The new checks will be done on about 5% — or about 500 — of the approximately 10,000 social workers licensed in Wisconsin. The checks, which are being done through the state Department of Justice, will provide regulators with an in-state "rap sheet" showing arrests, charges and convictions. However, the check will not provide information about federal crimes or crimes committed in other states.
Hannah Zillmer, a spokeswoman for the Department of Safety and Professional Services, said the program is a test. The current process works on an honor system, simply asking license applicants to disclose their criminal records but not verifying their answers unless they admit a criminal history.
The test program follows an investigation by the Journal Sentinel that examined the history of Francis Deisler, a serial rapist and bank robber who was licensed in 1993 by Wisconsin and as of earlier this year was a licensed clinical social worker before he let his license lapse. Deisler has recently come under investigation in Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana for lying on his application.
