Last week, LeadingAge Ohio reached out to the Ohio Attorney General’s (AG) office regarding persistent delays experienced by aging services providers since the implementation of new software in July related to Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) background checks. According to the AG’s office, while the new software has been rolled out, it caused a slowdown in the non-automated processes related to background checks. Staffing shortages have further exacerbated the backlog.
BCI has added additional staff to help clear the backlog and currently forecasts being caught up to a two-week turnaround by late October. BCI further clarified that the only checks that are impacted are those that require a manual review. These are the records that have anything on them, whether just a charge or conviction or expunged record. Another factor that can trigger a manual review is if the fingerprint isn't clean, so providers are advised to take extra care in getting a clear print.
LeadingAge Ohio also reached out to the Ohio Department of Health to notify them of the delays, concerned that providers could be cited for the timeliness in the hiring process. LeadingAge Ohio encourages any member who is otherwise compliant but is cited on this issue to elevate it to Stephanie DeWees at sdewees@leadingageohio.org.