2007 Minnesota Statutes

524.5-118 BACKGROUND STUDY.
    Subdivision 1. When required; exception. (a) The court shall require a background study
under this section:
(1) before the appointment of a guardian or conservator, unless a background study has been
done on the person under this section within the previous five years; and
(2) once every five years after the appointment, if the person continues to serve as a guardian
or conservator.
(b) The background study must include criminal history data from the Bureau of Criminal
Apprehension, other criminal history data held by the commissioner of human services, and
data regarding whether the person has been a perpetrator of substantiated maltreatment of a
vulnerable adult and a minor.
(c) The court shall request a search of the National Criminal Records Repository if the
proposed guardian or conservator has not resided in Minnesota for the previous five years or if
the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension information received from the commissioner of human
services under subdivision 2, paragraph (b), indicates that the subject is a multistate offender or
that the individual's multistate offender status is undetermined.
(d) If the guardian or conservator is not an individual, the background study must be done
on all individuals currently employed by the proposed guardian or conservator who will be
responsible for exercising powers and duties under the guardianship or conservatorship.
(e) If the court determines that it would be in the best interests of the ward or protected
person to appoint a guardian or conservator before the background study can be completed, the
court may make the appointment pending the results of the study.
(f) The fee for conducting a background study for appointment of a professional guardian
or conservator must be paid by the guardian or conservator. In other cases, the fee must be paid
as follows:
(1) if the matter is proceeding in forma pauperis, the fee is an expense for purposes of
section 524.5-502, paragraph (a);
(2) if there is an estate of the ward or protected person, the fee must be paid from the estate; or
(3) in the case of a guardianship or conservatorship of the person that is not proceeding in
forma pauperis, the court may order that the fee be paid by the guardian or conservator or by
the court.
(g) The requirements of this subdivision do not apply if the guardian or conservator is:
(1) a state agency or county;
(2) a parent or guardian of a proposed ward or protected person who has a developmental
disability, if the parent or guardian has raised the proposed ward or protected person in the family
home until the time the petition is filed, unless counsel appointed for the proposed ward or
protected person under section 524.5-205, paragraph (d); 524.5-304, paragraph (b); 524.5-405,
paragraph (a) ; or 524.5-406, paragraph (b), recommends a background study; or
(3) a bank with trust powers, bank and trust company, or trust company, organized under
the laws of any state or of the United States and which is regulated by the commissioner of
commerce or a federal regulator.
    Subd. 2. Procedure; criminal history and maltreatment records background check. (a)
The court shall request the commissioner of human services to complete a background study
under section 245C.32. The request must be accompanied by the applicable fee and the signed
consent of the subject of the study authorizing the release of the data obtained to the court. If the
court is requesting a search of the National Criminal Records Repository, the request must be
accompanied by a set of classifiable fingerprints of the subject of the study. The fingerprints must
be recorded on a fingerprint card provided by the commissioner of human services.
(b) The commissioner of human services shall provide the court with information from the
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's criminal justice information system, other criminal history
data held by the commissioner of human services, and data regarding substantiated maltreatment
of vulnerable adults under section 626.557 and substantiated maltreatment of minors under
section 626.556 within 15 working days of receipt of a request. If the subject of the study has been
the perpetrator of substantiated maltreatment of a vulnerable adult or minor, the response must
include a copy of the public portion of the investigation memorandum under section 626.557,
subdivision 12b , or the public portion of the investigation memorandum under section 626.556,
subdivision 10f . If the court did not request a search of the National Criminal Records Repository
and information from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension indicates that the subject is a
multistate offender or that multistate offender status is undetermined, the response must include
this information. The commissioner shall provide the court with information from the National
Criminal Records Repository within three working days of the commissioner's receipt of the data.
(c) Notwithstanding section 626.557, subdivision 12b, or 626.556, subdivision 10f, if the
commissioner of human services or a county lead agency has information that a person on whom a
background study was previously done under this section has been determined to be a perpetrator
of maltreatment of a vulnerable adult or minor, the commissioner or the county may provide this
information to the court that requested the background study. The commissioner may also provide
the court with additional criminal history or substantiated maltreatment information that becomes
available after the background study is done.
    Subd. 3. Form. The commissioner of human services shall develop a form to be used for
requesting a background study under this section, which must include:
(1) a notification to the subject of the study that the court will request the commissioner to
perform a background study under this section;
(2) a notification to the subject of the rights in subdivision 4; and
(3) a signed consent to conduct the background study.
    Subd. 4. Rights. The court shall notify the subject of a background study that the subject has
the following rights:
(1) the right to be informed that the court will request a background study on the subject for
the purpose of determining whether the person's appointment or continued appointment is in the
best interests of the ward or protected person;
(2) the right to be informed of the results of the study and to obtain from the court a copy of
the results; and
(3) the right to challenge the accuracy and completeness of information contained in the
results under section 13.04, subdivision 4, except to the extent precluded by section 256.045,
subdivision 3 .
History: 2003 c 12 art 1 s 16; 2004 c 146 art 2 s 2; 2005 c 56 s 1