§ 90-270.63. Criminal history record checks of applicants for licensure as a marriage and family therapist and a marriage and family therapy associate.
§ 90‑270.63. Criminalhistory record checks of applicants for licensure as a marriage and familytherapist and a marriage and family therapy associate.
(a) Definitions. Thefollowing definitions shall apply in this section:
(1) Applicant. Aperson applying for licensure as a licensed marriage and family therapyassociate pursuant to G.S. 90‑270.54A or licensed marriage and familytherapist pursuant to G.S. 90‑270.54.
(2) Criminal history. Ahistory of conviction of a State or federal crime, whether a misdemeanor orfelony, that bears on an applicant's fitness for licensure to practice marriageand family therapy. The crimes include the criminal offenses set forth in anyof the following Articles of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes: Article 5,Counterfeiting and Issuing Monetary Substitutes; Article 5A, EndangeringExecutive and Legislative Officers; Article 6, Homicide; Article 7A, Rape andOther Sex Offenses; Article 8, Assaults; Article 10, Kidnapping and Abduction;Article 13, Malicious Injury or Damage by Use of Explosive or Incendiary Deviceor Material; Article 14, Burglary and Other Housebreakings; Article 15, Arsonand Other Burnings; Article 16, Larceny; Article 17, Robbery; Article 18,Embezzlement; Article 19, False Pretenses and Cheats; Article 19A, ObtainingProperty or Services by False or Fraudulent Use of Credit Device or OtherMeans; Article 19B, Financial Transaction Card Crime Act; Article 20, Frauds;Article 21, Forgery; Article 26, Offenses Against Public Morality and Decency;Article 26A, Adult Establishments; Article 27, Prostitution; Article 28,Perjury; Article 29, Bribery; Article 31, Misconduct in Public Office; Article35, Offenses Against the Public Peace; Article 36A, Riots and Civil Disorders;Article 39, Protection of Minors; Article 40, Protection of the Family; Article59, Public Intoxication; and Article 60, Computer‑Related Crime. Thecrimes also include possession or sale of drugs in violation of the NorthCarolina Controlled Substances Act in Article 5 of Chapter 90 of the GeneralStatutes and alcohol‑related offenses, including sale to underage personsin violation of G.S. 18B‑302 or driving while impaired in violation ofG.S. 20‑138.1 through G.S. 20‑138.5. In addition to the NorthCarolina crimes listed in this subdivision, such crimes also include similarcrimes under federal law or under the laws of other states.
(b) The Board mayrequest that an applicant for licensure, an applicant seeking reinstatement ofa license, or a licensee under investigation by the Board for alleged criminaloffenses in violation of this Article consent to a criminal history recordcheck. Refusal to consent to a criminal history record check may constitutegrounds for the Board to deny licensure to an applicant, deny reinstatement ofa license to an applicant, or revoke the license of a licensee. The Board shallensure that the State and national criminal history of an applicant is checked.The Board shall be responsible for providing to the North Carolina Departmentof Justice the fingerprints of the applicant or licensee to be checked, a formsigned by the applicant or licensee consenting to the criminal history recordcheck and the use of fingerprints and other identifying information required bythe State or National Repositories of Criminal Histories, and any additionalinformation required by the Department of Justice in accordance with G.S. 114‑19.27.The Board shall keep all information obtained pursuant to this sectionconfidential. The Board shall collect any fees required by the Department ofJustice and shall remit the fees to the Department of Justice for expensesassociated with conducting the criminal history record check.
(c) If an applicant'sor licensee's criminal history record check reveals one or more convictionslisted under subdivision (a)(2) of this section, the conviction shall notautomatically bar licensure. The Board shall consider all of the followingfactors regarding the conviction:
(1) The level ofseriousness of the crime.
(2) The date of thecrime.
(3) The age of theperson at the time of the conviction.
(4) The circumstancessurrounding the commission of the crime, if known.
(5) The nexus betweenthe criminal conduct of the person and the duties and responsibilities of alicensee.
(6) The person's prison,jail, probation, parole, rehabilitation, and employment records since the datethe crime was committed.
(7) The subsequentcommission by the person of a crime listed in subdivision (a)(2) of thissection.
If, after reviewing thesefactors, the Board determines that the applicant's or licensee's criminalhistory disqualifies the applicant or licensee for licensure, the Board maydeny licensure or reinstatement of the license of the applicant or revoke thelicense of the licensee. The Board may disclose to the applicant or licenseeinformation contained in the criminal history record check that is relevant tothe denial. The Board shall not provide a copy of the criminal history recordcheck to the applicant or licensee. The applicant or licensee shall have the rightto appear before the Board to appeal the Board's decision. However, anappearance before the full Board shall constitute an exhaustion ofadministrative remedies in accordance with Chapter 150B of the GeneralStatutes.
(d) The Board, itsofficers, and employees, acting in good faith and in compliance with thissection, shall be immune from civil liability for denying licensure orreinstatement of a license to an applicant or revoking a licensee's licensebased on information provided in the applicant's or licensee's criminal historyrecord check. (2009‑393,s. 17.)