New North Carolina Law Requires Fingerprinting for City and County Employees Working with Children

Effective October 1, 2025

Beginning October 1, 2025, a new North Carolina law will require all city and county applicants offered positions involving work with children to undergo a State and Federal fingerprint-based criminal background check.

This update, outlined in Part IV of Session Law 2025, amends G.S. 153A-94.2 and G.S. 160A-164.2, mandating that local and regional public employers perform fingerprint-based screenings through the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) before finalizing employment offers.

Previously, counties and municipalities could require criminal history record checks at their discretion. Under the new law, fingerprinting is now mandatory for any applicant offered a position that involves working with children – including roles in parks and recreation, public libraries, after-school programs, community centers, and other youth-serving departments.

Employers must extend a conditional offer of employment pending the results of the criminal history record check, ensuring that individuals are properly vetted before beginning work with minors.

What This Means for Local Governments

This new legislation strengthens North Carolina’s commitment to protecting children by ensuring consistent and thorough background screening practices across all city and county agencies.

At CRC, we’re ready to help municipalities and counties meet these new compliance requirements through our NC SBI-approved fingerprint card services and background screening services.

CRC operates five convenient onboarding centers across North Carolina, all offering Live Scan fingerprinting with easy online scheduling. Our process makes it simple for public employers to stay compliant — with fast turnaround times, secure results, and expert guidance every step of the way.

Stay Compliant with Confidence

Local government HR teams are encouraged to review their hiring policies now to ensure alignment with the new law.

CRC can assist with:

  • Fingerprint-based background checks compliant with G.S. 143B-1209.26
  • State and federal record access through the SBI
  • Fast, accurate results for conditional hiring decisions
  • Five convenient onboarding centers offering Live Scan fingerprint cards and easy online scheduling
  • Expert compliance support for cities and counties

For more information or to schedule fingerprinting for your city or county employees, visit mycrc.com.

Colorado is automatically sealing more than 100,000 criminal records

Colorado’s Clean Slate Act will automatically seal over 100,000 nonviolent criminal records, aiming to help individuals with past misdemeanors and certain felonies find jobs and housing without the burden of their past.

Supporters see this as a fair step for rehabilitation, while critics raise concerns about employers being unable to access relevant information, especially in sensitive industries like healthcare and education. The balance between second chances and maintaining transparency remains a key point of debate as more states consider similar legislation.

Who is eligible? How does it work?

Read more: [Colorado Sun]

https://coloradosun.com/2024/08/20/criminal-records-sealed/

UNC Health Championship

Each year, CRC is a proud sponsor of the UNC Heath Championship at Raleigh Country Club and this year was incredible. We had the opportunity to sponsor the Hickory Club Hospitality Tent located on the 17th green, equipped with complimentary food provided by Empire Eats, a variety of drink options, snacks, fantastic viewing area of the course, and covered seating. The tournament was June 1st-4th in Raleigh, NC and CRC was excited to be there each day cheering on the talented golfers and talking with each guest. From the very start of the tournament, we knew it was going to be filled with excitement and fun for everyone in the Hickory Club.  By the close of day 4, we were thrilled to congratulate Jorge Fernandez-Valdes, who secured his first win on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Thank you to everyone who made this tournament a success and hope to see you on the course next year.

Memorial Day

On this Memorial Day, we remember and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

In observance of this day, CRC will be closed on Monday, May 29th, and will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, May 30th.

Thank you and we hope you have a safe weekend.

Happy Holidays from CRC

CRC wishes everyone a very merry holiday season and a Happy New Year! Please note that our office will be closed on Monday, December 26th and we will resume normal hours of operation on Tuesday, December 27th.

As we wrap up 2022 and enter 2023, we are filled with excitement, gratitude, and joy for our hard-working and dedicated employees as well as our loyal customers. With the opening of two new onboarding centers this year, CRC’s goal for 2023 is to not only deliver great background checks and verifications but to open more locations across North Carolina, making the onboarding process fast, easy and efficient for your new-hires.

Thank you for a wonderful year. From our family to yours, Happy Holidays!

CRC’s NEW One-Stop Onboarding Center

New Onboarding Processing Center in Charlotte, NC

GRAND OPENING!

