A New Bill In Maine Would Eliminate Required Background Checks For Child Care Workers
If children are truly our most precious commodity, then a new proposed bill in Maine is certain to raise some eyebrows. According to WGME, a bill brought forward by Representative Heather Sirocki of Scarborough would eliminate mandatory background checks for child care providers and their staff.
As it stands in Maine, background checks are performed when applying to work for any child care facility where you may be left unsupervised and in the care of a child. If you've committed a crime, it will show up on that background check and likely remove you from consideration in that position. This bill would make background checks optional by employers as well as the decision to hire someone who has a criminal background.
The bill will put forth and heard this afternoon in Augusta. It remains to be seen whether other state representatives would get behind a bill changing the law. Additionally, it is unclear whether their would be public outcry over the possible repercussions.
What do you think? Should the current law in Maine of all child care workers submitting to background checks stay as it is written? Is it an invasion of their privacy? Would or should it be possible for employers to decide who they hire, despite a possible criminal record?