Are Detention Center Staff Background-Checked?
Extensive background checks for detention center staff are critical, especially for positions that involve working with vulnerable populations like children and teenagers. More thorough employee screening processes for juvenile detention centers and adult prisons can lead to a safer environment for everyone involved, preventing further harm to individuals who may have already experienced mistreatment. For survivors of detention center sexual abuse, these hiring procedures can make the difference between healing and worsened harm.
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Author: Kathryn Kosmides
Survivor Advocate
- Across the United States, most adult and juvenile detention centers require some form of background check during the employee hiring process.
- Regulations on the thoroughness of employee screening procedures can vary at the state level, though federal detention centers have set screening procedures.
- If you have experienced sexual abuse at a juvenile detention center, you may be entitled to compensation. Helping Survivors can connect you with an experienced sexual abuse attorney to review your case and legal options.
Are Detention Center Staff Background Screened for Sex Offenses?
Under the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s guidelines for screening employees who work with children, the backgrounds of juvenile detention center staff are usually checked for criminal activity. The OJJDP reports that 94% of juvenile corrections facilities in the U.S. conducted criminal record checks on employees, but fewer than 10% checked potential employees’ psychiatric history, drug use, or state sex offender registrations. However, many employers do require applicants to undergo personal interviews and other qualification tests before being hired.
Federal Regulations
Federal regulations govern detention center employees, requiring them to undergo a mandatory three-week training program, a drug test, and a background check. The screening mostly focuses on criminal history. Some law enforcement agencies, like the U.S. Marshals Service, require potential employers to undergo extremely thorough Single-Scope Background Investigations and pass periodic reinvestigations to continue their employment.
The federal government has enacted the Prison Rape Elimination Act, or PREA, which provides resources, recommendations, and funding to protect detained individuals from sexual abuse and assault. Though PREA doesn’t implement background check requirements, it is another protection for incarcerated individuals.
State Regulations
State and federal regulations for detention officer hiring procedures differ, and most states have their own processes for screening detention center employees—especially those who work with children and teenagers. Some notable state regulations include the following:
- Connecticut: State job listings for appointments to juvenile detention officer trainee positions in Connecticut list mandatory criminal background checks as a condition of employment. Criminal record investigations are conducted for all candidates, and appointment to the class is dependent on successful clearance of that investigation.
- Illinois: Illinois requires all applicants selected for juvenile justice positions to undergo background investigations, including criminal history checks and drug tests. In most cases, prior convictions disqualify candidates.
- New York: New York’s corrections officer manual includes employee conduct expectations and information on qualification requirements. Following a background check and acceptance of employment, employees are responsible for not “engaging in any conversation, communication, dealing, transaction, association or relationship with any inmate, former inmate, parolee or former parolee which is not necessary or proper.”
- Texas: The Texas Juvenile Justice Department conducts background checks during the hiring process. Offers of employment are conditional pending satisfactory results from the background check, which reviews criminal records, the child abuse registry, and driving records.
- Are Detention Center Staff Background Screened for Sex Offenses?
- Risks of Inadequate Screening for Detention Center Staff
- How To Find Out If A Detention Center Staff Member Has A Sex Offense History
- What To Do When Detention Centers Fail to Vet Staff
- Legal Help for Survivors of Detention Center Sexual Abuse
- Want To Speak With A Lawyer?
Risks of Inadequate Screening for Detention Center Staff
One of the main risks of inadequate screening for detention center staff—especially for employees who have regular contact with minors—is sexual abuse, whether among incarcerated individuals or by staff. While no detention center is completely immune from the risk of sexual abuse, implementing proactive protection policies like mandatory background checks helps safeguard vulnerable youth.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children recommends that organizations disqualify applicants with a history of sexual victimization of others, conviction for any crime involving children, a history of violence, terminations from past work with children, and inconsistent explanations of past criminal history.
Have You Been Abused at a Juvenile Detention Center?
If you or a loved one has suffered sexual abuse while in a juvenile detention center, you have the right to seek justice. Our team of experienced attorneys is here to provide you with the legal support and guidance you deserve.
How To Find Out If A Detention Center Staff Member Has A Sex Offense History
If you have the name of a detention center staff member, you may be able to search for them in the national sex offender registry. The national registry links public state, territorial, and tribal sex offender registries in one national search site. You may also be able to search for specific employees in some state-specific registries.
Some states, like New York, allow members of the public to submit requests for information about records maintained by government agencies. New York’s Freedom of Information Law can provide information about specific detention center employees, though it may take weeks to months to receive this information.
What To Do When Detention Centers Fail to Vet Staff
Youth and adults in detention centers often experience physical, emotional, and sexual abuse while incarcerated. In particular, children sentenced to juvenile detention centers face abuse from other inmates, corrections officers, and other staff members. These juveniles cannot legally consent to a sexual encounter, making all instances of sexual contact between staff and children a form of sexual abuse.
Victims of abuse in detention centers can pursue their legal rights by filing a lawsuit for the child or on their own behalf against the perpetrators, as well as the state, local, or other facility operators. Detention centers themselves may be held accountable if their hiring practices were not up to standard and allowed a predatory individual to obtain a job with access to children.
Legal Help for Survivors of Detention Center Sexual Abuse
If you or a loved one has experienced sexual abuse at an adult or juvenile detention center in the U.S., you may be entitled to pursue compensation by filing a civil lawsuit against the detention facility where the abuse occurred.
At Helping Survivors, we work to inform survivors of their legal rights and options and provide connections to our partner law firms. These firms have experienced sexual abuse lawyers who represent survivors in civil lawsuits against the individuals and institutions that perpetrated and enabled the abuse. In such a lawsuit, victims can pursue compensation for the harm they’ve suffered. Every law firm we work with provides a free consultation and takes these cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning there are no out-of-pocket costs. The firms only get paid if and when they recover compensation.
To learn more about your legal rights and options, contact us today.
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