Pre-Employment Checks

ABOUT

The Office of Mental Health requires service providers to conduct Pre-Employment Checks on people applying to work or volunteer with vulnerable populations.

Additionally, we conduct the same Pre-Employment Checks on owners of "for-profit" businesses that operate OMH-licensed programs.

The three Checks are:

• Staff Exclusion List (SEL) via the Justice Center’s Vulnerable Persons Central Register
• Criminal Background Check (CBC) via the Justice Center’s CBC system
• Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR) via OCFS’s Online Clearance System

RESOURCES

• NYCRR – Part 550 Criminal History Record Checks
• Mental Hygiene Law - MHY § 31.35
• Social Services Law - SOS § 424-a

OMH GUIDANCE

• This Quick Reference Guide provides basic guidance, links, emails, and forms involved in these checks.

• This brief Q+A document clarifies Department of Health Pre-Employment Check requirements for certain program types designated by the Office of Mental Health.

CONTACT

Email cbc@omh.ny.gov to:

• Request guidance materials
• Get information on exempt program types
• Submit comments or questions about the information on this page