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Board approves CJIS noncriminal agreement for county caseworker; postpones foster-related CJIS access
Summary
Commissioners approved a noncriminal justice CJIS user agreement to allow county caseworkers to obtain FBI/CBI fingerprint background checks; a second similar agreement for foster-care screening was tabled to May 13 for more information and sheriff participation.
The board approved a noncriminal justice agency user agreement April 15 giving a county employee authority to submit fingerprint-based background checks through the FBI and Colorado Bureau of Investigation for child welfare and adult-protection caseworkers.
County staff said the agreement enables Laura (county staff) to assign codes, arrange fingerprint appointments at designated locations and receive results. Commissioners and staff discussed safeguards for handling sensitive results, audit requirements, record storage and training; staff said the process requires secure storage and specific handling (no removable media) and that the county would be subject to an audit cycle.
The motion to approve Laura’s CJIS noncriminal user agreement passed by roll call. Separately, commissioners considered a similar agreement requested for Carmen McKay to support local foster-family screening. Commissioners questioned training, liability, IT diagrams and cost; the board agreed to table the Carmen agreement to May 13 to allow for additional information and for the sheriff to participate in the discussion.
Clarifying details discussed in the meeting: fingerprint background checks incur a $55 fee per applicant (paid from departmental budgets); background results must be stored securely and access is restricted; agencies must follow audit and training protocols. Staff said federal/state rules require specific handling and that county IT had reviewed diagrams for CJIS compliance.
Why this matters: enabling county caseworkers to run criminal-history checks supports child-protection and adult-services functions; the foster screening agreement was paused while commissioners sought more information about training, liability and IT controls.
