Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Mark Glass, Commissioner
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Mark Glass, Commissioner
The mission of the VECHS Program is to protect children, the elderly, and the disabled.
VECHS (pronounced "vecks") is an acronym for the Volunteer & Employee Criminal History System at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The VECHS program was implemented in 1999 and is authorized by the National Child Protection Act (NCPA) (1993), as amended, and Florida Statute 943.0542 (1999).
Through the VECHS program, FDLE and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provide state and national criminal history record information on applicants, employees, and volunteers to qualified organizations (not individuals) in Florida. With this criminal history information, the organizations can more effectively screen out current and prospective volunteers and employees who are not suitable for contact with children, the elderly, or the disabled.
The VECHS program is not available to organizations currently required to obtain criminal history record checks on their employees and/or volunteers under other statutory provisions, such as day care centers. Those organizations must continue to follow the statutory mandates that specifically apply to them. If, however, an organization is required to obtain state and national checks on only specific types of employees or volunteers, the VECHS program may be able to process requests for state and national checks on the organization’s other employees or volunteers.
To be qualified to participate in the VECHS program, an organization (public, private, profit, or non-profit) or particular program facilitated by the organization must offer "care" or "care placement services," specifically to children, the elderly, or the disabled, as defined in Florida Statute 943.0542.
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FDLE is composed of five areas: Executive Direction and Business Support, Criminal Investigations and Forensic Science, Criminal Justice Information, Criminal Justice Professionalism and Florida Capitol Police. FDLE’s duties, responsibilities and procedures are mandated through Chapter 943, FS, and Chapter 11, FAC. To learn more about these areas, read our Statement of Agency Organization and Operation or visit our Open Government page.
