Joint Public Hearing On Proposed Resolution 17-659, Criminal Background and Traffic Records Checks for District Government Contractors that Provide Direct Services to Children or Youth Amendment Approval Resolution of 2008 - Testimonies

Government of the District of Columbia
Office of Contracting and Procurement

Testimony of David P. Gragan
Chief Procurement Officer

Joint Public Hearing On Proposed Resolution 17-659, Criminal Background and Traffic Records Checks for District Government Contractors that Provide Direct Services to Children or Youth Amendment Approval Resolution of 2008

Councilmember Carol Schwartz, Chair
Committee on Workforce Development and Government Operations

Councilmember Tommy Wells, Chair
Committee on Human Services

and

Councilmember Phil Mendelson, Chair
Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary

Wednesday, April 23, 2008
John A. Wilson Building
Room 120
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001

OPENING STATEMENT OF DAVID P. GRAGAN ON PR 17-659, CRIMINAL BACKGROUND AND TRAFFIC RECORDS CHECKS FOR DISTRICT GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS THAT PROVIDE DIRECT SERVICES TO CHILDREN OR YOUTH AMENDMENT APPROVAL RESOLUTION OF 2008.

INTRODUCTION
Chairpersons Schwartz, Wells, and Mendelson, members of the Committee on Workforce Development and Government Operations, the Committee on Human Services and the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, I am David P. Gragan, Director of the Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP). Today, I am here to discuss the Criminal Background and Traffic Records Checks for District Government Contractors that Provide Direct Services to Children or Youth Amendment Approval Resolution of 2008.

The proposed rules were promulgated to implement a portion of the Omnibus Public Safety Act of 2006. That Act was originally introduced in April 2005 to address gaps in the District’s criminal code. This sweeping Act affects the operations of at least 13 District agencies. The proposed rules deal only with that portion of the Act that applies to District contractors who provide direct services to children and youth.

This resolution, if approved, adds a new Chapter 5 to Title 27 District of Columbia Municipal Regulations. The new Chapter covers the procedures for obtaining criminal background checks and traffic record checks for District contractors who provide direct services to children and youth. The chapter also covers how that information will be assessed. It is my belief that what you have before you today is the best solution to comply with the new Act and to ensure the safety of our children.

The proposed new rules require the program agencies to provide OCP with a list of the covered positions prior to solicitation for contracts that include the provision of direct services to children or youth. The solicitation will include a list of those positions and contain the procedures for the contractor to obtain the background checks on its employees. These requirements will be included in the contractor's duties. The Department of Motor Vehicles and the Metropolitan Police Department have already developed the forms for such requests, and those forms will be provided to the contractors as part of the solicitation process. After the results from the background checks are obtained, the contractor will give the information to the Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) for that contract. The COTR will be the only person responsible for assessing the information and making the final hiring decision. If someone is not hired, they have an appeal process. The rules also provide for periodic background checks during the performance of each contract.

OCP's programmatic function is to draft and include the appropriate contract provisions. To ensure regulatory compliance, OCP will do the following:

Draft the special clauses, as described in the new Section 501 of 27 DCMR, to be added to contracts which provide direct services to children and youth. The clauses will include the following requirements of offerors:
- Identify all positions that require criminal background or traffic records checks;
- Require MPD and DMV to conduct criminal background checks or traffic records checks for all covered employees;
- Require contractors to disclose to prospective covered employees that a criminal background check or traffic record check must be conducted prior to an offer of employment;
- Require that the contractor obtain a consent form from each prospective employee authorizing these record checks; and
- Require the contractor to obtain a written acknowledgement from the employee that they have received a copy of their background check and their right to challenge its accuracy, and that making false statements provided on the application is subject to criminal penalties.
Immediately train contracting officers and contract specialists on the new language and contract requirements related to the provision of direct services to children or youth.
Update the OCP website to post the new rules and contract provisions for prospective vendors interested in performing contracts that involve services to the District’s children or youth.
Work with agencies specifically impacted by this legislation to ensure interagency cooperation.
Include this information at our ongoing public roundtables to educate vendors on the new requirements.

OCP is committed to supporting the safety of our young people to the extent the contracting process can do so. To that end, I recommend that the Council of the District of Columbia approve this resolution. I look forward to working with you and other members of the Council on this and other matters as we strive to better serve the residents and visitors of the District of Columbia. I will be happy to address your questions.