ALBANY, N.Y. – Today, Senator Patricia Fahy (D—Albany) and Assemblymember John T. McDonald III, RPh (D—Cohoes) were joined by Bill Gettman from Northern Rivers and human services providers to highlight Fahy/McDonald legislation (S10320/A11424), a bill that seeks to streamline the background check process for human services providers. 

There is a shortage of employees who are working in the human services field, and this legislation would remove any unnecessary delay when a human services worker switches to a job that requires a background check through the NYS human services agencies, including the Justice Center, Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), Department of Health (DOH), Office of Mental Health (OMH), and Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). 

These employees will no longer start at square one and will not have to undergo a duplicative background search. Instead, they can get to work sooner and provide much-needed services to members of our community. 

This legislation addresses these inefficiencies by establishing a "Portable Clearance Passport" program that creates a uniform, transferable background clearance. Once an individual completes the applicable background check process, the portable clearance passport can satisfy equivalent clearance requirements across participating systems, eliminating the need for repeated screenings. 

“New York’s human services sector workforce is in crisis, and removing barriers to employment like duplicative background checks will simplify the hiring process for providers,” said Senator Patricia Fahy. “Introducing this legislation ensures that providers can continue to be as efficient as possible in seeking new candidates and ultimately maintain and improve the care New Yorkers have come to rely on. Thank you to my Assembly sponsor John McDonald and Northern Rivers’ Bill Gettman for their partnership on this small but important issue.”

Assemblymember John T. McDonald III, RPh, said, “I hear far too often that we need more human services providers in our communities. This legislation will simplify the process for our human services workers to allow them to transition between careers without significantly disrupting their ability to serve members of our community.”

“Human services providers across New York are navigating an increasingly complex regulatory environment at a time when the need for our services continues to grow,” said William Gettman, CEO of Northern Rivers Family of Services. “The Portable Clearance Passport is exactly the kind of common-sense reform we need to cut the red tape, modernize the system, and allow providers to focus more of our time and resources where they belong, on the people and communities we serve.” 

“When qualified staff are hired and ready to work but are waiting on duplicative clearances, the impact is felt across the entire program,” said Willie Leak, Executive Program Director at Northern Rivers Family of Services. “Existing staff have to cover those gaps, supervisors have less flexibility, and most importantly, children and families may wait longer for services. A portable clearance would help us get qualified staff to work sooner while maintaining the safeguards that protect the people we serve.” 

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