Consumers with Backgrounds

1. Consumers with Backgrounds Embedded Barriers

2. Job Placement for Ex-offenders  Training Objectives 1. Identify suitable employment goals for people with criminal background history. 2. How to develop employment resources for the people with criminal background history.

3. What does consumer need? • ID • Social Security Card • Housing • Job • Transportation

4. Consumer A • Started attending ATI ($18,000.00 Debt) • HVAC training • BackOut of prison for 7 months • ground (Burglary, theft etc…) • Depression

5. 4.3.2 Criminal Background Checks 4.3.2 Criminal Background Checks (Added 06/08, Revised 12/09, 03/10, 02/11) Some licensing entities (such as the Texas Board of Nursing) require a criminal background check (CBC) before they will issue a license. Some training programs (for example, security guard training) may also require a CBC before they will admit a person for training. If the consumer is interested in an employment goal in one of these types of occupations, you should obtain a CBC before completing the IPE. DARS has been granted authority (Texas Government Code, Section 411.117 and Texas Human Resources Code, Section 111.058) to obtain a CBC on consumers from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). To request a CBC on a consumer, see the guidance document, Procedure for Requesting a Criminal Background Check (CBC). You should discuss the results of the CBC with the consumer. Provide a copy of the CBC to the consumer if he or she makes a written request. For more information, see Business Procedures Manual, Chapter 20: Confidentiality and Use of Consumer Records and Information, 20.8.3 Release of Consumer Criminal History Records Obtained from the Department of Public Safety, and 20.10.4 Release of Information Contained in Criminal History Records. Because CBC reports are critical to the decision-making process, they must be maintained as a permanent part of a consumer’s case record, but should not be kept in the paper case file. In accordance with your unit procedures, maintain CBCs in a separate confidential file where you can access them as necessary. CBC reports are often incomplete and difficult to interpret. Consult your supervisory chain, and Legal Services, if necessary, for assistance in interpreting them.

6. Planning & Assessing Purpose

7. Criminal History Evaluation Letter

9. Determination of Eligibility Request

10. Criminal History Questionnaire

11. Determination of Eligibility

13. If you want to find out if your DRS consumer can obtain an occupational license in the State of Texas, you can go through the following procedures to find out if your consumer would be granted a license before he/she enters training for that occupation or starts looking for work in that occupation; for example, cosmetologist or barber. Steps: VRC counsels with the consumer that you may or may not be able to support the consumer with his/her chosen occupation or training for that certain occupation that requires a license in the State of Texas.  You will need to do a criminal background check (CBC) on the consumer.  If the consumer wants a copy of the CBC, the consumer will need to sign the release form (RPM 4.3.2). Go to your Unit MSS and request a criminal background check on your consumer. MSS gives the consumer’s CBC to the VRC to view.  Only approved staff can view CBCs.  Are you an approved staff? Ask the MSS? VRC counsels with the consumer about his/her CBC only if the consumer signed the DARS 1517-2 form. VRC with the assistance of the consumer completes the “CRIMINAL HISTORY QUESTIONNAIRE” form (see attachment). VRC generates a purchase order to TDLR for $25 fee (see below for instructions on how to issue the PO). TDLR will mail a letter to the VRC stating if the consumer is eligible to be granted a State of Texas license for that occupation. VRC counsels with the consumer the results of the letter.  If the letter states that the consumer would be granted a Texas license in that occupation then the VRC can proceed with determining if DRS will sponsor the consumer with training in that occupation and job placement assistance in that occupation.  However, if the letter states that the State of Texas will not grant the consumer a license in that occupation then the VRC should not sponsor the consumer in training or employment assistance pertaining to that occupation.  The VRC can only consult with his/her mentor or the Area Manager before counseling with the consumer regarding denial of VR services that occupation the consumer wants a license in.   The VRC must always remember to use “Best Business Practice” and “Ethics”.  Also, the VRC is a good steward of “public funds” (RPM Chapter 1) when making decides to sponsor or not to sponsor and use VR services/funds for a consumer in a pertain occupation.

14. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation  Vendor # 3-452452452-6002  Cost $25 ReHabWorks – Service Record Code Description 94101   Level 1 = Testing, Licenses, Certifications, Board Exams and Related Fees and Services - MC [94101] 94101-97342    Level 2 = Testing, License, Certification, Board Examination or Other Related Fees [94101-97342] Purchase order put into the COMMENT Box - “Determination of Eligibility Request – Criminal History Evaluation” if the DRS consumer can obtain a Texas license.   Purchase order punt into the COMMENT BOX – “Interagency Voucher Code:  RTI 1930”. (RTI = recurring transaction index) The fee cost $25 per request. http://www.license.state.tx.us/crimHistoryEval.htm#requestForms

15. HEALTH CARE FACILITIES • Sec. 250.006.  CONVICTIONS BARRING EMPLOYMENT. (a)  A person for whom the facility or the individual employer is entitled to obtain criminal history record information may not be employed in a facility or by an individual employer if the person has been convicted of an offense listed in this subsection: • (1)  an offense under Chapter 19, Penal Code (criminal homicide); • (2)  an offense under Chapter 20, Penal Code (kidnapping and unlawful restraint); • (3)  an offense under Section 21.02, Penal Code (continuous sexual abuse of young child or children), or Section 21.11, Penal Code (indecency with a child); • (4)  an offense under Section 22.011, Penal Code (sexual assault); • (5)  an offense under Section 22.02, Penal Code (aggravated assault); • (6)  an offense under Section 22.04, Penal Code (injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual); • (7)  an offense under Section 22.041, Penal Code (abandoning or endangering child); • (8)  an offense under Section 22.08, Penal Code (aiding suicide); • (9)  an offense under Section 25.031, Penal Code (agreement to abduct from custody); • (10)  an offense under Section 25.08, Penal Code (sale or purchase of a child); • (11)  an offense under Section 28.02, Penal Code (arson); • (12)  an offense under Section 29.02, Penal Code (robbery); • (13)  an offense under Section 29.03, Penal Code (aggravated robbery); • (14)  an offense under Section 21.08, Penal Code (indecent exposure); • (15)  an offense under Section 21.12, Penal Code (improper relationship between educator and student); • (16)  an offense under Section 21.15, Penal Code (improper photography or visual recording); • (17)  an offense under Section 22.05, Penal Code (deadly conduct); • (18)  an offense under Section 22.021, Penal Code (aggravated sexual assault); • (19)  an offense under Section 22.07, Penal Code (terroristic threat); • (20)  an offense under Section 33.021, Penal Code (online solicitation of a minor); • (21)  an offense under Section 34.02, Penal Code (money laundering); • (22)  an offense under Section 35A.02, Penal Code (Medicaid fraud); • (23)  an offense under Section 36.06, Penal Code (obstruction or retaliation); • (24)  an offense under Section 42.09, Penal Code (cruelty to livestock animals), or under Section 42.092, Penal Code (cruelty to nonlivestock animals); or

16. Prohibited Backgrounds cont. • (25)  a conviction under the laws of another state, federal law, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice for an offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements of an offense listed by this subsection. • (b)  A person may not be employed in a position the duties of which involve direct contact with a consumer in a facility or may not be employed by an individual employer before the fifth anniversary of the date the person is convicted of: • (1)  an offense under Section 22.01, Penal Code (assault), that is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor or as a felony; • (2)  an offense under Section 30.02, Penal Code (burglary); • (3)  an offense under Chapter 31, Penal Code (theft), that is punishable as a felony; • (4)  an offense under Section 32.45, Penal Code (misapplication of fiduciary property or property of a financial institution), that is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor or a felony; • (5)  an offense under Section 32.46, Penal Code (securing execution of a document by deception), that is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor or a felony; • (6)  an offense under Section 37.12, Penal Code (false identification as peace officer); or • (7)  an offense under Section 42.01(a)(7), (8), or (9), Penal Code (disorderly conduct). • (c)  In addition to the prohibitions on employment prescribed by Subsections (a) and (b), a person for whom a facility licensed under Chapter 242 or 247 is entitled to obtain criminal history record information may not be employed in a facility licensed under Chapter 242 or 247 if the person has been convicted: • (1)  of an offense under Section 30.02, Penal Code (burglary); or • (2)  under the laws of another state, federal law, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice for an offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements of an offense under Section 30.02, Penal Code. • (d)  For purposes of this section, a person who is placed on deferred adjudication community supervision for an offense listed in this section, successfully completes the period of deferred adjudication community supervision, and receives a dismissal and discharge in accordance with Section 5(c), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, is not considered convicted of the offense for which the person received deferred adjudication community supervision.

