Northern New Mexico used to be my old stomping grounds. I still love the area and pay attention to any breaking news, especially articles about cultural affairs, law enforcement, and background checks as they may relate to this business. I realize this is an odd mix of interests, but anyone focused on only one thing will find it limiting in the long run.
On the NECN website, which is in New England and a long way from New Mexico, I found an article about how a Navajo woman is working with the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or BIA, in expediting employment screening, fingerprinting, and background searches on anyone seeking work on the Indian lands. Special attention is given to those job applicants who will be working with children.
Michele Justice, owner of Personal Security Consultants, will be the go between. She will be setting up an electronic scanning system that is much faster than the old ink and roll’em method, which took three to six months to return. Tribes ran the risk of losing good quality candidates while waiting for the background check to return over that long a time frame. Justice will also be there for technical assistance and training services for more than 200 tribes.
Scanning now will take five days. Not long for a job applicant to wait to see if they are eligible for the job or not. In special instances, where children are concerned or when they are to be placed in foster homes, the turnaround time on the fingerprint scan and background check can be as little as twenty-four hours.
It required for the Indian tribes that background checks are conducted under the child protection law. They cover anyone in regular contact with children — from teachers and school bus drivers to health or social service workers to police officers, who could have to take a child into custody at any time. It also covers volunteers, consultants and contractors as well as regular employees.
According to the news story, Justice was raised in Albuquerque, started her company in 2004 after six years with the BIA.
“I saw this continuing issue — the tribes would ask for help and there was just no real help for them,” she said. “There is no way for the BIA, with all its work, to respond rapidly.”
She bought a projector and a laptop and started training. Her first client was the Hopi Tribe in Arizona.
Justice said her tribal background gives her firm a cultural advantage.
