January 23, 2023

As Minnesota continues to struggle with shortages in personal care assistants, backlogs in the state’s background check process have prevented some from beginning work. These struggles may hold back nearly a thousand potential workers from beginning employment across the state.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) requires individual personal care assistants to complete an enrollment process. This process requires these individuals to complete a training process and a background check. According to the state, the volume of these applications has increased.

In a statement addressing the delays, the Minnesota DHS indicated that the state has worked to manage many applications. In some cases, this work requires additional time to review criminal history or maltreatment records and receive information from other states. However, the DHS explained that they could complete the process in only a few days for the background checks performed in the previous year. In the statement, the agency claimed it processed 85% of the roughly half-a-million checks.

However, this statistic may not represent the DHS’s timeframe for all workers. Recently, the state has worked on reversing various changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, beginning in April 2020, the state temporarily suspended its photo requirements and fingerprint background check requirements. In September 2021, it reinstated those requirements.

The state’s DHS required over 70 provider categories, which encompassed over 35,000 entities, to complete a full fingerprint-based screening by January 1st, 2023. The agency clarified that this requirement also affects the workers who received non-fingerprint-based background checks. As a result, many applications as the department and employers transition back to these requirements.

As of now, the Minnesota DHS has stated that it has roughly 950 personal care assistant background checks awaiting a determination of eligibility. In addition, the department continues to receive between 3,900 to 7,100 applications for fingerprint-based background checks every week. As a result, the DHS has emphasized that these background checks can take time. As such, applicants should take this into account when planning for the hiring process.

Accurate background checks are crucial for making hiring decisions for all employers. As such, it becomes imperative for employers to run checks for positions of trust, such as personal care assistants. Even when fingerprint-based checks prove unnecessary, accuracy and timeliness are necessary for making educated and effective hiring decisions.

Discover the benefits of Pre-employ’s seamless background checks for your business. Contact a Sales representative today.

Source