Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Department

Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Department of Criminal Justice Information Services CORI Training December 10, 2012

What is the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS)? DCJIS is the Massachusetts agency statutorily designated to: ü oversee the authorized provision of Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) to the non-criminal justice community; ü provide a public safety information system and network to support data collection, information sharing, and interoperability for the Commonwealth's criminal justice and law enforcement communities; ü provide support to the Criminal Records Review Board; ü operate the Firearms Records Bureau; and ü provide and technically support the Victim Notification Registry for the victims of crime. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 2

What is CORI? Criminal Offender Record Information Records and data in any communicable form compiled by a Massachusetts criminal justice agency about an identifiable individual that relate to: ü nature or disposition of a criminal charge, ü an arrest, a pre-trial proceeding, ü other judicial proceedings, ü sentencing, ü incarceration, ü rehabilitation, ü or release. Does not include juvenile criminal history, except for charges on which a juvenile was adjudicated as an adult. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 3

How is the CORI Record Created? The information contained in a CORI record provided by the DCJIS is originally created by the Trial Court. Upon arraignment of a criminal charge, Trial Court staff record what happens every time an individual appears in court. Pursuant to the Massachusetts General Laws, the DCJIS electronically receives this Trial Court information every 24 hours. Only Trial Court staff can change this information. DCJIS cannot change entries contained in the CORI database. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 4

What is CORI Reform? On August 6, 2010, the Governor signed into law Chapter 256 of the Acts of 2010, a. k. a. CORI Reform, making significant changes to the CORI law. This law is intended to provide ex-offenders with a better chance of re-integration and obtaining employment while taking public safety into account. The law changes who will have authorized access to CORI and how CORI will be accessed. Most of the CORI Reform provisions were effective on May 4, 2012. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 5

All Employers Have Standard Access to CORI Employers now have access to: ü Any criminal charges pending as of the date of the request, including open cases that have been continued without a finding until dismissed; and ü Felony or misdemeanor convictions, but only if the individual was found guilty of or released from incarceration for a misdemeanor within 5 years of the request or a felony within 10 years of the request. ü The convictions that do not appear have not been sealed. ü CORI Reform does not include automatic sealing. ü All murder, manslaughter, and sex offenses will remain visible. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 6

Certain Employers Have Required CORI Access 1. Employers who must comply with statutory, regulatory, or accreditation requirements regarding employees’ criminal records, (e. g. hospitals and banks) have access to additional adult CORI information dating back to an individual’s 17 th birthday. 2. Employers that received CORI under a federal or state law authorizing or requiring them to conduct CORI checks under the former CORI system continue to have the same access (e. g. schools, camps, day care centers, nursing homes and assisted living facilities). Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 7

The Public Will Have Limited Access to Open CORI “Open CORI” will include: ü Misdemeanor convictions within one year of conviction or release from incarceration; ü Felony convictions within two years of conviction or release from incarceration; and ü All felony convictions punishable by five or more years of incarceration within ten years of conviction or release from incarceration. ü All murder, manslaughter and sex offense convictions, unless sealed. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 8

What is Required 1 Access? ü all pending criminal charges, including cases continued without a finding of guilt, until they are dismissed; ü all misdemeanor convictions and felony convictions dating from the subject’s 17 th birthday; ü all information relating to those offenses for which the subject was adjudicated as an adult while younger than 17 years old; and ü all convictions for murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and sex offenses. Examples of Required 1 agencies: Hospitals; Healthcare Staffing Agencies; Healthcare Clinical Programs; Banks; Security System Installers; and Amusement Device Operators. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 9

What is Required 2 Access? ü non-conviction information; ü all pending criminal charges, including cases continued without a finding of guilt, until they are dismissed; ü all misdemeanor convictions and felony convictions dating from the subject’s 17 th birthday; ü all information relating to those offenses for which the subject was adjudicated as an adult while younger than 17 years old; and ü all convictions for murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and sex offenses Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 10

