CBS Channel 4 in Denver has broken a story about how people with criminal backgrounds including child abuse, assault, and theft wind up working on group homes around the state. Here’s a substantive excerpt from their story.
“A CBS4 investigation found many of the employees in the state’s group homes have criminal records that might disqualify them from many lines of work, yet they are caring for the Colorado’s most vulnerable population. The CBS4 probe turned up employees with arrests and convictions for domestic violence, assault, shoplifting and drug use.”
That’s interesting, but it’s not much different from a number of stories we see in the news about how convicted felons are employed in sensitive positions because some organization isn’t doing the background checks that prudence and common sense call for. The important lesson for you in this story is buried a bit further down.
“In some cases, the state is unaware of its employees’ criminal arrests and convictions since they occurred after the employees were hired. While criminal background checks are conducted prior to hiring, there are no regular, ongoing checks done after that. Criminal infractions that occur after hiring are generally unknown to the Colorado Department of Human Services, which oversees the group homes.”
Dr. Sharon Jacksi, who manages the group homes for the state, is reported as responding to the station’s investigation by saying: “I am surprised that some of the individuals after hire had issues and did not self-report.”
That’s simply naïve. We’re talking about people who aren’t exactly stellar citizens and we expect them to suddenly see the light and start reporting behavior that could get them fired.
While the state of Colorado figures out what to do, here’s one thing you can do in your organization. Make it your policy that employees inform you of any conviction that may occur after hiring. Get their explicit, written promise to do so. Make failure to comply a firing offense.
I realize this will be like jumping into a raging river and trying to swim upstream but in this ardent surge toward self-protection there are aspects being ignored. This country was formed on the backs of a lot of criminals and/or convicts who reinvented themselves into acceptible, even prominent families. As background checks increase in use,the chance for people, who, for example, made stupid youthful decisions, had emotional blowouts because of adverse environmental conditions or tried to survive debilitating poverty to live a socially acceptable and productive life becomes increasingly close to impossible.
People within the correctional system in this country exceed 5 million. Approximately half of those are felons. Where will these people go for sustenance and shelter if legitimate, survivable avenues are cut off from them? There isn’t a wilderness in which to exile them.
Afraid of your neighbors or fellow employees? Be afraid of the crushing weight being pushed behind the wall built between society and the unacceptibles when it gives way- as it inevitably will. Maybe the cracks are already there. From 1990 to 2000 in the USA,the correctional population increased 49%. It has been increasing every year since.
Survival instinct is the greatest of all human motivations. Lest there are those who forget to put history to use-the drive to survive has been known to create cannibalism. That makes robbery(or lying to keep one’s job) look like a Sunday school lesson.