Volunteer & Employee Criminal History Service (VECHS)
Hawaii Volunteer & Employee Criminal History Service (VECHS)
The National Child Protection Act, P.L. 103-209, as amended, and Act 196, Session Laws of Hawaii 2014, created Hawaii’s VECHS program which allows Qualified Entities to conduct fingerprint-based state and national criminal history record checks on their applicants for licensure or employment, employees, and volunteers that provide care or care placement services to Hawaii’s children, vulnerable adults, or individuals with disabilities. Results will be sent directly to the Qualified Entity and include full arrest records from both the State and the FBI. This law allows Qualified Entities to screen current and prospective employees and volunteers for convictions of a crime that may determine their fitness to have responsibility for the safety and well-being of Hawaii’s vulnerable population.
Generally, to be qualified to participate in the VECHS program, an organization (public, private, profit, or non-profit) must provide “care” or “care placement services”, as defined in the above laws, to Hawaii’s children, vulnerable adults, or individuals with disabilities.
The VECHS program is not available to organizations currently required to obtain criminal history record checks on their employees and/or volunteers under other statutory provisions, such as day care centers, foster parents, public school teachers, skilled nursing facilities, etc. Those organizations must continue to follow the statutory mandates that specifically apply to them. If, however, an organization is required to obtain state and national checks on only specific types of employees or volunteers, the VECHS program may be able to process requests for state and national checks on the organization’s other employees or volunteers.
Qualified Entity Application
To become a Qualified Entity for Hawaii’s VECHS program, an organization must complete the following:
- Submit the Hawaii VECHS Qualified Entity Application Form. The Application Form must be completed in full and explain what services your entity provides to Hawaii’s children, vulnerable adults, or disabled.
- Complete and sign the VECHS Agreement for Access to Criminal History Record Information (VECHS Agreement). The VECHS Agreement must be signed by the entity’s Director or Head and signifies, in part, an understanding that any criminal history record information received is to be used for the purposes for which it was intended and must be maintained in a secure and confidential manner.
- Read and acknowledge the Criminal History Record Checks for Non-Criminal Justice Purposes Policy and Manual. This policy supplements the VECHS User Agreement with specific details of the Qualified Entity’s responsibilities.
Once approved, the qualified entity will be provided with a State-Issued Originating Agency Identifier (S-ORI), Agency Identification Code (OCA), the Waiver and Consent form, and fingerprinting and fee information.
For each set of fingerprints properly submitted, the Qualified Entities will either receive:
- An indication that the applicant has no criminal history in the State or the FBI databases; or
- The criminal history record information (rap sheet), listing the applicant’s arrests and convictions.
Email: ( For questions or assistance, please email HCJDC using this form.)