Written By ESR News Blog Editor Thomas Ahearn
The Contra Costa County Superior Court in California has experienced background check delays of “epic proportions” lasting up to a month and causing job seekers to be passed over for jobs by employers unable to verify records, according to a news report from the Contra Costa Times.
The Contra Costa Times reports that critics of the Contra Costa County Superior Court claim the background check delays are caused by “an antiquated system with no public access to databases” that requires clerks to run each name manually and is badly in need of an overhaul.
Contra Costa County Court officials blame the background check delays on budget cuts that resulted in the loss of more than 100 employees since 2009 and plan to give researchers access to an online database by the end of December 2014, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Public access to terminals is being discussed by Contra Costa County Court officials but will take longer to implement, the Contra Costa Times reports. A publicly searchable index with access to court records is available in Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties.
The Contra Costa Times reports that in 2001 California launched a plan to overhaul the statewide court computer system to expand public access. The plan was scrapped in 2012 after $500 million was spent with cost estimates rising to nearly $2 billion in 2010.
The failure of this plan left a “patchwork system” of county courts with different rules and costs for accessing information, the Contra Costa Times reports. While some counties created efficient and easy-to-use public databases, others such as Contra Costa “lag behind.”
The Contra Costa Times article ‘County’s background check delays swell up to a month, hurting job seekers’ is available at: http://www.contracostatimes.com/contra-costa-county/ci_27084371/countys-background-check-delays-swell-up-month-hurting.
Background Check Services from Employment Screening Resources (ESR)
Employment Screening Resources (ESR) is a nationwide background check firm accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS). To learn more about background check services, call 888.999.4474 or visit http://www.esrcheck.com.
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