DHS Selects New Background Studies Fingerprinting Vendor

Posted on April 7, 2021 by Jonathan Lips

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has selected IDEMIA Identity & Security USA LLC (IDEMIA) as the new vendor to provide statewide fingerprint and photo services for background studies submitted to DHS. IDEMIA was selected through a competitive bid process with cost, quality and reliability of service locations considered in proposal evaluations.

Nothing will change immediately. As we know, under the Governor’s Executive Order 20-12, DHS temporarily modified certain background studies processes and waived fingerprinting requirements due to COVID-19 and the peacetime emergency. A date has not been set to return to fingerprint-based background studies; however, IDEMIA will be prepared to provide fingerprinting and photo services in August 2021.

The DHS webpage provides more information, including answers to frequently asked questions about the transition to IDEMIA from the current service vendor, Thales (formerly Gemalto Cogent and 3M Cogent). 

IDEMIA will have over 80 fingerprint and photo locations throughout the state, and fingerprinting services will transition from the current vendor to IDEMIA by August 2021. DHS will post information about the locations in mid-July. DHS and IDEMIA will monitor demand for fingerprinting services, and IDEMIA will take steps to add capacity based on the data and a transaction formula. Actions may include adding additional fingerprinting and photo service locations or more live scan equipment at locations to ensure sufficient capacity to meet ongoing demand. 

There will be changes related to health care providers serving as public fingerprinting sites, or providers acquiring equipment to use privately with their own new hires. The DHS FAQ notes as follows:

• Entities that provide health and human services or child care services will generally not provide public fingerprinting and photo services due, in part, to concerns about possible conflicts of interest.
• Entities may purchase fingerprinting equipment for use exclusively with their own employees, but only if the entity submits a minimum of 100 background study transactions per month in NETStudy 2.0; or operates 50 or more programs required to use NETStudy 2.0.
• And, once the contract with Thales expires, entities cannot use live scan equipment purchased from Thales for DHS fingerprinting. Thales will contact entities that purchased live scan equipment to provide further information and instructions.

We will follow this news and provide more information about DHS’s transition to IDEMIA in the weeks ahead.