Pittsfield Council Tables DCF Background Check Ordinance
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council decided that a policy to require clearance from the Department of Children and Families for city employees needs more time.
At last Tuesday's meeting, an ordinance requiring a background check with DCF for all new hires who have contact with minors was tabled.
Ward 2 Councilor Brittany Noto, who is an attorney, believes this is an "extreme overreach of privacy" and will have a disparate impact on otherwise qualified applicants who come from low socioeconomic status, people of color, survivors of domestic violence, and single parents.
"We want more qualified applicants in the city pool who have diverse backgrounds, not less," she asserted.
"If we want to address the actual problem in our schools then we must look to the schools themselves to follow through with disciplinary actions, disclosure, and wherever appropriate, actually removing abuse perpetrators from this field, instead of allowing them to resign and walk away quietly only to be hired by another institution."
She said that while everyone understands DCF is doing its best to serve communities, there are instances where a finding could come out negatively toward someone and then found to be without basis, successfully appealed, or overturned.
"And of note for this council, approximately half of DCF findings are overturned by the Fair Hearing office or could be the result of a non-abusive parent simply struggling to leave an abusive relationship," Noto added.
"Further, this proposed ordinance, as currently drafted, makes no distinction as to open cases versus closed cases with the department, so theoretically, otherwise qualified applicants would be subjected to having decades-old closed cases dug up for inspection, including running the risk of disclosing records involving applicants when they themselves were minors and other potential minors, of which this proposed ordinance makes no distinction."
She admires petitioner Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren's "very" clear efforts and passion to address this problem, but does not think the proposed ordinance achieves that intent.
"I think this proposed ordinance is too broad, has a disparate impact on vulnerable communities, and does not get to the root of the issue," Noto said.
"I think the problem in our schools is going to be fixed when we all take allegations from all students and parents seriously and actually investigate properly, instead of simply passing these perpetrators around quietly. I do not support subjecting qualified people who want to work for the city to a deep dive of any past struggles they may have had with their families and the Department of Children and Families."
Warren said that Noto raised some great points, "and they may or may not be addressed by the language of the statute."
"And I would confirm with her that I have dealt with DCF and they're well-meaning, but sometimes they come up with decisions that you'd be amazed at," he said as a fellow attorney.
"So I'm prepared to, and I petition for this. I'm prepared to move to table this so we can do some further looking into it."
Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso recognized the good intent of the ordinance and said the council needs to work on it more. Ward 3 Councilor Matthew Wrinn agreed, as "There is a lot more work that needs to be done."
City Solicitor Devon Grierson pointed out that the DCF background check indicates that it would show whether an individual has any supported reports of child abuse and or neglect within Massachusetts.
"The department's central registry check does not include unsupported reports, reports with a finding of substantial concern, or reports where the named individual was reported as an alleged victim of child abuse and or neglect," he reported.
Noto, referencing Greater Boston Legal Services, said that real-life examples of findings of neglect include having a successful stalker, allowing your child to play with Roblox, being unable to re-enroll your child in school, and declining to file for divorce for safety reasons.
"I have extensive experience with survivors of domestic violence and I would hate for an otherwise qualified applicant who has, maybe, a 10-year or more history with an abusive partner that then gets dug up for a hiring committee to inspect when it's not at all related to their ability to do the job," she said, adding that "I just simply don't support it."
The school district-initiated investigation into the alleged misconduct of Pittsfield High School staffers will conclude at the end of the month. DCF has cleared Dean of Students Molly West and Vice Principal Alison Shepard of misconduct claims that surfaced in December.
The proposed ordinance reads:
"The Department shall adopt a policy to conduct a background check through the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families database on all prospective employees of the City of Pittsfield who regularly interact with children as part of their job responsibilities. Said policy shall further provide that current employees of the City of Pittsfield who regularly interact with children as part of their job responsibilities shall be subject to said background checks not less than every three years from their date of hire. To the extent any collective bargaining provision conflicts with this provision, the Department will use its best efforts to advocate to amend the respective collective bargaining provisions. This provision does not alter or affect collective bargaining agreements or collective bargaining rights in effect as of the date of its passage."
