(Fargo, ND) -- UPDATE: Sara Stolt, the Deputy Commissioner for North Dakota Health and Human Services provided a written response to WDAY News First regarding the complaints made by Robin Nelson.
"The Department has made investments in updating the background check process over the last 5 years. In 2018, the average background check took 25 days to complete. In 2022, the average time for an instate background check was 3-5 days. Out of state (if the applicant has lived anywhere besides ND in the last 5 years) background checks take considerably longer and depend on the receiving states response time.
We are aware that we still have challenges when it comes to staff turnover at our finger print sites, Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Central Background Check Unit. This turnover does lead to timeliness challenges. In the Governor's Executive Budget request we have asked for $1M to automate the background check process and for an addition 1.5 FTE. In addition, SB2238, which has passed the Senate Human Services Committee, increases the number of fingerprint locations by 10 in areas that have significant demand. These requests, if approved, will significantly speed up the background check process."
INITIAL REPORT:
The CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of the Red River Valley is calling for improvements at North Dakota Health and Human Services.
"Our local licensers hands are often tied because they are trying to interpret some of the regulations and implement the new systems and things just aren't rolling out the way that they should," said Robin Nelson, while speaking at a press conference Friday in Fargo.
Nelson says "bottlenecks" at Health and Human Services are causing significant delays in the processing of background checks and fingerprinting for people who want to work as childcare providers at the club and elsewhere. The backlog is exacerbating staffing shortages. Nelson says some of the problems have existed for "close to 7 years" and says the Department of Human Services needs to be "pressured" to come up with solutions.
"We're not here to push blame on anybody but we're here to beg for some improvements and some urgency on this matter", said Nelson.
WDAY News First is reaching out to Health and Human Services for comment.