(a) Criminal record checks required under this title shall be obtained as provided in this section.

(b) The Commissioner for Children and Families or any judge of the Probate Division of the Superior Court shall obtain from the Vermont Crime Information Center the record of Vermont convictions and pending criminal charges for any person being evaluated to be an adoptive parent.

(c) The Commissioner or Probate judge, through the Vermont Crime Information Center shall request the record of convictions and pending criminal charges of the appropriate criminal repositories in all states in which there is reason to believe the applicant has resided or been employed.

(d) If no disqualifying record is identified at the State level, the Commissioner or Probate judge through the Vermont Crime Information Center shall request from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) a national criminal history record check of the applicant's convictions and pending criminal charges. The request to the FBI shall be accompanied by a set of the applicant's fingerprints and a fee established by the Vermont Crime Information Center which shall be paid by the applicant and shall reflect the cost of obtaining the record from the FBI.

(e) The Vermont Crime Information Center shall send to the requester any record received pursuant to this section or inform the requester that no record exists.

(f) The requester shall promptly provide a copy of any record of convictions and pending criminal charges to the applicant and shall inform the applicant of the right to appeal the accuracy and completeness of the record pursuant to rules adopted by the Vermont Crime Information Center.

(g) Upon completion of the applicant process under this section, the applicant's fingerprint card and any copies thereof shall be destroyed. (Added 1997, No. 53, § 1, eff. June 26, 1997; amended 1997, No. 139 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 1997, No. 163 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 2007, No. 65, § 127a; 2007, No. 77, § 3; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2013, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 11.)