NYS Sex Offender Registry Search Procedures for Children's Camps

Fact Sheet – April 2009

Article 13-B of Public Health Law requires children's camp operators to determine whether an employee or volunteer is listed on the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) Sex Offender Registry. Checks of the Registry must be completed prior to the day the employee or volunteer starts work at the camp and annually thereafter prior to their arrival at camp. The law applies to all children's camps (day, traveling day and overnight) and to all prospective employees and volunteers at the camp regardless of their job title/responsibilities or employment status (full or part-time).

How to conduct a search:

A search of the Sex Offender Registry is a free and simple service provided by DCJS. The method for submitting a search request will vary depending upon the number of individuals requested to be checked against the Registry. Search requests of 30 or more individuals must be made by e-mail or Compact Disc (CD). Requests of fewer than 30 individuals must be made by regular mail or fax, or up to five names at a time by telephone. To speed processing, the DCJS has requested that camps limit the number of search request submissions by consolidating names of prospective employees and volunteers into as few submittals as possible.

Requirements for e-mail and CD submission:

To submit a list of 30 or more individuals, enter the prospective employee's or volunteer's full name (last and first) and complete birth date or social security number (SSN) into an Excel spreadsheet, one item per field, and submit to the Registry as an e-mail attachment or on a CD. There are no restrictions for the number of characters for name data fields, but the fields must be formatted exactly as specified below. Please note that there is no space between words in the column headings for LastName and FirstName, and an underscore is used to separate the words in the column heading for Birth_Date.

Birth_Date format – Birth_Date (must be MM/DD/YYYY):

LastName FirstName Birth_Date
Sample Sam 01/05/1978

SSN format – SSN (must be 9 numbers, no spaces):

LastName FirstName SSN
Sample Sam 123456789

E-mail submissions

The Excel spreadsheet may be attached to an e-mail and sent to infodcjs@dcjs.state.ny.us . The e-mail must include the camp name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and contact person for DCJS to call if there are questions. In the subject line of the e-mail enter "800 # search."

CD submissions

A letter containing the camp name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and the contact person for DCJS to call if there are questions must accompany CD submissions. CDs may be sent to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, Sex Offender Registry, 4 Tower Place, Albany, NY 12203. CDs will not be returned. A letter indicating search results will be mailed to the requestor.

Requirements for fax or regular mail submissions:

Request for fewer than 30 individuals must be made by fax or regular mail by submitting to the Registry, the prospective employee's or volunteer's full name (first and last) and one of the following: complete address, social security number, date of birth, or driver's license number.

All information must be submitted on camp letterhead or other pages each containing the camp name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and contact person for DCJS to call if there are questions. Information may be faxed to (518) 485-5805, or mailed to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, Sex Offender Registry, 4 Tower Place, Albany, NY 12203.

Requirements for telephone checks:

To check up to five names at a time by telephone, call (800) 262-3257. When calling, provide the prospective employee's or volunteer's full name (first and last) and one of the following: complete address, social security number, date of birth, or driver's license number.

Other methods:

At this time, use of the DCJS website does not satisfy the requirement of the law because the website only contains Risk Level 2 and 3 offenders.

DCJS response:

The DCJS prefers responding to requests to search the Registry by fax; however, they will respond by regular mail if a fax number is not available/provided. DCJS's response will indicate the total number of individuals checked against the Registry and either the names of the individuals listed on the Registry and their risk level, or that no matches were found. The list of employees/volunteers submitted to be searched will not be returned by DCJS unless specifically requested by the camp operator with the initial search request submittal. Results of search requests made by telephone will be provided during the phone call.

Risk Levels:

Sex offenders are classified according to their risk of re-offending. The court may assign one of the following three risk levels:

  • Level 1 – low risk of repeat offense;
  • Level 2 – moderate risk of repeat offense; or
  • Level 3 – high risk of repeat offense.

Note – While waiting a risk level assignment from the court, an individual is categorized as "Pending."

Documentation:

A copy of prospective employee's or volunteer's information submitted to DCJS and letter from DCJS indicating the search results must be kept on file at camp and available for review during Health Department inspections. Camps that use the telephone screening process must document the screening date, DCJS response and DCJS screener ID number.

Additional information

For more information regarding the Division of Criminal Justice Services Sex Offender Registry, call (518) 457-3167.