Bottom Line for Louisiana Nonprofits
- ✓Volunteers and employees of any qualified entity providing care for children, elderly, or disabled individuals who register under VECHS (R.S. 15:587.7)
- ✓All personnel (including volunteers with regular child contact) at LDOE-licensed Early Learning Centers and Family Day Care Homes
- ✓LDH contractors and volunteers who supervise or discipline children, or have access to Medicaid records
- +1 more covered roles below
State Laws That Apply to Volunteer Background Checks
Louisiana Revised Statutes § 15:587.7 — VECHS
La. R.S. § 15:587.7 (2022, current)Establishes the Volunteer and Employee Criminal History System (VECHS) administered by the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information (BCII). Authorizes qualified entities — nonprofits, businesses, and voluntary organizations providing care or care placement services for children, elderly, or disabled individuals — to register with BCII and request state and federal criminal history records on volunteers and employees.
Louisiana Administrative Code — Child Care Criminal Background Check (CCCBC)
La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § CLXV-310; R.S. § 15:587.1(C)Requires criminal background checks for all personnel, contractors, and household members at licensed Early Learning Centers, Registered Family Day Care Homes, and in-home childcare providers regulated by the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE). Child abuse and neglect clearances are administered separately through DCFS.
Who Must Be Screened in Louisiana
!Legally Required to Be Screened
- •Volunteers and employees of any qualified entity providing care for children, elderly, or disabled individuals who register under VECHS (R.S. 15:587.7)
- •All personnel (including volunteers with regular child contact) at LDOE-licensed Early Learning Centers and Family Day Care Homes
- •LDH contractors and volunteers who supervise or discipline children, or have access to Medicaid records
- •AmeriCorps and Volunteer Louisiana program participants (federal Serve America Act / R.S. 15:587.7 combined)
Types of Background Checks Required in Louisiana
How to Get Background Checks in Louisiana
$5 per check — includes national criminal database, sex offender registry across all 50 states, SSN trace, and FCRA Certified Compliance Team review.
Start Free Today →Volunteer Screening in Louisiana: What You Need to Know
Louisiana has a robust faith-based and disaster relief volunteer sector (particularly relevant given recurring hurricane seasons), and the state's VECHS framework under R.S. 15:587.7 is the primary vehicle for nonprofits to access criminal history records on volunteers. Louisiana nonprofits must register as a 'qualified entity' with BCII before submitting any volunteer background check requests under VECHS — this registration step is frequently overlooked by small organizations. The state does not have a comprehensive FCRA analog at the state level; federal FCRA governs consumer reporting agency checks. Louisiana's disaster response volunteer ecosystem creates unique urgency around background check timelines — some AmeriCorps and emergency relief programs operate under expedited check protocols.
Compliance Tips for Louisiana Nonprofits
- 1
Register your organization as a 'qualified entity' with the Louisiana BCII (Louisiana State Police) before deploying volunteers in care-serving roles — VECHS access requires upfront registration and you cannot submit background check requests without it.
- 2
Run both the BCII state criminal history check and the DCFS child abuse/neglect clearance separately — they are different databases, different agencies, and both may be required depending on your program type.
- 3
For LDOE-licensed childcare programs, the CCCBC process must be completed through the LDOE system specifically — the VECHS/BCII pathway is a separate process and does not satisfy LDOE childcare licensing requirements.
- 4
Disaster relief and emergency volunteer deployments (common in Louisiana) often qualify for expedited checks under AmeriCorps/FEMA protocols — contact Volunteer Louisiana to determine if expedited VECHS processing is available for your deployment scenario.
- 5
If any volunteer has resided in another state in the past five years, request an Interstate Criminal History Transmission (ICHT) through BCII to capture out-of-state records — Louisiana's VECHS check only covers in-state records unless the FBI fingerprint component is included.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Louisiana Revised Statutes § 15:587.7 — VECHS apply to my nonprofit?
Louisiana law applies to nonprofits with volunteers working in covered roles — typically involving direct, unsupervised contact with children, elderly individuals, or vulnerable adults. Louisiana requires background checks for volunteers in childcare, long-term care, and programs serving children, elderly, or disabled individuals through two frameworks: the Volunteer and Employee Criminal History System (VECHS) under R.
What happens if we skip background checks in Louisiana?
Failing to screen volunteers in Louisiana can expose your organization to negligent supervision liability, loss of insurance coverage, and — in sectors with mandatory requirements — regulatory penalties. Under the federal FCRA, running checks without proper procedures also creates compliance risk.
How long does a Louisiana volunteer background check take?
Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information (BCII), administered by Louisiana State Police (LSP) — processes VECHS requests and fingerprint-based state checks; Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) for child abuse/neglect registry; Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) for childcare licensing typically processes checks in BCII state name-based: 3–5 business days; VECHS with FBI fingerprint: 3–6 weeks. VolunteerBadge's national criminal database search returns results instantly for most volunteers.