MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE
ASSOCIATE DEGREE NURSING DIVISION
 CRIMINAL BACKGROUND HISTORY  

The Mississippi Legislature in 2003 passed House Bill 1077 requiring criminal background checks for employees of licensed health care facilities. Essentially, the new law states that anyone who has been convicted, pleaded guilty or pleaded nolo contendere (no contest) to any of the following crimes will be unable to work in a licensed health care facility. The crimes include possession or sale of drugs, murder, manslaughter, armed robbery, rape, sexual battery, sex offense listed in Section 45-33-23 (f) of the Mississippi Code of 1972, child abuse, arson, grand larceny, burglary, gratification of lust, aggravated assault or felonious abuse and/or battery of a vulnerable adult. Section 45-33-23 (f) of the Mississippi Code of 1972 refers to the registration of sex offenders. This section of the law lists those individuals who must report to any government agency whose duty it is to obtain information from a criminal sex offender upon conviction and to transmit that information to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. The list includes: a criminal sex offender who has been released from the custody of the Department of Corrections; a criminal sex offender released from a county jail; a criminal sex offender released from a municipal jail, a sex offender who has been in the custody of youth court; a criminal sex offender placed on probation, including conditional discharge or unconditional discharge, without any sentence of incarceration; an offender who has been committed to a mental institution following an acquittal by reason of insanity; and a criminal sex offender released from a jurisdiction outside this state or who has a prior conviction in another state and who is to reside in this state.

Although not employees of health care agencies, nursing students perform direct patient care during clinical experiences in health care agencies. Therefore, the law was amended by Senate Bill 2607 to clarify the requirements for nursing and allied health students. Provided the licensed health care agencies where students are performing clinical experiences agree, nursing and allied health students are authorized to sign an affidavit attesting that s/he has not been convicted or pleaded guilty or nolo contendere (no contest) to a felony of possession or sale of drugs, murder, manslaughter, armed robbery, rape, sexual battery, any sex offenses in section 45-33-23 (f), gratification of lust, aggravated assault, or felonious abuse, and/or battery of a vulnerable adult or that any such conviction or plea was reversed on appeal or a pardon was granted for a conviction or plea. If any licensed health care agency disallows use of the affidavit, the students must obtain a criminal background check and fingerprint clearance in accordance with the Mississippi State Health Department’s procedures. Additionally, any student who is unable or unwilling to sign an affidavit must obtain a criminal background check and fingerprint clearance. Any student who is unable to sign the affidavit or to obtain a criminal background/fingerprint clearance will not be able to attend clinical in licensed health care agencies and, therefore, will not be able to complete the requirements of the nursing program. The cost of the criminal background check/fingerprinting is approximately $50.00 and must be paid for by the student at the time of fingerprinting.

Students are cautioned that to falsify an affidavit is perjury which is punishable by law and is grounds for dismissal from the ADN program.