Governor Laura Kelly announces that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, in collaboration with the Department for Children and Families, is now offering digital fingerprinting for applicants who are seeking work in the child care field.

The Federal Office of Child Care requires a comprehensive background check for all people living, working, or volunteering in child care facilities who meet certain criteria, including working unsupervised. A background check includes fingerprinting. The KDHE has been using fingerprint-based background checks with paper and ink prints.

The KDHE Secretary Janet Stanek says that with digital fingerprinting wait time for background checks will be greatly reduced and this will help applicants to obtain their licenses quicker. The changes should also enable organizations and childcare facilities to fill vacancies in a much more timely fashion.