Background checks; pardons

(A) A person seeking employment with a child welfare agency for a position with direct unsupervised contact with children must undergo a state fingerprint-based background check to be conducted by the State Law Enforcement Division to determine any state criminal history and a fingerprint-based background check to be conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine any other criminal history. A person seeking to serve as a volunteer with a child welfare agency for a position with direct unsupervised contact with children must undergo a state fingerprint-based background check to be conducted by the State Law Enforcement Division to determine any state criminal history and a fingerprint-based background check to be conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine any other criminal history. Additionally, the persons described in this section must also undergo a check of the State Central Registry of Child Abuse and Neglect, DSS department records, the equivalent registry system for each state in which the person has resided for five years preceding an application for employment or as a volunteer, the National Sex Offender Public Website, and the state sex offender registry. (B) The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are authorized to retain and store fingerprints for further use in the identification of persons including, but not limited to, use in identifying unsolved latent prints. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are authorized to provide the department with current and future information regarding the fingerprints stored, including arrests, convictions, dispositions, warrants, and other information available to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, such as civil and criminal information. (C) Costs for Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprint-based background checks required for prospective employees of a child welfare agency must be paid by the individual or entity requesting the background checks. (D) When a provision of law or regulation provides for a criminal history background check in connection with licensing, placement, service as a volunteer, or employment with a child welfare agency, the provision of law or regulation may not operate to prohibit licensing, placement, service as a volunteer, or employment when a conviction or plea of guilty or nolo contendere has been pardoned. However, notwithstanding the entry of a pardon, the department, child welfare agency, or employer may consider all information available, including the person's pardoned convictions or pleas and the circumstances surrounding them, to determine whether the person is unfit or otherwise unsuited for licensing, placement, service as a volunteer, or employment.