; or 25
(vi) a home of an individual seeking to become a guardian through a 26
local department; 27
(6) an individual who agrees to provide, or to continue providing, informal 28
child care, as defined in child care subsidy regulations, adopted under Title 13A of the Code 29
of Maryland Regulations; [and] 30
(7) if requested by a local department: 31
4 HOUSE BILL 281
(i) a parent or guardian of a child who is committed to the local 1
department and is or has been placed in an out –of–home placement within the past year; 2
and 3
(ii) any adult known by the local department to be residing in the 4
home of the parent or guardian; AND 5
(8) AN ADULT OR AN INDIV IDUAL WHO IS NOT A R ELATIVE AND WHO 6
AGREES TO PROVIDE CARE AS A RE SULT OF A SUDDEN UNA VAILABILITY OF THE 7
CHILD’S PRIMARY CARETAKER, INCLUDING: 8
(I) A NEIGHBOR; 9
(II) A FRIEND; 10
(III) AN ACQUAINTANCE; 11
(IV) A COMMUNITY MEMBER; OR 12
(V) A COLLEAGUE OR COWOR KER OF THE CHILD ’S PRIMARY 13
CARETAKER. 14
5–555. 15
(a) The Department shall conduct the criminal history records checks required 16
under this Part V of this subtitle. 17
(b) (1) The facilities identified in § 5 –551(a) of this subtitle shall apply to the 18
Central Repository for a national and Sta te criminal history records check for each 19
employee, employer, individual, or volunteer. 20
(2) As part of an application for a criminal history records check, a facility 21
identified in § 5–551(a) of this subtitle shall submit to the Central Repository: 22
(i) a legible set of the employee’s, employer’s, individual’s, or 23
volunteer’s fingerprints taken in a format approved by the Director of the Central 24
Repository and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 25
(ii) the fee authorized under § 10–221(b)(7) of the Criminal 26
Procedure Article for access to State criminal history records; and 27
(iii) the mandatory processing fee required by the Federal Bureau of 28
Investigation for a national criminal history records check. 29
HOUSE BILL 281 5
(3) In accordance with §§ 10 –201 through 10 –229 of the Criminal 1
Procedure Article, the Central Repository shall forward the employee’s, employer’s, 2
individual’s, or volunteer’s [criminal history record information to]: 3
(i) STATE CRIMINAL HISTOR Y RECORD INFORMATION TO the 4
employee, employer, individual, or volunteer; and 5
(ii) NATIONAL CRIMINAL HI STORY RECORD INFORMA TION TO 6
the authorized agencies required to license, register, approve, or certify the facility 7
identified in § 5–551(a) of this subtitle. 8
(c) The Department shall update an initial criminal history records check for an 9
employee, employer, or individual identified in § 5–551(b), (c), (d), or (e) of this subtitle and 10
issue an updated records check in accordance with this subsection. 11
(d) The Department shall p rovide an applicant’s initial and updated State 12
criminal history record to: 13
(1) the recipients of the State criminal history record specified in 14
subsection (e) of this section; and 15
(2) the State Department of Education if the applicant is: 16
(i) an employee of or an adult resident in a child care center that is 17
required to be licensed or to hold a letter of compliance under Title 9.5, Subtitle 4 of the 18
Education Article; 19
(ii) an employee of or an adult resident in a family child care home 20
or large family child care home that is required to be registered under Title 9.5, Subtitle 3 21
of the Education Article; or 22
(iii) an individual who provides or agrees to provide informal child 23
care or an adult who resides in a home where informal child care i s being provided or will 24
be provided to a child who does not reside there. 25
(e) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, on receiving a 26
written request from an employee, the Department shall disseminate the national and 27
State criminal history records check to authorized agencies if the criminal history records 28
check was completed during the prior 180 days. 29
(2) On receiving a written request from a student teacher employed under 30
§ 6–107 of the Education Article, the Department shall disseminate the national and State 31
criminal history records check to authorized agencies if the criminal history records check 32
was completed during the prior 365 days. 33
(f) Information obtained from the Central Repository under this subtitle: 34
6 HOUSE BILL 281
(1) is confidential; 1
(2) may not be disseminated; and 2
(3) may be used only for the purposes authorized by this subtitle. 3
(g) The subject of a criminal history records check under this subtitle may contest 4
the contents of the national and State criminal history records check issued by the Central 5
Repository as provided in § 10–223 of the Criminal Procedure Article. 6
5–559. 7
(a) In this section, “emergency out –of–home placement” means an out –of–home 8
placement in which a local department places a child in th e home of [a private individual, 9
including a neighbor, friend, or relative,] AN INDIVIDUAL DESCRIBED IN § 5–551(B) OF 10
THIS SUBTITLE as a result of a sudden unavailability of the child’s primary caretaker. 11
(b) (1) [If] IN ADDITION TO THE RE QUIREMENTS UNDER § 5–551(B) OF 12
THIS SUBTITLE , IF a child is placed in an emergency out –of–home placement, a local 13
department may request that a designated State or local law enforcement agency in the 14
State [perform] CONDUCT a [federal] NATIONAL name–based check on any individual 15
described in [§ 5–551(b)(4), (5)(iii), and (7)(ii)] § 5–551(B) of this subtitle. 16
(2) The designated STATE OR LOCAL LAW EN FORCEMENT agency 17
described in paragraph (1) of this subsection may provide the results of the nam e–based 18
check to the local department. 19
(3) Within 15 calendar days after the [local department receives the results 20
of] DATE ON WHICH THE STATE OR LOCAL LAW EN FORCEMENT AGENCY PROVIDES 21
CONDUCTS the name–based check, the local department shall submit a c omplete set of 22
fingerprints to the Department for each individual described in paragraph (1) of this 23
subsection on whom a name–based check was [performed] CONDUCTED. 24
(4) [Within 15 calendar days after the name –based check] ON RECEIPT 25
OF THE COMPLETE SET OF FINGERPRINTS DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH (3) OF THIS 26
SUBSECTION, the Department shall perform a NATIONAL criminal history records check, 27
in accordance with § 5–555 of this subtitle. 28
(c) A child shall be removed immediately from an emergency out –of–home 29
placement if any individual required to submit to a name –based check refuses to submit 30
the follow–up fingerprints. 31
HOUSE BILL 281 7
(d) When the placement of a child in a home is denied as a result of a name–based 1
criminal history records check of an individual and the individual contests that denial, the 2
individual shall submit to the local department: 3
(1) a complete set of fingerprints; and 4
(2) written permission allowing the local department to forward the 5
fingerprints to the Department for submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 6
(e) An individual who is required to submit to a criminal history records check 7
under this section shall pay the fees required under § 5–551(g) of this subtitle. 8
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act is an emergency 9
measure, is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health or safety, has 10
been passed by a yea and nay vote supported by three –fifths of all the members elected to 11
each of the two Houses of the General Assembly, and shall take eff ect from the date it is 12
enacted. 13
Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.