CORI
Question And Answer
1. Question:
Are the regulations, 105 CMR 950.000, final regulations?
Answer: Yes. The regulations were initially adopted
as emergency regulations and were promulgated as final regulations,
effective July 19, 2002. The final regulations can be found at the
DPH’s website at http://www.state.ma.us/dph/topics/cori2/602fnlregsclean.htm.
Please note that the regulations on the website are an unofficial
version. The official version can be found at the State house bookstore.
2. Question: Do these regulations
(105 CMR 950.000) apply to my program?
Answer: These regulations apply only to DPH and
to vendor agency programs funded by DPH. The regulations set forth
the requirements for the hiring authority to conduct CORI checks
on candidates for employment or regular trainee or volunteer positions,
which entail the potential for unsupervised client contact. If you
are a private business that wishes to conduct background checks
on your employees, these regulations are not applicable. If you
are a private business and have questions about criminal background
checks, consult with your own counsel or contact the Criminal History
Systems Board (CHSB). The CHSB website is www.state.ma.us/chsb/cori.html
If you are a vendor that receives money from another state agency
other than DPH these regulations also are not applicable to you.
For vendors of other state agencies, please contact the appropriate
agency for its requirements.
3. Question: I have general questions
about the CORI process, including: What do the abbreviations on
the CORI report mean? How much does the CORI cost? How long will
it take for the CORI to be returned?
Answer: General questions regarding the CORI process
should be referred to the Criminal History Systems Board. For example,
a list of the abbreviations on the CORI report, both for disposition
and status can be found on the CHSB website at www.state.ma.us/chsb/CORI_ref.html. Questions regarding
the cost and the timing of the CORI report should also be addressed
to the CHSB. However, questions regarding the application of the
DPH regulations to the CORI report should be referred to DPH.
4. Question: Where do I get a
sample form for requesting a CORI report?
Answer: Once a vendor agency program is certified
by the CHSB to conduct CORI checks, the CHSB provides this form.
This is not a DPH form.
5. Question: What must be submitted
to DPH when a DPH vendor program decides to hire a candidate that
has a criminal history?
Answer: The hiring authority is required, under
105 CMR 950.106, to submit written documentation to DPH whenever
it decides to hire a candidate with a criminal offense listed on
Tables A-C. Please note, for submissions for candidates with an
offense that is on Table A, documentation from the candidate’s criminal
justice official or from a qualified mental health professional
is also required. Please refer to the DPH Criteria for Vendor Agency
Submissions to DPH, which can be found on the Department’s website
at http://www.state.ma.us/dph/topics/cori2/criteria.htm
6. Question: Does the exemption
under 105 CMR 950.107, if granted, exempt a program from all submissions
to DPH, or only from having to wait the five business days before
proceeding to hire a candidate that has a Table B offense?
Answer: The exemption under 105 CMR 950.107, if
granted, exempts a hiring authority from having to wait five business
days for the Commissioner’s review for a candidate with a Table
B offense, before it can proceed to hire the candidate. The exemption
does not apply to Table A offenses. The exemption, however, does
not exempt the hiring authority from submitting written documentation
to DPH. The submission is still required. The provision for submission
of documentation supporting the decision to hire, relates to both
105 CMR 106 (4)(a) and (b). The written submission is the basis
for DPH’s annual review of candidates hired that have Table C offenses
or that are operating under the exemption and have hired candidates
with Table B offenses.
7. Question: Who is responsible
for selecting the Qualified Mental Health Professional?
Answer: The vendor agency program. The candidate
may request an assessment by a Qualified Mental Health Professional;
however, pursuant to 105 CMR 950.105, it is the program’s obligation
to seek and pay for the assessment. Under the final regulations,
the program is permitted to utilize a Qualified Mental Health Professional
who is employed by the vendor agency program.
8. Question: Can the candidate
for employment appeal the assessment of the Qualified Mental Health
Professional?
Answer: No. The regulations require that the hiring
authority, at the candidate’s request, seek an assessment of the
candidate’s risk of harm from a qualified mental health professional,
the cost of which the hiring authority must bear. The assessment
relates to the position sought within DPH or a DPH funded program.
The regulations do not provide for an appeal of this assessment.
If the assessment concludes that the candidate would pose a risk
to clients for the position sought, then the candidate would be
considered not qualified for the position for which the mental health
professional was reviewing the candidate. There is no opportunity
to appeal.
9. Question: Do these regulations
apply to hospitals, and if not, are there any other requirements
that obligate hospitals to conduct CORI checks on their employees?
Answer: As with all programs, if the hospital has
a program, which is a vendor agency program of the Department, then
its employees within the vendor agency program that have the potential
for unsupervised client contact would be covered by these regulations.
The receipt of Department funds for a specific program would not
bring the entire hospital under these regulations, only the specific
program. The Department has no other specific requirements with
regard to background checks on hospital employees. However, please
note that there is a federal requirement at 42 CFR 483.13 (c) (3),
regarding patient’s rights, which provides that patients are entitled
to care in a safe environment free from abuse. There are more detailed
materials related to this provision in federal interpretive guidelines.
Hospitals should review these provisions as part of their analysis
regarding the need for background checks.
10. Question: Do the DPH CORI
regulations apply to long-term care facilities, and if not, are
there any other requirements that obligate long-term care facilities
to conduct CORI checks on their employees?
