> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.imaracare.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Offense Categories

> Understand how background check offense categories determine employment eligibility.

## Overview

Licensing authorities maintain lists of criminal offenses that bar individuals from working in boarding homes. ImaraCare pre-populates these offense categories based on your jurisdiction profile so that when a background check reveals a conviction, you can record the category and the system automatically applies the correct employment bar.

## Bar types

| Bar Type             | Meaning                                                                                                         |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Permanent bar**    | Individual may never work in a licensed boarding home regardless of how long ago the offense occurred           |
| **Time-limited bar** | Individual is barred for a specified number of years following conviction; may be eligible after the bar period |
| **No bar**           | Offense does not affect eligibility (may still affect individual hiring decisions)                              |

## Examples of permanently barred offenses

Offenses that result in a permanent bar typically include crimes against vulnerable persons or children: murder, sexual assault, injury to a child or elderly person, abandonment, trafficking, arson, kidnapping, and exploitation of elderly or disabled persons, including any attempt or conspiracy to commit these offenses.

## Recording an offense category on a background check

1. Go to **Staff & HR → Background Checks**.
2. Open or create a background check record.
3. If the result is flagged, select the **Offense Category** from the dropdown.
4. The system sets the **bar type** and **bar duration** automatically.
5. If the bar is time-limited, enter the **bar lifted date** (conviction date + bar duration).

## Staff profile badges

Staff members with a recorded bar display a badge on their profile card:

* **Permanently Barred** — red badge; staff cannot be assigned or cleared
* **Barred until \[date]** — orange badge with the bar expiry date; clears automatically after the date passes

<Warning>
  You are responsible for verifying criminal history directly with the licensing authority's background check system. ImaraCare's offense category tracking is a record-keeping tool, not a substitute for conducting the required background checks.
</Warning>