63.2-1724 - Records check by unlicensed child day center; penalty.

§ 63.2-1724. Records check by unlicensed child day center; penalty.

Any child day center that is exempt from licensure pursuant to § 63.2-1716shall require a prospective employee or volunteer or any other person who isexpected to be alone with one or more children enrolled in the child daycenter to obtain within 30 days of employment or commencement of volunteerservice, a search of the central registry maintained pursuant to § 63.2-1515on any founded complaint of child abuse or neglect and a criminal recordscheck as provided in subdivision A 11 of § 19.2-389 and shall refuseemployment or service to any person who has any offense defined in §63.2-1719. Such center shall also require a prospective employee or volunteeror any other person who is expected to be alone with one or more children inthe child day center to provide a sworn statement or affirmation disclosingwhether or not the applicant has ever been (i) the subject of a foundedcomplaint of child abuse or neglect, or (ii) convicted of a crime or is thesubject of pending criminal charges for any offense within the Commonwealthor any equivalent offense outside the Commonwealth. The foregoing provisionsshall not apply to a parent or guardian who may be left alone with his or herown child. For purposes of this section, convictions shall include prioradult convictions and juvenile convictions or adjudications of delinquencybased on a crime that would have been a felony if committed by an adultwithin or outside the Commonwealth. Any person making a materially falsestatement regarding any such offense shall be guilty of a Class 1misdemeanor. If an applicant is denied employment or service because ofinformation from the central registry or convictions appearing on hiscriminal history record, the child day center shall provide a copy of theinformation obtained from the central registry or Central Criminal RecordsExchange or both to the applicant. Further dissemination of the informationprovided to the facility is prohibited.

The provisions of this section referring to volunteers shall apply only tovolunteers who will be alone with any child in the performance of theirduties and shall not apply to a parent-volunteer of a child attending thechild day center whether or not such parent-volunteer will be alone with anychild in the performance of his duties. A parent-volunteer is someonesupervising, without pay, a group of children which includes theparent-volunteer's own child, in a program which operates no more than fourhours per day, where the parent-volunteer works under the direct supervisionof a person who has received a clearance pursuant to this section.

(1985, c. 360, § 63.1-198.2; 1987, cc. 130, 692, 693; 1993, cc. 730, 742;1998, cc. 551, 581; 2000, cc. 210, 248; 2002, c. 747; 2003, c. 467.)