ClearPath: Modernizing Fingerprinting for Family Placement - The District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) requests $200,000 over a 24-month project period to modernize the fingerprinting and background-check infrastructure that supports timely approval of kin caregivers, resource parents, and other individuals subject to child welfare background-check requirements. CFSA currently operates three Live Scan devices—one desktop and two laptops—but the devices share legacy software, Windows 10 operating systems, and common connectivity dependencies. During an August 2026 service disruption, all three devices became nonfunctional at the same time, temporarily requiring CFSA to pause scheduling while CFSA, the Office of Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and the equipment vendor worked to restore service. The incident demonstrated that the current configuration provides device capacity but not true operational redundancy. The proposed project will address these vulnerabilities through four activities: a comprehensive gap analysis; procurement, installation, and deployment of modern fixed and mobile fingerprinting capacity; establishment and monitoring of short-term performance measures; and development of a sustainability and continuity plan. The gap analysis will explicitly assess operating-system and software lifecycle, security compliance, connectivity, equipment age, accessibility, workflow differences across CFSA administrations, and contingency pathways. Procurement will require current, vendor-supported technology capable of meeting applicable FBI, Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS), and District security requirements. Demand is substantial. CFSA operational data indicate that approximately 1,125 applicants were fingerprinted in 2025 and 606 had been fingerprinted in 2026 through August. Once capture occurs, DC Local/MPD results are generally returned within 5–10 minutes and FBI results commonly within 15 minutes to 3 hours, although the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) permits up to 72 hours. ClearPath therefore focuses on the parts of the process CFSA can improve directly: reliable system availability, timely appointment access, secure and supported technology, mobile capacity, documented continuity procedures, and consistent performance data. Federal funds will support equipment, supplies, software modernization and licensing, installation and configuration, training, security configuration, warranty support, and related implementation costs so CFSA can maintain a resilient pathway from caregiver identification to required safety clearance.
