The Utah Department of Workforce Services wants to be sure that children getting care from family, friends and neighbors are in a safe environment.

A legislative committee agreed with that stance on Wednesday, passing out a bill that requires background checks for those child-care providers if they are getting state subsidies.

The Department of Workforce Services has about 15,000 Utah children whose care is subsidized. About 8,000 are in regulated facilities. About 6,000 are in unregulated settings, including an estimated 3,000 getting care from family, friends or neighbors.

The background checks would be required for providers and anyone age 12 or older where the care is being provided. If they have lived in Utah at least five years, the check would be a computerized check. If they have lived in Utah less than five years, they would have to submit to an FBI criminal background check.

At issue is safety. Lynette Rasmussen, director of the department's Office of Work and Family Life, which includes the Office of Child Care, said the department had received anecdotal information for years about such child-care providers having criminal backgrounds, so the department pulled a sample of 40 cases and matched them against a district court database.

Eleven providers had criminal backgrounds, including many with multiple charges and one felony. Some were on parole, while one had a pending warrant for her arrest.

The convictions against the 11 — all were grandparents except for one uncle — included child neglect, aggravated assault with a knife, driving under the influence, possession of narcotics equipment, operation of a meth lab, armed robbery, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, weapons charges and simple assault, Rasmussen said.

In each case, the providers had falsified their registration form with the Department of Workforce Services by checking a box indicating they had no one in their household convicted of a felony, a misdemeanor against a person or a supported finding of child abuse or neglect, she said.

Rasmussen said the department is doing all it can under current law. "However, we are not able to simply act on something," she told the committee. "We have to wait until we have a tip from someone or if we have reason to believe someone has not been truthful to us."

The bill also prohibits a child-care provider from letting a person convicted of a felony or certain misdemeanors provide subsidized child care or live where the child care is provided. A person who has committed "severe" child abuse or neglect also is barred from providing subsidized child care.

The Workforce Services and Community and Economic Development Interim Committee failed to approve the bill in October but switched its stance on Wednesday. The committee still wants one issue addressed — whether a provider gets their subsidy while the background check results are pending.

"I believe there's good merit to this legislation," said Sen. Fred Fife, D-Salt Lake.

"From regulated providers, our feedback has been that they're in support (of the bill) because they support children's safety," Rasmussen said after the meeting. "From family, friend or neighbor care providers, we have not spoken to them in the last month, but six months or so ago we did a study and asked them, 'If a background check was required, would it stop you from providing care or not?' And the majority thought it was a fair question, that if they're receiving federal or state funds that they should be accountable for providing a safe environment."

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