UPDATED: Provisional Hire Waivers No Longer Needed

Effective February 17, 2022, Department of Human Services (DHS) certified child care providers are no longer required to submit a Provisional Hire Waiver Request for Child Care (CD 353) to allow child care employees to work in a certified child care facility on a 45-day provisional basis.

(This article was updated on May 30 to reflect new Provisional Hire requirements for the field).

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On February 17, 2022, Governor Tom Wolf signed HB 764 into law as Act 12 of 2022 (Act 12), which amends the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL) to allow most employers to hire an applicant on a provisional basis for up to 45 days.

For certified child care operators, to do so, all the following conditions must be met:

• Facility received the results of the applicant’s PA Child Abuse History Clearance prior to employment.

• Facility received the result of the applicant’s Pennsylvania State Police OR the FBI finger-print results prior to employment.

• The applicant has applied for the remaining required checks and the applicant provides a copy of the appropriate completed request forms to the employer, administrator, supervisor or other person responsible for employment decisions. The outstanding checks are:

  • Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check OR the FBI Criminal History Background Check,

  • the National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) check, and

  • For an applicant who, in the past five years has resided outside of Pennsylvania, criminal history, child abuse, and sex offender registry checks from every state where the applicant lived within the past five years.

• The employer, administrator, supervisor, or other person responsible for employment decisions requires that the applicant not be permitted to work alone with children and that the applicant work in the immediate vicinity of a permanent employee.

• The employer must have no knowledge of information that would disqualify the applicant.

• The applicant must affirm in writing they are not disqualified from employment by reason of being listed on the abuse registry or being convicted of a disqualifying offense.

• If the results of the applicant’s background checks reveal that the applicant is disqualified from employment due to section 6344(c) (relating to grounds for denying employment or participation in program, activity, or service) of the CPSL, the applicant must be immediately dismissed by the employer, administrator, supervisor, or other person responsible for employment decisions.

Questions?

Comments and Questions should be directed to the child care provider’s Regional Office of Child Development and Early Learning:

• Central Region 800-222-2117

• Northeast Region 800-222-2108

• Southeast North and Southeast South Region 800-346-2929

• Western Region 800-222-2149