Calling all Queen City Employers:

CRC is excited to announce that our Charlotte-area One-Stop Onboarding Center will be open for business on Monday, November 22, 2021.  Conveniently located in Charlotte’s SouthEnd District at 1919 S Blvd, CRC’s professional and courteous team will assist your new-hires with anything and everything onboarding…  from Drug Screening to Form I-9 Verification to Company ID Photos and many more. 

Designed for convenience and efficiency, one trip to our easily accessible office is all your new-hires will need!  Our dedicated team will work as an extension of your HR Department to save your new-hires the hassle of multiple trips to different locations. 

Onboarding Services include, but are not limited to:

  • Drug Screening: DOT/Non-DOT
  • Fingerprinting
  • Form I-9 Verification
  • Document Collection
  • Company ID Photos
  • Badging
  • Parking Passes
  • Notary Services
  • Appointments Available

This is the first of many more sites to come and CRC looks forward to being your One-Stop Onboarding Partner! 

For information and pricing or if you are interested in CRC opening a location near you, contact us at 877-272-0266 or sales@mycrc.com.  

Are You Screening Your Vendors? NJ School Bus Company Disregards District Requirements and Uses Unsafe Practices

Background checks for employees are commonplace across many highly regulated industries such as education, government, and healthcare; but a comprehensive screening of a contractor or vendor is much rarer. Naturally, when a bid for a project is received, it is expected that the provider is honest regarding the scope of their services as well as if they meet the buyer’s requirements. Unfortunately, many employers are learning the hard way that businesses are not always as honest as they seem, and that upfront due diligence is the best way to weed out bad actors.

For example, a New Jersey school bus company operated unsafe buses, failed to conduct required background checks and hired drivers with criminal records. According to the article, the company falsified documents it provided to school districts in order to cover its tracks and a surprise inspection by state investigators found so many inspection violations that a large number of the buses were impounded and not allowed to be driven off the school properties. Additionally, fingerprinting, motor vehicle reports, and DOT drug testing were not being completed as required by NJ schools. Since criminal records were allegedly not being checked, the company employed drivers that otherwise would have been disqualified during the screening process. A registered sex offender was able to slip through the cracks and be employed as a driver, and two drivers were charged with driving buses with children aboard while under the influence of narcotics. As a result, the vendor’s owner and manager currently are facing criminal charges.

As a rule of thumb, running a thorough background check on a potential vendor and its subcontractors is recommended prior to awarding a contract. PBSA accredited companies like CRC have access to civil court records at the state as well as federal levels to screen both the owner(s) and operator(s) as well as the company itself for history of litigation. Additionally, checking a company’s reviews on sites like Glassdoor, Yelp, and the Better Business Bureau can provide insights into how they operate and if allegations of deceptive business practices are common. Depending on the type of services and information that is available to the contractor, an independent third-party inspection of the vendor’s site may yield important insight on how they handle, store, and dispose of sensitive materials.

If you are interested in Vendor and / or Contractor screening services, contact a CRC representative at (877) 272-0266 for more information.

CRC is Offering Mobile Fingerprinting for NC Organizations

In response to Law Enforcement agencies in North Carolina suspending fingerprint collection services due to COVID-19, CRC is offering a mobile fingerprinting option for employers that are seeking an alternative. This allows local businesses and government agencies to continue fulfilling their fingerprinting requirements during the pandemic.  Interested parties can simply reach out to CRC’s business […]

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Fingerprint Background Check Providers Suspending Services Due to COVID-19

Many Law Enforcement agencies in the United States and Canada are beginning to suspend services such as fingerprint collection and background checks for employment purposes to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Employers and non-profits that rely on fingerprint checks for hiring purposes in areas where these services are suspended will experience indefinite delays. While these […]

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US Navy Expands Drug Screening Policies Due to Alarming Synthetic Opioid Statistics

Effective immediately, the U.S. Navy will start testing all drug screening urine samples for Fentanyl, a highly addictive synthetic opioid. The expanded screening initiative is due to alarming data issued by the CDC’s National Vital Statistics Report on March 21, 2019. The announcement, which you can read by clicking here, states that overdose deaths due […]

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