Use Of Background Checks Research Articles

The Proliferation of Criminal Background Check Laws in the United States

Criminal record checks have become a widely used method for governing access to institutional attachments in the United States. State laws that authorize or require the use of background checks serve as one important source of criminal records’ expanded reach. The current study uses novel longitudinal data to examine the proliferation of these laws at the state level between 1982 and 2013. Panel analyses provide the strongest support for a model of racial classification, with the rate of background check adoption increasing as African-Americans represent larger shares of state criminal record populations. Considerable support is also found for racial economic threat and, to a lesser extent, ethnic economic threat. Background check adoption is only weakly associated with violent crime rates and other features of state-level penal regimes.

Background checks: the theories behind the process

The use of background checks has become more prevalent and is perceived as having crucial importance in hiring in the private sector, given the extent of employee crimes. In examining this phenomenon, security and administration scholars have promoted the general security necessity of such checks but have only focused on the application of legal and constitutional provisions relevant to the background check process. As a result, the security field has overlooked the theoretical bases for background checks and the theories addressing how background checks should be conducted. To address this gap, this article presents a qualitative meta-analysis of the theoretical literature from a variety of academic fields and identifies four overarching themes important for understanding background checks as a tool for hiring. Then, as an illustration, the article examines how well the regulation of background checks in the U.S. financial sector reflects theoretical findings, exposing critical gaps between research and practice. Thus, this analysis provides security practitioners with important guidance in how to effectively use background checks as a crime prevention tool.

Nonprofits relying more on volunteers—and screening

New research shows that nonprofits are relying more and more on their volunteers to fill critical staffing gaps in their organizations. Accompanying that is an upswing in the use of background checks, which are eating up an increasing share of charities' budgets as a result. But according to experts, the expense is well worth the peace of mind that comes with knowing your volunteers are on the up‐and‐up, and is now even less of a concern in light of the tight labor market that leaves nonprofits little choice but to draw on volunteers to keep pace with demands for their services.

Overview of: “A Signaling Perspective on Employment‐Based Reentry Programming: Training Completion as a Desistance Signal”

Overview of: “A Signaling Perspective on Employment‐Based Reentry Programming: Training Completion as a Desistance Signal”

Effective use of background checks by employers

Effective use of background checks by employers

Progress and issues in the implementation of the 1984 out-of-home care protection amendment

The purpose of this paper is to assess the status of implementation of out-of-home protection programs since 1984 in the U.S. Data was obtained from a survey of state child protection services (CPS) liaisons in summer, 1989. A framework for viewing protection after placement is presented and the development of policy regarding maltreatment in out-of-home care is traced from its roots in the deinstitutionalization movement. Changes in state statutes and rules, results in out-of-home abuse and neglect reporting, how states operationalize “properly constituted authority” and “independent investigation,” the role of licensing in preventing and remediating out-of-home maltreatment, training initiatives and the extent of the use of background checks are reported. A summary evaluation of the status of the implementation of the federal 1984 out-of-home care protection amendments by stage agencies is offered.