Answer: No, these regulations do not apply to a
long-term care facility unless the facility has a program that receives
funds from DPH. Long-term care facilities are specifically covered
under a separate statute, M.G.L. c. 6, § 172 (C) and (E). Specific
questions about CORIs related to long-term care should be directed
to the Department’s Division of Health Care Quality at (617) 753-8000.
11. Question: What does “training
position” mean? Are interns that come to our facility subject to
CORI checks?
Answer: The definition of trainee in the final
regulations reads, “[a]ny person enrolled in an academic program
or participating in a pre or post-doctoral training program that
is affiliated with an accredited educational institution of hospital,
who receives a placement, within the Department or a vendor agency
program.” Anyone meeting this definition, who has the potential
for unsupervised client contact, would be required to undergo a
CORI investigation.
12. Question: Are programs required
to conduct CORI investigations on all volunteers?
Answer: If the volunteer is in a position to have
unsupervised client contact, a CORI check is required. There is
one exception to this rule: When a current client at a facility
or program provides unpaid services at that facility or program,
he or she shall not be considered a volunteer for the purpose of
requiring a CORI check.
13. Question: For how long can
a program rely on a CORI report?
Answer: Sixty business days. 105
CMR 950.103 (3) provides that a no record finding provides sufficient
evidence of suitability for hire for 60 business days. It also provides
that it may be used to establish suitability for other positions
during the 60-day period. After 60 business days a new CORI would
be required.
14. Question: Is it mandatory
to conduct on-going periodic CORI investigations after the initial
hire of an employee?
Answer: The regulations do not address mandatory
periodic CORI checks. The regulations provide at 105 CMR 950.102
(1) that “[t]he hiring authority shall ensure that each applicant
shall consent to a CORI investigation as part of his/her application
and to the periodic conduct of further CORI investigations during
the course of employment…” This consent would allow a program to
develop a policy that requires periodic CORI checks during the tenure
of an employee. Since the regulations are silent in this regard,
the policy determination must be made at the individual program
level in consultation with your human resources department and counsel.
15. Question: Is a program obligated
under 105 CMR 950.000 to conduct a CORI investigation on an employee
who was hired prior to the implementation of these regulations?
Answer: These regulations do not require a program
to conduct a CORI investigation on an employee who was hired prior
to the initial promulgation of the emergency regulations, unless
that employee applies for or is promoted to a new position that
has potential unsupervised client contact.
16. Question: How do you interpret
“continued without a finding” on a CORI report?
Answer: If a matter is marked “continued without
a finding” and it is still pending/open, it must be evaluated under
these regulations. If a matter is marked “continued without a finding,”
and the date indicated has passed and the status of the case is
marked dismissed/closed without any further action, then the matter
is no longer pending and would not be considered a conviction for
the purposes of these regulations. For example: 11/15/84 CWOF 5/15/85
dismissed and the status is closed – this would not fall under the
regulations.
15. Question: Is the hiring authority obligated
to inform an applicant of negative findings on a CORI?
Answer: The regulations at 105 CMR 950.104 (2)
and (3) require that the hiring authority inform the candidate that
he/she is ineligible for a position where there is potential unsupervised
contact unless there is compliance with other provisions of the
regulations, which renders the individual eligible.
At the CHSB website: http://www.state.ma.us/chsb/CORIFAQ_another.html#1, the following
question and answer is listed:
Can I share copy of the criminal record I received back from
your agency [the CHSB] with the person on whom we requested the
criminal record information?
Yes, but you are encouraged to have them sign a receipt of acknowledgement
to that effect.
17. Question: If I am a program
that receives DPH funds to conduct research, are we obligated to
conduct CORI investigations on our researchers?
Answer: If the research involves the provision
of services to any of the research subjects, either directly, or
if the subject is also a client of a different branch of the vendor
agency program, a CORI investigation is required. Otherwise, the
regulations do not specifically address research. However, it may
be prudent policy, where researchers have unsupervised contact with
research subjects, not dissimilar to unsupervised client contact,
to conduct CORI investigations.
18. Question: If I am a vendor
agency program that receives funding from DPH and one or more other
state agencies, what are my obligations?
Answer: If you receive funds from DPH, you are
subject to 105 CMR 950.000. You are also likely subject to regulations
of any other agency from which you receive funding, and should check
directly with that agency.
19. Question: If my program is
subject to the regulations of more than one agency, to which agency
am I required to submit the written documentation upon a decision
to hire?
Answer: The regulations do not address this issue.
DPH requires all vendor agency programs that it funds, to submit
documentation to DPH directly. If more than one agency funds the
program, it is important to note this on the submission so that
DPH can coordinate with the other agency.
20. Question: If the candidate
is from out of state, is there any requirement under the regulations
to conduct a criminal history check in another state?
Answer: The regulations require only a Massachusetts
criminal background check and do no require the hiring authority
to seek criminal background information from another state. 105
CMR 950.102 (2) requires that the hiring authority, as a condition
of an offer of a position, complete a CORI investigation. CORI is
defined as information regulated by the CHSB and maintained by the
Board of Probation regarding criminal information of persons within
the Massachusetts Court System. Nonetheless, under certain circumstances
it may be a sound hiring practice to conduct a criminal background
check in another state and such a policy should be reviewed with
your counsel and human resources department.
November 5, 2002
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