HARRISBURG – Pennsylvanians applying for childcare clearances can now receive most results electronically, instead of through the U.S. mail, thanks to a new law. Act 12 allows certain employers to conditionally hire a person for up to 45 days before all required childcare clearances are obtained. The goal is to address the delay that employees who required childcare clearances were experiencing in receiving their paperwork via the U.S. mail. Because the process often took weeks, this prevented the timely hiring of employees and caused businesses and non-profits to limit work and programs due to the inability to staff them. In addition to this legislation, businesses also asked for help in obtaining FBI clearances electronically to reduce another logjam in hiring. Legislators from both sides of the aisle worked for 18 months with state agencies and the PA State Police to work this option out with the FBI. As a result, FBI background checks can now be applied for online and an electronic result received in as quickly as one day. Prior to this fix, it could take from 3-13 weeks for an applicant to receive FBI results. The shortened time to receive results will further safeguard children, aid applicants in obtaining employment, and aid employers in filling vacancies. In addition to any email notification, all applicants will still receive results transmitted by U.S. mail.
