--- title: Employee Background Checks for Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centers description: Depending on the crime, a criminal history may be helpful to the job. How proper employee background checks at a Drug and Alcohol Rehab Center can help. image: https://blog.verifirst.com/hubfs/Blog_Images/Employee_Background_Checks_for_Drug_and_Alcohol_Rehabilitation_Centers.png --- [Types of Background Checks](https://blog.verifirst.com/topic/types-of-background-checks) [Employment Background Screening](https://blog.verifirst.com/topic/employment-background-screening) # Employee Background Checks for Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centers [![Ryan Howard](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/29a1d4bf57e0e03d00a52ef501083a92)](https://blog.verifirst.com/author/ryan-howard) by [Ryan Howard](https://blog.verifirst.com/author/ryan-howard) 2 min read Fri, Aug 28, 2015 ![Employee_Background_Checks_for_Drug_and_Alcohol_Rehabilitation_Centers](https://blog.verifirst.com/hubfs/Blog_Images/Employee_Background_Checks_for_Drug_and_Alcohol_Rehabilitation_Centers.png) # Hiring practices generally include background checks for criminal records. While many HR managers are questioning [how far back to look when it comes to criminal record checks](https://blog.verifirst.com/employee-criminal-records-how-far-back-should-you-look), hiring managers of drug and alcohol rehab centers often expect to find a criminal record on applicants and employees. In fact, depending on the crime, a criminal history may even be helpful to the job. The screening questions then shift from *"Is there a record?"* to *"Does it matter?"* Admirably, employees of drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities often have overcome some of their own challenges. For many providers, this is considered to be a positive attribute that can help enhance the employee’s qualifications for the position. Such a past, however, ***may*** come with arrests or conviction records that would normally raise a red flag with Human Resources. Hiring managers should work with their background screening provider to build a hiring and screening decision matrix that identifies what types of charges and criminal history are deemed acceptable (and what are not).  [![Background Screening Decision Matrix  Free HR Template](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/157703/16f07bda-e91c-47b2-a10e-a8683661abd5.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/157703/16f07bda-e91c-47b2-a10e-a8683661abd5) ## Recommended Background Checks for Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Employees: There are many different types of background checks and pre-employment verifications. As a starting point, we recommend the following (can vary based on position and seniority): 1. Identity Verification 2. National Criminal and Sex Offender Database Search 3. Local Criminal Court Search (Statewide or County) 4. Federal Criminal District Court Search 5. 10 Panel Drug Screening **For some positions, you may consider adding the following verification:** 1. Professional License Verification 2. Education and Employment Verification 3. OIG/GSA Search ## When evaluating an employee’s screening report, what should matter and what may not? A conviction for DUI, or Drug Possession from 7 years ago might not be a concern. But it’s important to recognize that certain crimes may not be acceptable.  As a starting place, we recommend considering these questions: - **How recent is the criminal record (or date of last offense)?  **If more recent, the applicant could pose a greater risk to your organization. - **Is the criminal record a sex offense? **Consider the access an employee may have to meeting with Patients (group meetings vs. private sessions).  - **Was the charge a crime against an individual (violent vs. non-violent)? **Theft vs. Assault, etc.  - **Is the criminal record job related? **Will the criminal charge have a direct and negative impact on the employees ability to perform? - **Are there any State Laws prohibiting certain individuals with criminal records working in a position? **Check [Department of Health and Human Services](http://www.hhs.gov/) for background check requirements. ## Invaluable Experience Employees of drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers often include a mix of individuals who want to give back after turning their own lives around. Being able to relate to a patient, as a caregiver, is invaluable experience that cannot be replicated. Although screening applicants for these facilities might be a bit more of a challenge for a hiring manager, a background screening matrix, that includes some of the above questions, can be helpful. VeriFirst is available to help with a screening matrix and discerning the results of a criminal background check based on the needs and criteria of the organization. **If you are looking for assistance with your employee screening program, let us know how we can help.** [![Job-Related-Background-Checks](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/157703/e15c4bad-798e-409e-ab4d-391578c387f7.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/157703/e15c4bad-798e-409e-ab4d-391578c387f7) #### Share this [Share on X ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https://blog.verifirst.com/employee-background-checks-for-drug-and-alcohol-rehabilitation-centers&text=Employee+Background+Checks+for+Drug+and+Alcohol+Rehabilitation+Centers) [Share on Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://blog.verifirst.com/employee-background-checks-for-drug-and-alcohol-rehabilitation-centers&t=Employee+Background+Checks+for+Drug+and+Alcohol+Rehabilitation+Centers) [Share on LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.verifirst.com/employee-background-checks-for-drug-and-alcohol-rehabilitation-centers&t=Employee+Background+Checks+for+Drug+and+Alcohol+Rehabilitation+Centers) Previous story [← AML Audit Compliance Best Practices](https://blog.verifirst.com/aml-audit-compliance-best-practices) Next story [Why Background Checks Fail →](https://blog.verifirst.com/why-background-checks-fail) ### You May Also Like These Related Stories [What's Included in a Criminal Background Check?](https://blog.verifirst.com/whats-included-in-a-criminal-background-check) ![](https://blog.verifirst.com/hubfs/Blog_Images/Whats%20included%20in%20a%20background%20check.jpg) [Types of Background Checks](https://blog.verifirst.com/topic/types-of-background-checks) #### What's Included in a Criminal Background Check? Fri, Jun 09, 2023 2 min read [What is included in a National Criminal Background Search?](https://blog.verifirst.com/is-a-national-criminal-background-search-all-inclusive) ![](https://blog.verifirst.com/hubfs/Blog_Images/National%20Criminal%20Background%20Check%20Database.jpg) [Types of Background Checks](https://blog.verifirst.com/topic/types-of-background-checks) #### What is included in a National Criminal Background Search? Fri, Mar 03, 2017 3 min read [Deter Criminals. Do a Background Check.](https://blog.verifirst.com/deter-criminals-do-a-background-check) [Types of Background Checks](https://blog.verifirst.com/topic/types-of-background-checks) #### Deter Criminals. Do a Background Check. Thu, Feb 12, 2015 1 min read ### Get Email Notifications ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Ryan Howard", "url" : "https://blog.verifirst.com/author/ryan-howard" }, "datePublished" : "2015-08-28T18:54:23.000Z", "headline" : "Employee Background Checks for Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centers", "image" : [ "https://blog.verifirst.com/hubfs/Blog_Images/Employee_Background_Checks_for_Drug_and_Alcohol_Rehabilitation_Centers.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.verifirst.com/employee-background-checks-for-drug-and-alcohol-rehabilitation-centers", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.verifirst.com/hs-fs/hub/157703/file-1399347280.png" }, "name" : "VeriFirst" } } ```