Workforce Background Check Online System
National and state officials are calling for better means to protect those receiving long-term care. Michigan State University's long-term care background check system is the model for proposed federal legislation.
Michigan State University has developed a flexible online Workforce Background Check system for the State of Michigan. The product can also be customized to meet your organization's civil and criminal history background check requirements.
The online Workforce Background Check system for Michigan provides employers with a single data entry point for
- checking registries for potentially disqualifying information,
- requesting fingerprint appointments,
- automatically imports the results of federal and state fingerprint checks, and
- receiving employment authorization letters from the regulatory agencies
Benefits of the Workforce Background Check system
- Efficient, effective, and economical process for conducting background checks on job applicants; comprehensive, thorough criminal and civil history checks
- System meets highest security standards – Fuad – what are the privacy, security marketing terms?
- Easy-to-use website designed for users with basic computer skills
- Compliant with Section 508 legal website accessibility standards
- Customizable – can be adapted to meet your organization's requirements
Background
The State of Michigan's comprehensive background check program is designed to promote and protect the health and safety of Michigan's vulnerable population by using an online system to assist in determining suitability of employment of prospective employees, independent contractors, or individuals seeking clinical privileges for positions of employment in long-term care settings.
The Michigan Long-term Care Partnership, which was formed to set up the program in Michigan, comprised these oganizations:
- Michigan Department of Community Health
- Michigan Department of Human Services
- Michigan State Police
- Michigan State University
- The State also ackowledges the involvement and support of the long-term care community, advocates, and other stakeholders
The State of Michigan Workforce Background Check program
- Increased the scope of workers given background checks and the thoroughness of the checks
- Harmonized procedures across state agencies
- Established sustainable funding and cost containment measures for background checks
Michigan State University Background Checks Program
A team of Michigan State University researchers received funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop the Michigan Workforce Background Check system. In addition to creating the background checks web-based application, Michigan State University researchers are studying the effectiveness of background checks in preventing abuse, and the effect on job creation in Michigan.
Principal Investigators of the Michigan Program for Background Checks
Sarah J. Swierenga, PhD, Director of the Michigan State University Usability and Accessibility Center, sswieren@msu.edu, 517-353-8977, www.usability.msu.edu
Lori A. Post, PhD, Professor, Yale University School of Medicine (formerly at Michigan State University), lori.post@yale.edu, 203-785-4172
James E. Oehmke, PhD, Professor and Liberty Hyde Bailey Scholar, Michigan State University, and Visiting Professor, Yale University School of Medicine, oehmke@msu.edu
Michigan State University Workforce Background Checks Development Team
Fuad Abujarad, System Architect and Technical Lead, and Michigan State University PhD Fullbright Scholar in Computer Science, abujarad@msu.edu
Thi Nguyen, Software Engineer
Trong Nguyen, Software Engineer
Nathan Cooley, Research Assistant
Julie Hagstrom, Project Director
Sarah Swierenga, PhD, CPE, Principal Investigator, is the director of the Usability & Accessibility Center at Michigan State University. A researcher and a practitioner with 20 years of experience in the scientific study of users in commercial, military, and academic environments, she possesses extensive skills in user interface design, data collection tools, and methodologies including usability tests, accessibility compliance evaluations, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, and expert evaluations. She also co-authored Constructing Accessible Web Sites, and has a chapter in The User-Centered Design Casebook. She has presented widely on accessible website design, usability techniques, and health communication technology, which comprise her research programs. She is an alternate member of the U.S. Access Board 508/255 refresh committee, and a member of the UPA Voting and Usability Project. She is also a Certified Professional Ergonomist (C.P.E.).
Michigan State University Press Releases
MSU's long-term care background check system becomes model for federal legislation, June 27 2007, http://news.msu.edu/story/840/
MSU researchers partnering to develop and study background check system for care of state's most vulnerable, March 7, 2006 http://news.msu.edu/story/1140/
$5 million grant to fund program to improve nursing-home employee background checks, February 1, 2005, http://news.msu.edu/story/573/
Research Publications
Post, L. A. , Salmon, C. T. , Prokhorov, A., Oehmke, J. F. , Swierenga, S. (2008). Chapter 6 - Aging and Elder Abuse: Projections for Michigan. In Murdock, S.H., and Swanson, D. A. (eds), Applied Demography in the 21st Century, 103-112. Springer Science and Business Media B. V.
Post, L. A., Prokhorov, A., Salmon, C. T. Oehmke, J., and Swierenga, S. J. (2007). Aging and Elder Abuse: Projections for Michigan, Population Research & Policy Review. http://www.springer.com/west/home/geography/demography?SGWID=4-40775-70-35679167-0
Swierenga, S. J., Choi, J. H., Post, L. A., and Coursaris, C. (2007). Public health communication technology: A case study in Michigan long-term care settings. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 1(5), 115-124.
Post, L. A., Swierenga, S. J., Oehmke, J., Salmon, C., Prokhorov, A., Meyer, E., and Joshi, V. (2006) The implications of an aging population structure. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 1(2), 47-58.
Post, L. A., Prokhorov, A., Oehmke, J., Swierenga, S. J., and Hogberg, M. (2006). Aging and elder abuse: Projections for Michigan. Paper presentation at the Applied Demography Conference, San Antonio, TX.
Swierenga, S. J., Post, L. A., and Connor, T.L. (2006, November). Abuse baseline survey of Michigan adults in long-term care: Results. Poster presented at the IHCS Fall Poster Session on Medicaid Match Projects.
Swierenga, S. J., and Coursaris, C. (2006, November). Abuse complaints handling process: Addendum study to vulnerable Medicaid populations: A public policy assessment of abuse reduction. Poster presented at the IHCS Fall Poster Session on Medicaid Match Projects.
Swierenga, S. J., Choi, J. H., Post, L. A., and Coursaris, C. (2006). Public health communication technology: A case study in Michigan long-term care settings. Paper presentation at the International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences 2006 conference, Island of Rhodes, Greece.
Post, L. A., Prokhorov, A., Swierenga, S. J., Oehmke, J., Joshi, V., Salmon, C., and Meyer, E. (2006). The implications of an aging population structure on abuse. Paper presentation at the International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences 2006 conference, Island of Rhodes, Greece.
Swierenga, S. J., Post, L. A., and Barbosa, G. (2005, November). Abuse baseline survey of Michigan adults in long-term care. Poster presented at the IHCS Fall Poster Session on Medicaid Match Projects.
Post, L. A., Oehmke, J., Swierenga, S. J., Hogberg, M., Gia Barboza, G., and Korzeniewski, S. (2005, November). Public policy implications of an aging population for the prevention of abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Poster presented at the IHCS Fall Poster Session on Medicaid Match Projects.
Oehmke, J., Post, L. Almerigi, J. and Swierenga, S. (2005). Rural economic sustainability and background checks on workers in rural health care settings: Evidence from the Michigan pilot background check program. Paper presentation at the American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Providence, RI.