Section 800.110  Background Investigations

a)         No Transitional Housing applicant may receive a license from the Department, and no person may be employed by a licensed Transitional Housing facility, unless he or she provides written authorization for a background check that may include, but is not limited to:

1)         A check of the criminal justice information systems, including, but not limited to, those maintained by the Illinois Department of State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Department of Justice, to determine whether the person has been charged with a crime, and if so, the disposition of the charges; and

2)         A pre-employment drug test and an agreement to random drug testing when the Department or the facility has reasonable suspicion of abuse. 

b)         The authorization required under this Section shall be on forms prescribed by the Department and shall include:

1)         Identifying information consisting of name, address, social security number, date of birth, height, weight, hair and eye color, and previous names and addresses;

2)         Fingerprints;

3)         A declaration under penalty of perjury regarding any prior criminal convictions other than a minor traffic violation; and

4)         Authorization for the Department to release the results of the investigation to the governing body or employer.

c)         Each facility license applicant and employee or prospective employee of a licensed facility shall submit to a fingerprinting process as determined by the Department.

d)         For purposes of this Section only, employees who have been separated from the facility for six months or longer due to reasons other than approved leave time shall no longer be considered current employees.  Upon their return to active duty, these individuals shall be required to again authorize a background investigation pursuant to this Section.

e)         Employees and prospective employees of a multi-function agency otherwise exempt from the requirements of this Section, but whose duties may require that they be on the premises of a Transitional Housing facility, shall authorize the background investigation required by this Section.

f)         An individual who has authorized the background investigation required by this Section may be employed by a Transitional Housing facility on a provisional or probationary basis pending the outcome of any required background investigation of federal records.