Audit Report on the Hamilton-Madison House Child Care Center’s Screening of Personnel through the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment

This audit determined whether personnel working at the Hamilton-Madison House (HMH) child care center located at 253 South Street in Manhattan have been properly screened through the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR).  New York City Health Code §47.19 requires that all child care center employees and volunteers undergo an SCR clearance review prior to being hired and every two years thereafter.

Child care centers are essential for many working families.  They contribute to the overall development of children by providing education, recreation, and a safe and structured environment for children while their parents work.  HMH operates a child care center for three and four year-old children at 253 South Street in Manhattan (and at three other locations) under a contract with the New York City (City) Administration for Children’s Services (ACS).

Audit Findings and Conclusions

We reviewed the SCR-clearance status of eight individuals who were working as employees or volunteers at the HMH child care center at 253 South Street as of January 17, 2017, and found that for five individuals—four employees and one volunteer—HMH had not obtained the most recently required SCR clearance in a timely manner; the clearances were late by periods that ranged from 11 days to nearly two years.  We also found that HMH had not obtained any SCR clearance for one volunteer, even though the individual told us that he had worked at the child care center for eight years.

Audit Recommendations

To address these issues, the audit recommends, among other things, that HMH ensure that all of its personnel receive the required initial SCR clearances before they start work and renewal SCR clearances within two years of their prior clearances.

Agency Response

In its written response, HMH generally agreed with the audit’s five recommendations but did not fully respond to one of them in that it only addressed the maintenance of personnel files for its employees and not for its volunteers.  The full text of HMH’s response is included as an addendum to this report.