AL: Bill would prohibit sex offenders from serving as first responders

Source: aldailynews.com 8/29/24 Convicted sex offenders could not be first responders under legislation pre-filed in the Alabama Legislature. State law already prohibits sex offenders from working in schools, child care centers or other businesses that cater primarily to children.  Rep. Kerry Underwood, R-Tuscumbia, said the law needs to be amended to cover first responders, including those at volunteer fire departments. “Without (this legislation) for that particular offender, we are basically opening the door and saying, you’re a first responder, if there’s a medical need, you can go into this day…

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CA: California to audit placement service for released sexually violent predators

Source: thecentersquare.com 6/28/23 On Monday, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee unanimously approved a request by California Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) to audit Liberty Healthcare. “We are thankful that the bipartisan Legislative Audit Committee understands the need to further investigate Liberty Healthcare’s poor management of” sexually violent predators, Jones said. Liberty Healthcare is a health and human services management company in Intellectual and Developmental Disability care and psychiatry. The east-coast based company has enjoyed an exclusive 20-year partnership with the Department of State Hospitals to manage the…

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OK: Bill would close loophole on sexual predators working in senior living communities

Source: mcknightsseniorliving.com 3/27/23 Legislation preventing sexual predators and human traffickers from working in senior living communities is working its way through the Oklahoma Legislature. Last week, the Oklahoma Senate approved Senate Bill 369 to prohibit long-term care facilities from employing anyone listed on the state’s juvenile sex offender registry, maintained by the Office of Juvenile Affairs, or who has been convicted of human trafficking. The bill applies to assisted living communities, residential care homes, continuing care retirement / life plan communities, nursing facilities, home health settings and adult day centers.…

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NH: Sex offender employment limitation bill

Source: sentinelsource.com 1/21/23 Returning for a third attempt at becoming a law, members of the N.H. House of Representatives Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee heard a bill on Wednesday that would provide additional employment restrictions for registered sex offenders. The bill’s prime sponsor, Kevin Verville, R-Deerfield, brought the bill back at the urging of a constituent after it passed the House with amendment in 2020 and 2022 only to die in the Senate both times. Now known as HB 107-FN, the bill would prohibit any registered sex offender from…

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OH: Ohio bans child sex offenders from working with kids

Source: news5cleveland.com 1/5/23 COLUMBUS, Ohio — A newly-signed law will stop convicted child sex offenders in Ohio from working or volunteering with kids. Convicted sex offenders in the state have always been able to work around children legally, much to the chagrin of parents like Rebecca Surendorff and others who realize nothing can be done. “This is, frankly, a crisis level, and we’re not giving it the thought and attention that it deserves,” Surendorff said. The law has not prevented it — until now. Read the full article  

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KS: Concern raised with registered sex offender coaching youth sports team

Source: kwch.com 12/6/22 Can a registered sex offender coach children in Kansas? That question popped up after a concerned parent emailed FactFinder 12 about a registered sex offender coaching a youth sports team. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said there is no criminal law in Kansas that prevents a convicted sex offender from coaching in youth sports. With the coach not doing anything illegal by coaching, 12 News is not naming him nor the team. Bennett did say, “There may be conditions of parole or probation that prohibit ‘unsupervised…

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WA: Washington high court says convicted sex offender can practice law

Source: reuters.com 11/3/22 A sharply divided Washington Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a man who was previously convicted of a sex offense and other crimes can be licensed as an attorney. The 5-4 decision clears the way for Zachary LeRoy Stevens, who graduated from Arizona State University’s law school in 2018, to practice law in Washington. The opinion said Stevens had a difficult childhood in Utah and sought refuge online, where in 2006 he sent pornographic images of minors to a detective posing as a 14-year-old. He was charged…

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SC: Proposed Horry County law would ban any type of sex offender from owning child-focused businesses

Source: wsav.com 3/9/22 HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Sex offenders in Horry County could be banned from operating child-oriented businesses, under a new proposal. The push comes after a local business owner and parent spoke to the Horry County County Council in September about a local sex offender who wanted to park his ice cream truck in the business owner’s lot and sell ice cream to children. Adam Wiseman told county council that his neighbor suggested he should look up the ice cream truck’s owner. Wiseman asked the council to…

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IL: First female mayor of Illinois village sparks outrage after hiring registered child sex offender who spent 24 years in prison for brutal gang rape to be town’s code enforcement officer – which requires him to enter homes

Source: dailymail.co.uk 10/25/21 The new mayor of a village in a Chicago suburb unleashed a firestorm after it has emerged that she hired a registered child sex offender who worked on her campaign to be the town’s code enforcement officer – a job that requires him to inspect inside homes and businesses. Trustees in the Village of Dolton – a community of 23,000 located just south of Chicago – say they are appalled that Mayor Tiffany Henyard offered Lavelle Redmond a municipal job without consulting them. Despite facing backlash from…

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Want to find more workers? Make it easier to hire people with criminal records.

Source: washingtonpost.com 8/17/21 The U.S. economy seems poised for revival, but “help wanted” signs that keep popping up in windows across the country tell a different story. With millions of positions going unfilled each month, it’s clear that our recovery won’t work unless it works for everyone. And yet for decades, an entire population of our labor force has been overlooked and undermined: the 77 million Americans with a criminal record. Because of stigma and misguided laws from the “tough-on-crime” era, job seekers with criminal records — no matter how old the…

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FL: Florida House bill would require background checks for delivery workers

[orlandoweekly.com – 1/9/20] Background checks would be required for delivery employees after the murder of a 75-year-old Boca Raton woman in August, under a bill filed Tuesday by Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach. Caruso’s proposal (HB 1129) would require all home-delivery workers to undergo background checks that include a search of a multistate criminal database and a search of the National Sex Offender Public Website, which is maintained by the U.S. Department of Justice. The checks would be required “regardless of whether such person, employee, or agent intends to enter…

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MA: Mass. legislators call for hearing after report details sex offenders received trade licenses

[wickedlocal.com – 12/17/19 – Employment restrictions] The chairs of the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure want an oversight hearing and an “immediate and thorough investigation” into how sex offenders were able to obtain state licenses to work in various trades and professions. Sen. Paul Feeney and Rep. Tackey Chan issued a joint statement on Monday afternoon, responding to a Boston Globe report that found 68 registered sex offenders held state licenses, including 21 electricians, and that officials at the Division of Professional Licensure had failed to check…

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