EBI's own background screening library.

With the resources EBI has at its disposal for background screening, drug testing, and human resources management, we felt it was time to offer a consolidated location for accessing many of our best public research materials, hence EBI's background screening online library was born.

You'll also find a complete archive of our EBI Advisor, our periodic newsletter on the background screening industry located here.

You're welcome to use and quote any of these resources, in whole or part, as long as you offer complete attribution to this page and our site.

Current topic: Pre Employment Background Screening Keeping Convicted Felons out of Schools Why are over 400 convicted felons currently working in Michigan's public schools? That's what Michiganders are wondering in response to the June 2006 report by The Michigan Department of Education that lists nearly 470 names of felons working in the state's schools. The 42-page report compiled by the Michigan State police has districts scrambling to figure out what to do with the information and how to improve future hiring practices. Why not start with background screening? The felonies listed in the report range from drug offenses, fraud, larceny, assault, stalking, and even murder. Many of the offenses were committed by individuals in administrative assistant, transportation, and maintenance roles. Here are a few highlights: Maintenance worker convicted of 2nd degree murder in 1978 & possessing a controlled substance on three separate occasions in the 80's Maintenance worker convicted of larceny in 1978 and operating while impaired in 1993 Maintenance worker convicted of bringing contraband into prison in 1990 Paraprofessional convicted of financial theft in 1999 Paraprofessional convicted of fraud in 1982 Bus driver convicted of welfare fraud in 1990 The districts had 15 days to review the list and correct errors before the list was made public. One maintenance employee was wrongly listed as a felon, but his name was cleared after he submitted documentation backed by a police agency that proved he had been wrongly accused. Why were so many convicted felons, some with serious criminal pasts, hired to work in Michigan's public schools? Why didn't the school districts perform background screening, especially since school employees have contact with children? Unfortunately for Detroit, it made up almost half of the list of convicted felons working in Michigan schools. While most of the districts had only a few employees on the list, Detroit had 10 pages of felons working in their public schools! According to Martin Ackley, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Education, the most serious offenders' positions were terminated, and the school districts are now deciding who on the list should remain employed. The controversy of Michigan's hiring practices could have been avoided if the school districts had performed even basic background checks that would have saved significant time, money, and considerable embarrassment in the long run. When 73% of job applications contain falsified information, the only way to protect yourself is to institute a background screening program with a thorough criminal background check. EBI can provide you with this so you can ensure a safe work environment for your employees. EBI's CHIPS! service includes over 140 million offense records from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, and CHIPS! is FCRA-compliant, which means that every report is current and complete. Call EBI to discuss a background screening program to suit your company's needs. Our comprehensive screening programs can help ensure you're hiring qualified candidates and avoiding less desirable ones. Criminal records searches. Random drug testing. Reference checks. Everything for a comprehensive picture of your prospective employees. Call us at 800.324.7700 for details.

Copyright© 2006 Employment Background Investigations, Inc. All rights reserved.
Click here to view our privacy policy.