17. LCDC • Sec. 504.1525. CERTAIN GROUNDS FOR LICENSE, REGISTRATION, OR CERTIFICATION REFUSAL; EXCEPTION. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the department may not issue a license, registration, or certification under this chapter to an applicant who has been: • (1) convicted or placed on community supervision during the five years preceding the date of application in any jurisdiction for an offense equal to a Class B misdemeanor specified by executive commissioner rule; • (2) convicted or placed on community supervision in any jurisdiction for an offense equal to or greater than a Class A misdemeanor specified by executive commissioner rule; or • (3) found to be incapacitated by a court on the basis of a mental defect or disease. • (b) The department may issue a license to a person convicted or placed on community supervision in any jurisdiction for a drug or alcohol offense described by Subsection (a)(1) or (2) if the department determines that the applicant has successfully completed participation in an approved peer assistance program. • (c) Subsection (a) does not apply to an applicant who has, with respect to Subsection (a)(1) or (2), received a full pardon based on the person's wrongful conviction or, with respect to Subsection (a)(3), been found by a court to no longer be incapacitated.

22. Sex Offender Registryhttps://records.txdps.state.tx.us/DPS_WEB/SorNew/index.aspx https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/DPS_WEB/SorNew/index.aspx

23. Texas Department of Correctionhttp://offender.tdcj.state.tx.us/POSdb2/index.jsp

24. Dallas County Criminal Backgroundhttp://www.dallascounty.org/criminalBackgroundSearch

25. Letter of Explanation or Impact Statement The person with the criminal background history need to prepare himself/herself for the job interview and how to explain his/her convictions in a short statement and what he/she is now doing with his/her life in a positive manner. Example: Yes, I was convicted of DWIs in California over seven years ago, but since then I have been sober for several years now. I have been putting my life in order by trying to find a job by going to the Workforce Center.

26. Example – Impact Statement I understand that you have questions about my background. I assure you that I have learned from my mistakes and have corrected past problems. I have spent time training for this career path because I am more mature now and have a solid plan for my future. If given the chance, I will give your company 100 percent effort. I will be at work early, and even stay late if necessary. I know you will not be disappointed if you hire me.

27. Occupations Person with criminal background history may be limited in the type of occupations that he/she can be trained in or apply for that type of occupation depending on the type of convictions. • Person needs to obtain a copy of his/her criminal background history to find out what types of convictions he/she has and if it is correct information. • What are the person’s transferrable skills? • Can the person’s transferrable skills go into another occupation? • If the person is on probation, what are his/her work restrictions?

28. Resource Texas Workforce Commission Workforce Centers www.twc.state.tx.us www.workintexas.com Free training, free resume writing classes, job search classes, etc.

29. RESOURCE The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has on-line employment support of for ex-offenders.  Their website offers information, tips, and resources to help people with criminal convictions overcome barriers they might face in their job search. There is also a wealth of information for counselors and others who work with individuals with criminal records. Through this website, you can find: State Resources – for help with basic needs or getting ready for job search Explore Careers – to learn more about work options Get Training – to improve skills or go back to school Find a Job – to search for and apply for jobs To access the Career One-Stop Ex-offender website,  go to: http://www.careeronestop.org/ExOffender/index.aspx