Background checks are supposed to weed out the questionable employees, and, in most cases, they do.
Still, it doesn’t catch crimes committed after they’re hired. This loophole allowed a sex offender to be employed around children. Seattle Public Schools was shocked to learn a sex offender was working as a high school janitor. He went undetected for nearly a decade. It was only found through a state audit.
It’s why the Washington State Auditor wants the “rap back” system in place. Rap back would provide ongoing monitoring for school employees, foster parents, many licensed health care workers – and even police. As it stands, periodic checks are mostly required only on the state level.