An Audit Report on Agencies' and Higher Education Institutions' Background Check Procedures
March 2008
Report Number 08-024
Overall Conclusion
According to the results of a State Auditor's Office survey, the majority of state agencies and higher education institutions that are authorized to conduct background checks reported that they performed these checks. Of the 157 agencies and institutions surveyed, 130 (83 percent) reported that they conducted checks on employees, contractors, licensees, service providers, or students.
More than 100 statutes authorize the agencies and institutions that auditors surveyed to access the Department of Public Safety's criminal history record information. Some statutes provide this authority to all agencies and institutions, while other statutes are specific to individual agencies or institutions.
Survey results indicate that agencies and institutions apply certain statutes regarding background checks differently. A few agencies and institutions that are not authorized by statute to access the Department of Public Safety's secure Web site for criminal history record information still conduct these checks as a matter of agency policy. Other agencies and institutions do not conduct checks, even though they are authorized to access criminal history record information.
State agencies and higher education institutions should develop or improve policies and procedures for conducting background checks.
Opportunities exist for the 130 agencies and institutions that conduct checks to develop or improve their policies and procedures regarding these checks. Auditors identified 24 agencies and institutions (or 18 percent of the 130 agencies and institutions) that do not have written policies and procedures.
Auditors also developed a model for background check policies and procedures based on federal and state statutes and best practices. This model, which includes basic and best practice elements, was used as a benchmark to analyze agencies' and institutions' policies and procedures. Using this model, auditors identified opportunities for the 106 agencies and institutions that do have policies and procedures to improve these policies and procedures.
Certain state agencies and higher education institutions could benefit from conducting background checks.
Employees, Licensees, and Contractors
Of the 157 agencies and institutions surveyed, 31 (20 percent) reported that, while they are authorized to conduct checks on employees, licensees, or contractors, they do not conduct checks on all positions for which they are authorized.
The following four agencies and one higher education institution have statutory authority to conduct background checks but reported they did not conduct any checks:
- The Commission on Environmental Quality.
- The Board of Tax Professional Examiners.
- The Office of the State Prosecuting Attorney.
- The State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
- The Texas State University System.
Six agencies that reported they have the authority to conduct checks on one or more employee/staff positions also reported they did not conduct any checks on these positions. These agencies included:
- The Board of Examiners of Psychologists.
- The Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.
- The Commission on Fire Protection.
- The Credit Union Department.
- The Health and Human Services Commission.
- The Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Students Enrolled in Certain Academic Majors
Higher education institutions do not have specific state statutory authority to access students' criminal history record information. Forty-eight of the institutions surveyed reported they offered at least one of the academic majors listed in the State Auditor's Office's survey, but 15 of those institutions reported they did not conduct any checks on students enrolled in those majors. Some of the institutions that did not conduct student checks relied on school districts and other facilities that accept students for practice teaching, clinical practice, or internships to conduct these checks.
Types of Background Checks Conducted by Agencies and Institutions
Forty-three percent of all background checks that agencies and institutions conduct are name-based checks that use the Department of Public Safety's secure Web site. This type of check costs $1.00 and is the least expensive. In contrast, a fingerprint check may cost between $15.00 and $44.20, depending upon the type of fingerprint service (state or federal) and the cost of fingerprint acquisition. Furthermore, a fingerprint check is more accurate than a name-based check and can be more complete if conducted through the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System.
The Department of Public Safety provides a free service through which it retains fingerprints and can notify agencies and institutions of subsequent arrests of employees, licensees, or contractors whose fingerprints are on record. Although a fingerprint check is more expensive than a name-based check, conducting fingerprint checks could reduce the need for repeat checks and reduce the costs associated with these repeat checks.
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