State offers free fingerprinting for Anchorage child care workers' background checks

Child care workers in Anchorage can now get fingerprinted for free at a state office, a new option for completing the background check required to work with children. The state Department of Health's Child Care Program Office has announced that it now offers free digital Livescan fingerprinting at its Anchorage location.

Alaska requires fingerprint-based background checks for people 16 and older who are associated with licensed child care facilities, according to a Department of Health child care licensing brochure. The prints go into the New Alaska Background Check System, the department's background check database, which runs criminal and civil history checks. The full background check process still requires an application and payment of fees in addition to the fingerprints, and the announcement does not say whether those fees change.

The service is by appointment only at 3601 C Street, Suite 140, on the first floor of the Frontier Building. Appointments are generally open Tuesday through Thursday, 9 am to 3:30 pm, with limited openings Monday and Friday. Workers can book at 907-269-4500 or by email at [email protected]. They must bring a printed fingerprint authorization form and valid identification. Parking in the garage is free.

The Governor's Task Force on Child Care recommended Livescan fingerprinting at state office buildings in its 2023 report, saying it would mean "decreasing processing time and cost to providers and applicants." The task force also called for mobile fingerprinting for rural communities without a state office. A separate 2024 Child Care Task Force report found Alaska had lost nearly 10% of its licensed child care providers since January 2020, and warned more facilities could close as federal pandemic relief funding ended.

The office says it is working to add digital fingerprinting at other locations statewide but has not named sites or given a timeline.