Most state massage boards are now requiring criminal record checks and fingerprints from their applicants; some have been doing it for years, so it’s not exactly news. Some therapists are resentful of this, mainly due to the extra expense, and some view it as unfair, especially if there are other licensed occupations in their states that are not subject to the same rule.
There are a couple of bigger issues here: most of those boards don’t have a procedure in place that would allow a potential massage student to submit their criminal record to the board for a review before they spend the time and money to attend school.
Even worse, schools frequently make light of the criminal record of an applicant; they’re looking at the bottom line and nothing else. As a member of our state board, I hear that all the time when someone comes to appeal the decision not to give them a license: “But my school director said that wasn’t going to be a problem!” In the case of our community colleges, they’re not allowed to turn someone down because of a criminal record.
I don’t mean to imply that every school owner is money-hungry enough that they take just anyone, in spite of their record. Maybe a school owner who wouldn’t allow a rapist into their program thinks it’s not a problem to let someone in who has been convicted of theft, public drunkenness, a drug charge, trespassing, or resisting arrest…perhaps they look and think, “oh, that’s not too serious; they’ll be able to get licensed.” The problem is, they don’t have any way of knowing that.
Our board has turned down applicants who had criminal records that were 8 or 9 pages long; even if it was all petty crimes, it was obvious that the person was just a career criminal. When we are assessing whether or not to license someone, we use the following criteria:
- What was the crime(s)?
- How old was the applicant when it was committed?
- How long ago did it occur?
- Was it violent or sexual in nature?
- Was the crime an isolated incident or a chronic pattern of behavior?
- Does the person have an obvious problem with substance abuse that accompanies those crimes, or that they attribute the criminal acts to?
- Has the applicant shown any proof of rehabilitation? For how long?
I like to think that I am fair and compassionate. I like to think that I possess enough of that compassion to give someone who has made a mistake in the past a second chance to make something better of themselves, especially if they can stand in front of me and give a convincing argument of why they deserve a second chance. In fact, having had personal family experiences with substance abusers who had a criminal past and who turned their lives around, I’m probably inclined to be more sympathetic than many other people.
The problem is, a sociopath is a natural con artist who can smile at you while plotting the next criminal act he or she is going to commit, whether that’s a sexual assault or stealing your wallet. They can be terribly convincing. There are people who have infiltrated our profession because they thought this would be a good place to meet a fresh crop of victims, and they’re right.
It’s not always a black and white call of whether or not someone has shown sufficient proof of rehabilitation. What’s the proof? We get letters from family members and employers. We have ministers show up at the hearings, proclaiming that the person is now on the straight and narrow, never mind that they’ve only been that way for a month or two. We have the applicants themselves begging and crying big tears in front of a room full of people, blaming it all on their bad childhood and how they got under the influence of the wrong people.
Regulatory boards are charged with protecting the public. That’s why they exist. And believe me, the board members are not bad guys who just want to turn down every person who has made some foolish decisions. I often come home from a meeting wondering if I made the right decision, regardless of which way I voted.
If you’re still a massage student, and you have a criminal record, be very aware that you are spending your time and your money going to school at your own risk. Regardless of what your program director tells you, it isn’t up to them. You may not get a license. If you’re one of those program directors who tells students that “you’re not going to have a problem,” you’re doing them a big disservice, because again, it isn’t up to you. You should be ethical enough to give applicants a strong warning that if they have a record, they are going to be scrutinized by the massage board, and they may not get a license. Be absolutely certain that they understand that before they sign your school contract. It’s your duty, and it’s the only right thing to do.
Peace & Prosperity,
Laura Allen
October 18th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
I own and operate a small massage school in NW Arkansas and we ask the, “Have you been convicted of a felony or Class A Misdemeanor?” question on our intake form. I really appreciated Hearing Dale Atkinson’s comment at the FSMTB conference and immediately implemented it. Dale’s suggestion was that if someone has commited felonies that the school require them to sign a second form stating that they understand they might not ever be able to be granted a massage license by the state. Keep up the good work, Laura!
