Background Checks

Screening for CHAD 496: Observation and Assessment Lab and CHAD 450: Practicum

All CHAD majors are required to complete CHAD 496 and have the option of taking CHAD 450. These courses will be taught at the Center for Children and Families (CCF) on campus (453 La Moree Rd).  As part of their licensing requirement, the CCF will only allow students with clear background checks (or exemption approvals) to take the course at the Center.

Students taking CHAD 450 or CHAD 496 in Spring 2025 must complete their background check and submit proof of immunizations and flu declination form to the Center for Children and Families by January 3^rd 2025.

The Paperwork Submission Window for CHAD 450 and 495 is from Monday, December 9^th, 2024 to Monday, December 23^rd, 2024 and Thursday, January 2nd, 2025 to Friday, January 3^rd, 2025. Please note that the CCF is closed December 24 through January 1^st.

All three tasks listed below must be completed by the submission deadline. However,  the first two tasks must be completed no earlier than one year (Livescan and TB tests are good for one year) and before the CCF submission deadline the semester in which they take CHAD 450 or CHAD 496 (or any course that requires contact with minors).

Be sure to print all materials and make photocopies of your completed forms for your records before you bring the documents to the CCF. They cannot print any forms or make copies for you. ONLY COMPLETE SETS OF MATERIALS SUBMITTED IN PERSON WILL BE ACCEPTED.

1. Students will submit to a background and fingerprint check through Live Scan.  This process requires that students provide a Social Security Number* and some form of ID (e.g., driver’s license) at the time that the fingerprints are taken.  The student is responsible for fees.
   • Students can provide finger prints to Live Scan through parking services or another Live Scan site. Please consult the campus Live Scan website  for complete information on the Live Scan process. 
   • If you do not get an answer from parking services, email livescan@csusm.edu to request an appointment. Provide a time frame that works for you on M-F from 8:00-12:30 and 1:30-4:30. If you do not receive a response, seek a Livescan provider in the community such as at a Postal Annex or police station.
   • Students must print, complete, and bring the Request for Live Scan Report when they submit their fingerprints to Live Scan.  Please download this report form as it contains the specific information necessary for the CCF.
   • Live Scan will sign/stamp a document once you submit your background and fingerprint check; bring a copy of this document to the CCF to show that you have completed this task.
   • Results of the Live Scan background check will be sent directly to the CCF. CSUSM employees (faculty, administrators) DO NOT have access to the details or results of the background check.
   • See below for more information about flagged background checks.
   • *Students that do not have a Social Security Number can contact the CHAD Program Director. International F-1 students may be able to obtain a Social Security Number through the Office of Global Education; this process will take extra time. Please contact the CHAD Program Director to get the process started for you.
     
2. Students must complete a Tuberculosis (TB) test and submit results to the CCF.  The student is responsible for fees.
3. Immunization requirements:
   • ALL center/site students enrolled in CHAD 496 and/or conducting research at the Center for Children and Families need to have immunization documentation in their files indicating they have received the MMR and Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis/whooping cough), as well as documentation of a current flu vaccination or a signed declination of the flu vaccine.
     • For those students who cannot obtain these vaccines for medical reasons, a note to that effect from a licensed physician must be provided.
     • Alternatively, a licensed physician can provide a note that establishes evidence of immunity specifically to measles and Tdap, though the flu vaccination or declination will still be required.
   • For the flu vaccination specifically, students need to provide proof of flu immunization (or an exemption).
     • Students are given the option to decline the flu vaccine by filling out a declaration stating that he or she is declining the vaccination.
     • For students who do not decline the flu vaccine, flu vaccines must be obtained between August 1 and December 1 each year.
   • Students will need to receive vaccinations if they:
     • don’t have a medical exemption or evidence of immunity from a physician;
     • can’t provide their immunization records; and/or
     • never received the MMR vaccine.

Failure to complete all of the required screening in the stated timeframe will result in the student being disenrolled from the course. Students must submit the required background check and immunization paperwork in person to the CCF by the deadline for the semester in which they will be at the CCF.

Be advised that if you have a prior misdemeanor or felony conviction, your background check may be flagged. California Community Care Licensing will determine whether the student will be allowed to work with children, and the university and the CCF have no authority to overrule this decision.  If the CCF notifies the CHAD Program Director that a student is ineligible or if they are awaiting exemption approval, the student will be disenrolled from the CHAD 450 and/or CHAD 496 course.

• For students who do not pass the background check, they must meet with the CHAD Program Director to discuss choice of major.  
• For students waiting to receive exemption approval, they must wait to enroll in CHAD 496 until the background check exemption approval has been granted; this process can take up to 6 months.
• If a student knows that they may have difficulty clearing the background check:
  • Start this process 6-12 months in advance of taking CHAD 450 and/or CHAD 496 to ensure they can try to take CHAD 496/CHAD 450 in the desired semester.
  • Review the information provided to determine whether the issue may be cleared or an exemption may be approved.

Students who know they cannot pass the background check or receive exemption approval should consult with the CHAD Program Director (hdelucab@csusm.edu) to discuss the options for another major.

Screening for placements at other locations (e.g., via PSYC 495 Field Study, PSYC 499 Independent Research, EDUC 380):

• If students opt to conduct Field Studies or Research at facilities outside of the CCF as part of their satisfaction of major requirements in Cluster E, they may be required to submit to additional screening (e.g., drug testing).  Students must they must complete and obtain a clear background check and any additional screening no earlier than one year and no later than six weeks prior to the start of the semester in which they will begin the course.
• These requirements are agency-specific, therefore no information about particular tests is provided here; students must consult with the agency.
• In addition, note that background checks completed for other courses in which you are placed in a facility other than a childcare center (e.g., EDUC 380) are not the same as the background checks required for CHAD 496 or CHAD 450. If you have a background check completed for another course with a different type of placement, you will need to do the background check again for CHAD 496 and/or CHAD 450.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF BACKGROUND CHECK AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS: By clicking “Accept” in the appropriate window in my.csusm, you are acknowledging that you are aware that it is your responsibility to adhere to these requirements and the consequences; any fees that a student incurs will not be refunded. All CHAD majors must click “Accept” in the relevant window in my.csusm. If you click “Remind Me Later,” you will continue to see the window until you click “Accept.” Students who do not click that they accept will still be held responsible for the requirements.

Questions may be directed to the CHAD Program Director, Dr. Haylee DeLuca Bishop (hdelucab@csusm.edu).  

Acknowledgement Background Check Responsibility form