Some Oklahoma Daycare Workers Not Fully Vetted

Parents trust that daycare workers undergo thorough background checks, but right now, some employees who take care of children haven't been fully vetted.

It's a part of a new law that went into effect in November of last year, requiring all daycare employees to undergo a federal background check. News 9 spoke to a daycare in OKC Wednesday. It says there is a backlog on the background checks being processed.

Chris Vian with Child Care incorporated in Oklahoma City says they haven't been able to hire new teachers for months because of the backlog. He says DHS can't process the information.

"Part of my job is making sure that the kids are safe and I really can't do that part of my job if I can't get back background information on new teachers," said Vian.

DHS tells News 9 a lack of private vendors able to conduct these checks is the real reason for the delays. It says there is no paperwork backlog.

In the meantime, DHS says it's given daycares a break and has allowed them to hire new employees if they pass a state background check through the OSBI. However, those new employees still can't be left along with children until the federal background check is processed.

Child Care Inc. says it's sick of waiting for the checks to be processed and is now taking measure to conduct part of the background checks themselves.

Daycare workers hired before Nov. 1 of last year, have three years to get the federal background checks completed.