Agencies with Required 2 CORI Access Examples of Required 2 Agencies: Schools; Assisted Living Facilities; Nursing Homes; Programs for Children; Councils on Aging; and Military Recruiters. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 11

What is Required 3 Access? ü All adult and juvenile Non-conviction information; ü all adult and juvenile pending criminal charges, including cases continued without a finding of guilt, until they are dismissed; ü all adult misdemeanor convictions and felony convictions dating from the subject’s 17 th birthday and juvenile delinquency findings; ü all convictions for murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and sex offenses; and ü information relating to those offenses for which the subject was adjudicated as an adult while younger than 17 years old. This level of CORI is only available to camps for children! Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 12

What is Required 4 Access? ü All adult and juvenile non-conviction information; ü all adult and juvenile pending criminal charges, including cases continued without a finding of guilt, until they are dismissed; ü all misdemeanor convictions and felony convictions dating from the subject’s 17 th birthday and juvenile delinquency findings; ü all convictions for murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and sex offenses; ü information relating to those offenses for which the subject was adjudicated as an adult while younger than 17 years old; and ü information regarding criminal offenses that have been sealed. This level of CORI is only available to the MA Department of Early Education and Care! Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 13

CORI Policy Requirement • Any individual employer or private landlord that submits five or more CORI requests annually shall maintain a CORI policy which must meet the minimum standards of the DCJIS model CORI policy. • The DCJIS has posted a Model CORI Policy to its web site at mass. gov/cjis. • A CORI policy may be developed and maintained regardless of the number of CORI requests conducted. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 14

Adverse Employment & Housing Decisions Based on CORI Before an individual employer or private landlord makes an adverse decision based on a subject’s CORI, the employer/landlord must: • Notify the applicant in person, by telephone, by fax, or by electronic or hard copy correspondence of the potential adverse employment/housing action; • Provide a copy of the applicant’s CORI to the applicant; • Provide a copy of the employer’s CORI Policy, if applicable; • Identify the information in the applicant’s CORI that is the basis for the potential adverse action; • Provide the applicant with the opportunity to dispute the accuracy of the information contained in the CORI; • Provide the applicant with a copy of the DCJIS document entitled “Information Regarding the Process for Correcting CORI”; and • Document all steps taken to comply with these requirements. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 15

Secondary Dissemination Logs Because all i. CORI responses are confidential, any dissemination of CORI must be logged in a secondary dissemination log. Secondary dissemination logs may be kept in hard copy or in electronic form and it must contain: The subject’s name; The subject’s date of birth; The date and time of dissemination; The name of the person to whom the CORI was disseminated along with the name if the organization for which the person works, if applicable; and • The specific reason for dissemination. • • Secondary logs are subject to audit by the DCJIS. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 16

Applicants Now Have a New Due Process Right Effective May 4, 2012, if an employer has obtained criminal history information about an applicant, regardless of the source, he or she must provide the criminal history to the applicant prior to asking him or her about it. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 17

“Self-Audits” Will Help Police the System Individuals will be able to see what non-law enforcement entities have requested their CORI. Individuals will be able to determine if CORI checks were run prior to an interview or job rejection. Individuals will also be able to determine if someone improperly accessed their CORI. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 18

Employers Will Have a Safe Harbor Employers not liable for negligent hiring practices by reason of relying solely on CORI received from the DCJIS and for not performing additional checks, unless required to do so by law. Employers not liable for discriminatory practices for failure to hire a person based on inaccurate CORI requested from the DCJIS if the employer would not have been liable if the information had been accurate. Safe Harbor Requirements: üThe CORI came from the DCJIS; and üThe employer made its hiring decision within 90 days of receiving the CORI; and üThe employer maintained and followed DCJIS regulations pertaining to verification of the subject’s identity Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 19

