Vermont unsure if all who work with youngsters are checked

(AP) — The state Department for Children and Families says officials can't say for sure if everyone who works with children in private pre-kindergarten programs has undergone required fingerprint-based background checks.

Agency of Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe in September sent a memo saying each program licensee is responsible for making sure that staff members who have not undergone the fingerprint-supported background check are not alone with children.

Some school systems that have long had relationships with private providers were able to comply with the regulation, while "in some other regions, it has been more difficult to initiate and complete the fingerprint process, and more difficult to verify the universe of private partners who need to be cleared," Holcombe wrote.