Welcome to the Background Check Central Unit (BCCU)
Our staff process over 300,000 background checks annually. This includes over 23,000 fingerprint-based checks.
BCCU conducts background checks for agencies providing services to vulnerable adults, juveniles, and children such as:
- Nursing homes, boarding homes, and adult family homes
- Adult in-home care providers
- Child care centers, in-home child care providers
- Residential programs for children and youth
- Services for people with developmental disabilities
- DSHS contracted services
BCCU process changed January 4, 2010
- The Background Check Central Unit (BCCU) identified two convictions for Rape of a Child that were reported by the Judicial Information System (JIS) but not reported by the Washington State Patrol (WSP)
- BCCU compared the criminal history information from the WSP on 1,000 background checks to the criminal history information reported by JIS for the same people
- The research showed that although both databases contain criminal history, not all convictions entered into JIS appear in the WSP database
- Based on this research, DSHS management decided the risk for vulnerable adults, juveniles and children was too high to justify not searching JIS for every background check
Impact to BCCU Customers - Searching JIS for every background check will increase BCCU workload and turnaround times
- DSHS is working to automate the JIS data search to reduce workload impacts and improve turnaround time
- BCCU will provide updates about our progress to automate through the BCCU ListServ and your program’s background check contact
- If you have questions about how the new process will impact your program, please contact your program’s background check contact or email BCCU using this link or write to bccuinquiry@dshs.wa.gov . BCCU will refer you to the appropriate contact.
You can receive helpful updates by joining the BCCU ListServ. This email method provides information on various background check processes (current policy issues, helpful hints to assure proper form completion, system downtimes, turnaround times for processing background checks, etc.). Click here to join our ListServ. If you are from outside DSHS and would like to receive this information, please email your request to bccuinquiry@dshs.wa.gov
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