As part of my job as Team Assistant for Cariant Health Partners, I work with our travelers on the logistics of placing them in their facilities—from how they’re going to get there to where they’re going to live to all of the details that go along with new employment.
One said detail that is becoming more and more challenging is the Criminal Background Check. Cariant conducts an employment background check on every traveler hired. This includes every state that you have lived and worked in and the state you are going to. Every state has different requirements for their background checks—some of them take just a few days but some, like Florida, New Mexico, Nevada and Wyoming, can take as long as four to six weeks.
The practice of fingerprint checking is also becoming more and more common in pre-employment screening. I send out specific state-issued fingerprint cards that a person has to take to a law enforcement agency to be fingerprinted and completed. Also, the requirements of these fingerprint checks are constantly evolving. For instance, New Mexico now requires three separate fingerprint cards for employment. In addition, more states are utilizing LiveScan for their fingerprint process which can streamline the process a little.
And let me be clear, these background checks are completely separate from any background checks that you may have completed in the licensure process. Again each state is different so it’s important to know its particular requirements.
It’s also important for potential travelers to be very upfront and clear about any criminal past. If you have a felony, chances are we will not be able to place you. If it was a misdemeanor and something that happened when you were “young and naive,” chances are we can. It’s important that we know about these things before they are found in background checks, so there are no surprises. It’s a case-by-case scenario for whether a facility hires someone based on the results of their background checks, but the sooner we know, the better.
All of these details and different requirements per state add to the time that it takes to place therapists in new positions. At Cariant, we try to make sure our therapists are in the know and have plenty of time to work out the details for each of their travel assignments.