VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES

Wakefield United Methodist Church
205 W. Church Street
Wakefield, VA 23888
(757) 899-7203

VDSS Contact: Melinda Popkin (757) 802-5281

Inspection Date: Dec. 8, 2022

Complaint Related: No

Areas Reviewed:

22.1 Religious Exempt; Background Checks Code; Carbon Monoxide 32.1 Report by person other than physician 54.1 Must be MAT Certified. 63.2 Child abuse and neglect 8VAC20-770 Background Checks

Technical Assistance:

Today we discussed the use of Volunteers with the children. If an individual is ever alone with children OR is ever counted in the required adult to child ratios, then regardless of whether they are paid by the program or not, the are considered to be staff and are required to have all of the background checks, training, and documentation that other staff are required to have. Background checks are not transferable from program to program unless they are obtained through portability registration via the DOE website portal and were obtained within given time limits. A staff cannot come from another program and bring copies of their background checks obtained at the other facility to meet current staff background check requirements.

Comments:

A monitoring inspection was initiated and concluded on 12/8/2022. There were 12 children present, ranging in ages from 2 to 4 years old with 2 staff supervising. The inspector reviewed compliance in the areas of Religious Exempt; Background Checks Code; Carbon Monoxide, Child Abuse and Neglect, Mandated Reporting, and Medication Training. A total of 6 staff records were reviewed. Information gathered during the inspection determined non-compliance with applicable standards or law and violations were documented on the violation notice issued to the program The licensee must send documentation to the licensing inspector that the background checks have been requested no later than 10 days of this notification dated 12/21/2022.

Violations:

Standard #:	22.1-289.035-B-4
Description:	Based on a review of records and interview, the exempt program did not obtain a copy of the results of a criminal history record information check, a sex offender registry check, and a search of the child abuse and neglect registry or equivalent registry from any state in which an employee has resided in the preceding five years. Evidence: Six staff records were reviewed. The record for staff #4 contained a Sworn Disclosure statement that indicated the staff person resided in Texas within the last 5 years. The record for staff #4 did not contain the results of a criminal history record information check, a sex offender registry check, and a search of the child abuse and neglect registry or equivalent registry from Texas. A background check dated 8/22/2022 which was obtained from a private agency was present in the file. However, this does not meet the background check requirements.
Plan of Correction:	The program director stated that she had been directed to this site for background checks when she contacted Texas for instructions on obtaining the out of state background checks and thought she had met the requirements by purchasing this report. The program director will make contact via the Interstate Child Background chart within 10 days to determine how to obtain the required reports and send requests.