How to Add a User
To gain HMIS user access, please follow the following steps:
- Email the HMIS Support Desk at hmissupport@openingdoorsnwfl.org to request an email with an encryption link.
- Complete the Background Check Packet, which will contain four forms: The Background Check Consent Form, the Background Check Request Form, the FDLE Privacy Notice, and the Affidavit of Good Moral Character (DCF AGMC). The Affidavit of Good Moral Character must be notarized. Complete these forms and submit via the encrypted email link.
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Opening Doors will process your forms and run a background check in the AHCA Clearinghouse, which includes a FDLE Level 2 Background Check.
Note: If your agency has already run a level 2 background check or a DCF background check, please send us a copy. We still require the Affidavit of Good Moral Character. - Complete the FL511 - Privacy and Security Training and Quiz. You must score 75% or higher.
- Complete the HMIS Basic Training through the PromisSE Learning Management System. Register for the courses at https://learnhmis.org/registration/. The Group Code is FL511.
- Complete Courses 0 through 3. All courses are timed, and you cannot skip ahead.
- Send a copy of all Training Certificates and completed forms to the HMIS Lead. A copy of all forms and certificates should be retained at your home organization.
HMIS Training can take up to 1 business week. We will ask for your cooperation and patience as you go through this process. Opening Doors must ensure that your background check was completed with 30 days of training request and that all users complete training before gaining access to the live site.
This does not replace in-person workflow training for specific federal programs.
How to Request a Background Check
Who Should Be Screened
- Direct service providers of state-or-federals programs that have direct face-to-face contact with a client while providing services -or- has access to a client’s living areas or personal property.
- Employees or volunteers, including minors, who will collect, access, or transmit client personally identifiable information (PII) through the Homeless Management Information System as a part of the PROMISSE implementation which covers thirteen (13) communities between the State of Alabama and Northwest Florida.
How to Get Started?
When a new employee, volunteer, or intern is given an offer to join your agency – a level 2 background check request should be submitted to Opening Doors Northwest Florida at hmissupport@openingdoorsnwfl.org.
Send a Work Ticket Request Email- An email notification including a file attachment of the Background Check Request Form will be sent. Examples of the background check forms are shown below.
- Your new employee or volunteer will complete the form with all fields filled. If a field does not apply, please enter “N/A” in the field.
- Once the form is complete, it should be delivered to Opening Doors within the encrypted link, that will be sent in the initial email to you.
- The Director of HMIS Operations at Opening Doors will schedule the background screening at a local UPS Store. Opening Doors will pay the cost of the background screening.
- The employee or volunteer will receive an email with the appointment registration confirmation with instructions about the location, date/time, and required documents to bring to the appointment.
- Once the fingerprinting scan is complete by UPS, please allow 5-7 business days for Opening Doors SPOC to respond and deliver the results.
Note: Some background screenings take longer than usual if the employee has resided in multiple states within the last five (5) years, has had surname changes, or needs additional review by the FDLE.
Not all criminal offenses are disqualifying. An individual may have a criminal history record and still be ‘Eligible’. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) provides public access to Florida criminal history information. Please visit http://www.fdle.state.fl.us for additional information.
Can I request an Exemption from Disqualification from DCF?
Exemption from Disqualification
Yes. Ineligible employees or volunteers may be able to request an exemption from DCF if an offense exists on their record disqualifying them from clearance.
The granting of an exemption does not change an individual’s criminal history. It only provides eligibility to perform work in the provider setting. An individual seeking an exemption must demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that an exemption from disqualification should be granted. The application will be reviewed, and a decision made once all relevant documentation, listed in the Exemption Form Instructions below, has been received. A person is not eligible to apply for an Exemption from Disqualification until:
- At least 3 years have elapsed since the applicant for exemption has completed or been lawfully released from confinement, supervision or nonmonetary condition imposed by the court for all disqualifying felonies;
- The applicant for the exemption has completed or been lawfully released from confinement, supervision or nonmonetary condition imposed by the court for all misdemeanors prohibited under any of the statutes cited in this chapter or under similar statutes of other jurisdictions;
- The applicant has paid the court-ordered amount in full for any fee, fine, fund, lien, civil judgment, application, cost of prosecution, trust or restitution as part of the judgment and sentence for any disqualifying felony or misdemeanor;
Persons designated as sexual predators, sexual offenders or career offenders are not eligible for an Exemption from Disqualification.
What if our organization completes our own background checks?
Opening Doors can accept a copy of the eligibility determination from the AHCA docket. Your HR Director must send this information through the ShareFile Citrix portal referenced in the main guide.
Sample Background Checks