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October 18th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Laura,
Bingo, you are right on target. NC Community Colleges are considered “open door” when it comes to admissions and to a certain degree, as program directors, our hands are tied.
At our college, ALL of our healthcare programs require students to have a criminal background check and drug screen prior to the first day of class because our students are required to participate in external clinical components. Thank Goodness for that!
Our safeguard is this:
The healthcare organizations, where our students participate in their clinical rotation, DO require the CBC’s and drug screens.
Yes, it lets the community college system off the hook, so to speak, while still controlling, to a certain degree, the quality of students that enter our educational gates. AND….the external healthcare facilities are the ones that make the call of which students to REJECT based on criminal background & drug checks.
The reports go directly to a database that is accessed by the clinical organizations & the students themselves can access their own results.
NOW, if the student is rejected by the clinical organization, they cannot complete their classes do to a “failure to progress” as clinical is a required component of their class.
I do tell our students with suspicious backgrounds that the “powers that be” still have the ability to deny licensure for backgrounds that are indeed questionable.
Our problem has been that sometimes the hospitals let someone slip thru their fingers when checking the reports. If the clinical agencies do not catch the error, we cannot drop them from the class.
Even with this safeguard, some simply slip thru the cracks,. Some students think we are crazy when alerting them to the harsh realization that they, in reality, may never be able to get a license in ANY healthcare profession. GO FIGURE….
Keep up the good work, Laura, you are one in a million….
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October 19th, 2009 at 8:15 am
Thank you, Laura. Well written!
I personally interview everyone that attends our program. And, we do ask on the application if they have ever been convicted of a crime and/or are on probation. If the answer is “Yes” to that question, I ask them what the offense is/was. Most of the time I give them the number to the North Carolina Board of Massage and have them ask them up front – before they enroll.
The last thing I want to do is have someone go through this program and then be told they cannot get a license.
I’m up front and honest with each and every applicant. And, I wish every school was the same.
Thank you for all that you do, Laura. I enjoy reading your articles and Face Book entries!
Kristie Morgan
http://www.NCmassageSchool.com
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October 19th, 2009 at 8:48 am
In my state, the massage board has told me that when reviewing those with criminal backgrounds, they are specifically looking for sex crimes. I understand that they are fairly liberal, so those students I have “vouched” for have all gotten their licenses. I think I’ve always had at least one in each class that had something, be it a DUI or possession charge. I’ve always encouraged them to be honest, but I wonder how many just slipped on by.
I taught massage at a vocational college for a while, and there was a big problem with not only students with criminal backgrounds that included violence but untreated mental illness and learning disabilities. Admission policy at the school was basically “get them in”. They found that about a quarter of the students who enrolled and completed the Criminal Justice program were not eligible to work in their field because of their criminal records.
When I have complained about it to the higher ups, their finger points constantly to the federal student loan program. We are not allowed to discriminate if we are taking federal money. But eliminating this connection would certainly put many schools under. It is a quagmire, isn’t it?
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October 19th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Kristie, while I applaud you that you personally do talk with your students about this, you are wasting your time, and theirs, by telling them to call the massage board before they enter school. The Board does NOT review criminal records, at this point in time, prior to receiving the actual application for licensure.
That was the point of this blog—most of the states don’t and won’t tell them beforehand whether or not they’re going to be denied. They’re not going to get an answer, and that’s what they’ll be told when they call the Board. It’s all we can do to deal with the ones who actually do apply.
One person does not have say-so; so it isn’t like the student can call and get an answer. Applicants with criminal records here are reviewed by a committee of three board members and the board’s attorney, and the committee makes a recommendation to the full board of whether or not to deny the license. The full Board then discusses it, and they can choose to accept or refuse our recommendation, so it is a slow process. That’s a standard procedure with most state massage boards.
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November 2nd, 2009 at 5:46 pm
My only complaint about the criminal background check for MTs in the State of Colorado is that it takes months to get processed; yet gun dealers are complaining that they cannot get an instant (less than 2 hours) check done for weapons purchases at gun shows! It would seem to me that our society has its priorities very wrong here. Maybe we should have a constitutional amendment to add the right to “bare arms (and other body parts)”?
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