Background check fingerprinting machines in ND getting an upgrade

MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – After 20 years, the fingerprinting technology for background checks is getting an upgrade.

Sara Stolt, the deputy commissioner of North Dakota Health and Human Services, said they’re beginning a new era of background checks.

She said for phase one, they will be receiving secure and high-quality machines for fingerprinting background checks in a few months.

Stolt said 30% of background checks returned due to errors will be reduced by the automated system, which is phase two.

She said phase two will take a couple of years to implement.

In the meantime, if the prospective employee was a resident in another state, background checks can still be lengthy.

“We’re federally required to check every state they’ve lived in in the last five years. That takes a considerable amount of time. Especially when, like Texas, for example, it takes Texas 90 days to produce background check results for us, so that dramatically hampers when people can start employment,” said Stolt.

Stolt said their goal is to reduce red tape so that by the end of phase two, Health and Human Services employees, childcare employees, foster parents and adoptive parents can get results in a matter of days.

Copyright 2023 KFYR. All rights reserved.