The Criminal Records Review Board ü May 4, 2012, will mark the inauguration of the Criminal Records Review Board (CRRB). ü CRRB’s membership will include all members listed in c. 6, s. 172 but will grow to include members from labor and workforce development and ex-offender rehabilitation. ü CRRB’s primary role will be to investigate and conduct hearings of complaints regarding violations of the CORI statutes and regulations. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 20

Increased Civil Penalties The Board can sanction individuals, employers and landlords with increased fines. ü$1, 000 -first violation. ü$2, 500 -second violation. ü$5, 000 -third or subsequent violation. Previous fine was $500 Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 21

Increased Criminal Penalties Anyone who knowingly: ü knowingly requests, obtains or attempts to obtain CORI or self-audit from DCJIS under false pretenses; ü knowingly communicates or attempts to communicate CORI to unauthorized individual; or ü knowingly falsifies criminal records shall be punished for each offense: ü NMT 1 Year HOC; ü NMT $5, 000 fine; ü Or both. If the offender is not a natural person, ü NMT $50, 000 for each offense. Increased fines of $7, 500/$75, 000 for juvenile criminal history violations. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 22

Sealing Post CORI Reform ü Effective May 4, 2012, misdemeanors may be sealed 5 years after the conviction or any period of incarceration, whichever is last. ü Felonies may be sealed 10 years after the conviction or any period of incarceration, whichever is last. ü Restraining order violations treated as felonies. ü Sex offenses fall into a different category. ü CWOF’s may be considered for sealing as non-convictions. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 23

i. CORI Employers, volunteer organizations, licensing authorities, and landlords may now request, pay for, and receive CORI online using i. CORI, a secure, web-based DCJIS system. i. CORI üLandlords and employers will be required to register annually for an i. CORI account. üIndividuals will be able to use i. CORI to request their own personal CORI. üThe public will be able to use i. CORI to request Open CORI. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 24

Registration Step 1 ü Go to i. CORI site Welcome Page. ü Click “Register as an Organization. ” Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 25

Registration Step 2 ü Select the organization type that best fits describes your agency. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 26

Registration Step 3 ü Confirm your account type on Account Type Confirmation page. ü Collect all required information listed on this page. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 27

Registration Step 4 ü Complete Organization and CORI Representative Details. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 28

Organization CORI Representative Details? “Organization Details” include: ü Name; ü Address; ü Website; and ü Federal Identification Number (FID). CORI Representative Details include: ü Name; ü DOB; ü Last six digits of SSN; ü Address; ü Phone number; ü User name; and ü Password. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 29

Requesting and Receiving CORI ü CORI Acknowledgement Forms are still required. ü Applicants may remotely complete this form by having it notarized. ü To submit request, user enters subject’s name, date of birth, and last 6 SSN digits, if available. ü User logs in to view results which are available in i. CORI for 6 months. ü i. CORI will return CORI results that exactly match information contained in CORI database. ü DCJIS regulations will govern the process of making an adverse decision based on CORI. Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 30

Old CORI Record (pg 1) Subject Information Alias Information Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 31

Old CORI Report (pg 2) Arraignment Information Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 32

New i. CORI Report (pg 1) Legal Disclaimer Summary Details on entered Subject request Section showing matching subject information Footer displays requestor information Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 33

New CORI Report (pg 2) Detailed legal disclaimer Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 34

New CORI Report (pg 3) Matching subject information Pending case Non-conviction Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 35

New CORI Report (pg 4) Conviction Manslaughter conviction Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 36

CORI Availability and Security • CORI Acknowledgement Forms must be stored for one year. • Users must log in to view results which will remain available in i. CORI for 6 months. Requestors may save CORI results for the length of employment/volunteer service or a maximum of seven years from the last date of employment/volunteer service or final decision on the application. • All information contained i. CORI responses is confidential! Unlawful access to or dissemination of CORI may result in civil or criminal penalties. • Any CORI information stored electronically must be password Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 37 protected and encrypted.

Questions? Enhancing Public Safety Through Information Exchange Page 38