RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia Department of Social Services expects to clear a backlog of criminal background checks by February 3 after technical issues resulting from the deployment of a new criminal background check provider system, according to Cletisha Lovelace, the director of public affairs for DSS.
CBS 6 reported on the issues Monday after speaking to several daycare owners and directors who said they had been waiting weeks or months for the Virginia DSS to process job candidates’ fingerprint background checks, which hindered the hiring of much-needed staff.
At the time, Lovelace told us she was actively working to get us a response to our questions about the issue, which we submitted Friday, but she said she wouldn’t be able to provide us a response yet.
The new provider system was deployed on December 10, and it "subsequently experienced technical issues that temporarily caused registration difficulties for providers. This resulted in delays in registering providers and issuing determination letters,” according to Lovelace.
She said DSS “implemented a manual process” while the system had troubles and worked after hours on weekends to clear nearly 1,000 backlogged cases.
"All technical issues were resolved as of January 16,” Lovelace said. "Communications and guidance regarding this technical issue were posted on the Office of Background Investigations portal on January 24 to notify providers that the issue was resolved.”
Lovelace said the agency is committed to “clear and ongoing communication to keep providers informed and ensure timely and accurate service delivery moving forward."
"Applications submitted after January 16 are being processed within our standard turnaround schedule,” she added.
Cynthia Williams-Bey told CBS 6’s Melissa Hipolit that since the story aired, an employee at Virginia DSS called her to personally apologize for the delay, and she also received an email that stated, in part:
“We sincerely apologize for the delay and the significant impact this situation has had on your operations. We take full accountability for the technical error within our system that contributed to this delay. Please know that this issue has been resolved, and we are taking steps to ensure it does not recur.”
Williams-Bey said the agency finally approved the background checks she had been waiting for after she shared her story with CBS 6.
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