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FBI Federal Criminal History Records for Prospective Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Employees Fingerprint Services Provided by Cogent Systems Act 114 of 2006, Section 111 of
the Public School Code was amended effective April 1, 2007. All
student teachers (participating in classroom teaching, internships, clinical
or field experience) and prospective employees (including but not limited to
administrators, teachers, substitutes, janitors, cafeteria workers, office
employees) of public and private schools, Intermediate Units and area
vocational-technical schools, including independent contractors and their
employees and bus drivers, who have direct contact with children, must
provide to their employer a copy of their Pennsylvania State Criminal History
Background Check and their Federal Criminal History Record that cannot be
more than one (1) year old. This only
applies to employees hired on or after April 1, 2007. Employees hired prior to April 1, 2007,
are only required to provide the Federal Criminal History record if they have
lived outside of the state for at least two years immediately preceding their
application for employment. YOU HAVE 90 DAYS AFTER APRIL 1, 2007 TO COMPLETE YOUR FINGERPRINT BASED BACKGROUND CHECK. AT ALL FINGERPRINT COLLECTION LOCATIONS, APPLICANT FINGERPRINTS ARE TAKEN ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST SERVE BASIS. ATTEMPTING TO COMPLETE YOUR BACKGROUND CHECK WITHIN THE FIRST FEW WEEKS OF THIS NEW BACKGROUND CHECK SERVICE MAY OVERWHELM THE CAPACITY OF THE FINGERPRINT LOCATIONS. PLAN YOUR ARRIVAL TO FINGERPRINT LOCATIONS ACCORDINGLY. IF YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO FINGERPRINT LARGE GROUPS OF INDIVIDUALS PLAN TO HAVE THEM ARRIVE AT PRINT LOCATIONS OVER A FEW WEEKS, NOT A FEW HOURS. SOME FINGERPRINT LOCATIONS OFFER MOBILE FINGERPRINT SOLUTIONS FOR LARGE GROUPS. SEE THE WEB PAGE FOR THE LOCATION NEAREST TO YOU TO SEE IF A MOBILE SOLUTION IS AVAILABLE. YOU MUST BE REGISTERED WITH COGENT SYSTEMS PRIOR TO ARRIVING AT A FINGERPRINT LOCATION. The Process The
fingerprint-based background check is a multiple-step process: 1.
The
applicant must register with Cogent Systems prior
to going to the fingerprint site.
Fingerprint services will not be provided to applicants without prior
registration at any fingerprinting location.
Registration is completed online or over the phone. Registration is available online 24
hours/day, seven days per week at http://www.pa.cogentid.com/. Telephonic registration is available at
1-888-439-2486 Monday thru Friday, 8AM to 6PM EST. During the registration process, all demographic data for the
applicant is collected (name, address, SSN, etc.) so there is no data entry
required at the fingerprint collection site.
To insure a successful registration and avoid any data collection errors, please register yourself online. If you do register by phone make sure your Social Security Number is collected correctly 2.
The
applicant will pay a fee of $40.00 for the fingerprint service and to secure
the Criminal History Record.
Applicants may make their payment online using a credit
card or debit card. Money orders or
cashiers checks PAYABLE TO COGENT SYSTEMS will also be accepted on
site for those applicants who do not have the means to pay
electronically. NO CASH TRANSACTIONS OR PERSONAL CHECKS WILL BE ACCEPTED AT THE PRINT
LOCATIONS.
·
Cogent Systems has establish a
billing procedure that would allow the applicant’s fee to be billed to an
agency that is willing to pay.
Billing may only occur after the willing agency has completed the
Cogent Systems’ Agency Billing Agreement.
To establish a billing account
download an application. The billing
account must be established prior to sending applicants to the fingerprint
site.
3.
The
applicant proceeds to the fingerprint site of their choice for
fingerprinting. The location of the
fingerprint sites and days and hours of operation for each site will be
posted on Cogent Systems’ website. The location of fingerprint sites may
change over time so applicants are encouraged to confirm the site location
nearest to them.
4.
At
the fingerprint site the Applicant Livescan Operators (ALO) will manage the
fingerprint collection process. 5.
The
fingerprint transaction begins when the ALO reviews the applicant’s qualified
State or Federal photo ID before processing the applicant’s transaction. A list of approved ID types may be found
on the Cogent Systems’ website. Applicants will not be processed if they
cannot produce acceptable identification.
6. After the identity of the
applicant has been established, all ten fingers are scanned to complete the
process. The entire fingerprint
capture process should take no more than three to five minutes. 7. The
applicant’s scanned fingerprints will be electronically transmitted to the
Pennsylvania State Police, who in turn submits the fingerprints and
demographic information to the FBI as required by federal statute. 8. Receipts
that show you completed your background check are available at the Cogent
Website. You will need your social
security number and birth date to access your printable receipt. 9. PDE will
receive the Federal Criminal History Record from the FBI. PDE’s School Services Unit will return the
Federal Criminal History Record to the applicant. The Record will be printed on standard 8.5” X 11” paper with
the Commonwealth Seal imbedded on the paper.
This document constitutes an
official Record. If an applicant
presents their Federal Criminal History Record and the Commonwealth Seal is
not embedded on the paper, it should be considered as invalid and not an
official Record. Do not contact Cogent Systems or the fingerprint
site after your fingerprints have been submitted. Cogent Systems does not have the means to give the applicant
the status of their background check.
If the applicant does not receive the Criminal History Record from PDE
within eight weeks after being fingerprinted, they should call (717) 783-3750
or email PDE at dwolfgang@state.pa.us. 10.
The applicant will then provide the
Federal Criminal History Record to their prospective employer. ** The Act
allows that Administrators may employ any applicants on a provisional basis for
a single period not to exceed ninety (90) days, except during a lawful strike
proceeding under the provisions of the act of July 23, 1970, known as the
“Public Employee Relations Act”, provided that all of the following
conditions are met: ·
The applicant has applied for the
information required under subsection (b) and, where applicable, under
subsection (c) or (c.1) and the applicant provides a copy of the appropriate
completed request forms to the Administrator ·
The Administrator has no knowledge of
information pertaining to the applicant which would disqualify them from
employment pursuant to subsection (e) ·
The applicant swears or affirms in
writing that they are not disqualified from employment pursuant to subsection
(e) ·
If the information obtained pursuant
to subsection (b), (c), or (c1) reveals that the applicant is disqualified
from employment pursuant to subsection (e), the applicant shall be suspended
and subject to termination proceedings as provided for by law ·
The Administrator requires that the
applicant not be permitted to work alone with children and that the applicant
work in the vicinity of a permanent employee. Fingerprint Corrections and Resubmissions In
circumstances where a classifiable fingerprint record was not or cannot be
obtained and immediately upon indication, Cogent Systems will take corrective
action to re-submit, or re-print the applicant at no cost to the
applicant. This corrective action
will be completed at the earliest possible time, and when applicable, that is
convenient for the applicant. Cogent
Systems will contact the applicant directly should this occur. NOTE: Reprinting can be applied to each
applicant one time only. If
fingerprinting must take place a third time the applicant must pay the full
fee. Group Fingerprinting Support If you have
a requirement to fingerprint a large group of applicants (example… 300
college education majors, a contractor’s entire staff of 120 employees, 50
bus drivers, etc.) mobile fingerprint units may be available. Some fingerprint service sites have the
ability to bring portable equipment to your site. Services sites in your area that have
mobile equipment will be listed on the Cogent website
NOTE:
We encourage you to utilize mobile printing service but you must plan ahead. Please do not overwhelm the service by sending large groups of applicants to the fixed site locations. If you must send your large group of applicants to a fixed site, please plan for their arrival to occur over days and weeks, not hours. Confidentiality
(Security) of Applicant Information
On-site access to the Livescan equipment, and the
data traveling from the equipment, is comprehensively secured and regulated
by both Cogent Systems and the regulations governing the use of that data. · The Computer System - The system will be housed within a secured network that
is protected by firewall devices configured explicitly to allow only
permissible protocols and traffic.
Cogent Systems will ensure that all devices procured under this
process continue to adhere to the Commonwealth’s Security requirements. The proposed systems will be configured to
provide a point of defense with controlled access from both inside and outside
the network. The Livescan systems will
be configured to support logging and audit capability. Furthermore, the Livescan solution will
support 128 bit encryption. Inquiries or
Questions All information regarding process, policy and print
locations may be found at www.pa.cogentid.com.
Fingerprint applicants should contact Denise
Wolfgang at (717) 783-3750 or dwolfgang@state.pa.us |