Criminal Record?

You will need to disclose the arrest regardless; the question doesn't have anything to do with conviction or even guilt - an arrest is an arrest.Even with an expunged record, you may want to do a little more checking on whether it needs to be disclosed - I would find a social worker, even if not the one you are working with, who you can ask. It isn't asking if your husband has a criminal record, and he was convicted even if the record has now been expunged. I know that when I applied for my professional license I was told that I needed to disclose any convictions, even if the record has been expunged, because I was convicted, and that I should include the record being expunged in my explanation.

I am with Ruth74. Regardless of whether it was expunged, the question is have you ever been arrested. It is not giving exception to anything. Honesty is the best policy. My husband was arrested in the past, and we were 100% honest. It was not held against us. My thoughts are this, why take the chance? It was 12 years ago, it highly doubt will not be held against him.

Gotta disclose it. My DH was arrested and we didn't disclose it since he was never charged with anything, just detained. Guess what? It came up. Then we had to explain why we didn't disclose it. I would just disclose it. The SW may not even address it. If they do he can explain, particularly how he has grwon since that incident.

Disclose, disclose, disclose. If it is discovered that you had an arrest, the first thing that people will think is, "If he didn't disclose this minor thing, WHAT ELSE is he hiding?" On the other hand, if you disclose an arrest and can say, "Boy, was I stupid when I was 19," you will almost certainly get approved unless what you did was more than stupid. Child abuse or neglect, abuse of a spouse or domestic partner, etc. is NEVER approvable. Don't think, "It was expunged; no one will know about it." If you were fingerprinted at the police station, even if you were too drunk to remember it, your prints are in the national data base, and if you have to be fingerprinted for your adoption, they are likely to show up, along with your arrest. And it's really interesting how many presumably expunged records show up in today's electronic data bases. If you disclose an arrest, you will probably be asked to obtain a copy of the police report and a copy of any court record or other action that was taken, with proof that you fulfilled any requirements placed on you -- for example, paying a fine or taking an anger management class. You will also be asked to write an explanation of what happened in the incident for which you were arrested. It's really important NOT to make excuses or downplay what you did. Don't say, "Everyone smoked marijuana back then," or "It was a harmless prank; no one was hurt when we broke into the school and ran around squirting the fire extinguishers." State what you did in a matter of fact way. Add comments that show you understand that what you did was wrong and stupid, like, "I drove the wrong way on a one-way street because I was drunk. I was darn lucky that the police stopped me. I could have killed somebody." Indicate what you learned from the situation, and what you did subsequently to make sure you wouldn't be tempted to do the same thing again. "I went to alcohol awareness class. I thought it would be boring, but I actually learned a lot. I didn't realize that I was getting to be what's called a "binge drinker" -- that's five or more drinks for a guy, in the course of an evening, on a regular basis. I have an uncle who's an alcoholic, and I did NOT want to be like him -- always losing his job, getting angry and yelling at his kids, missing appointments. I wound up quitting drinking altogether, because I worried that alcoholism could run in the family." Then add something to show that the offense is in the distant past, and that it hasn't been repeated -- for example, "I haven't had a drink since that incident, and that was twelve years ago, when I was 19. My uncle has cirrhosis of the liver. I just ran a marathon, and my liver is as healthy as a horse. I want to be a good father, so I plan to keep it that way." It's a lot easier to put together that sort of documentation than to lose the chance to adopt because you thought you could get away with failing to disclose. Sharon

This. If it was 12 years ago, I doubt they'll use it against him.

My husband and I were both foster children , he was adopted however I aged out. my fear is that a class A misdemeanor for terroristic threatening from when I was 17 will keep us from adopting......please help we are in western nc and I have no other criminal record I am afraid my stupid mistake as a young angry juvenile will ruin my chances of being a mom

we found out last night that it will not affect our adoption as it happened so long ago and was a misdemeanor and there is no further criminal record so thats one hurdle down thank you for the help guys its nice to know there are others out there in our similiar situation

I'm really glad everyone's records are fairly minor, it sounds like. When we thought about becoming foster parents, 3 minor arrest records came up on DH background. They were 20 yrs ago, all around the same time. When I went to get copies of the police reports, the lady had about 3 additional records...one for a (hot or forged...can't remember) check and also he kicked in the door of a building in town (not sure why unless he ran away and was staying there, possibly). They were all during a 12-18 month period. We were going to adopt from China. However, I am just going to be realistic. Who would approve someone with 6 records, even minor ones. I do not think we will be able to grow our family by adoption. I am going to stress to my sons that what you do when you are 19 can affect the rest of your life, your future wife's life, etc. He made the choices and now we must live with them.

When something is expunged, it legally never happened. Legally you will not be lying if you say you have never been arrested if your only arrest was expunged. I have done lots of research about this and have specifically asked the courts if this was true and they have confirmed it. When something is expunged the record of the arrest and court dates are supposed to be sealed or wiped clean, however the community service would not be. The issue arises when the arrest was expunged at the town, city, state, federal level but not at the other levels. If your arrest was elevated and noted in state record but later expunged by the city you will need to check if it was truely expunged at all levels. The other issue arises not in the law but in ethics. In reality the person was still arrested regardless if the law states they were not, thats where it gets confusing. Although the adoption agencies will tell you to disclose all things, I would not disclose since by law you are not required to. If anything does arise from the background checks I would explain to the agency doing the homestudy that you spoke to the court system that handled the case and were told you legally were not obligated to disclose anything- (actually check first, but that is what I have been told)..they should understand. Also, I would make sure that the offense is not on your states list of crimes that will automatically disqualify couples. In OH there are certain crimes that will automatically disqualify you and then crimes that you can have commited within 5 years but must show that you have met the rehabillitation requirements and it specifically states that if the crime was expunged you are deemed to have met the requirements. This should give you some comfort with deciding to disclose or not. (and just as a side note, for background checks that go even further than the adoption federal checks do there are specific questions such as have you ever had a crimal charge that has been expunged- at the level that adoption agencies search they cannot unseal records it would be way more timely and costly- if an expunged record does pop up on these checks it is because the record was not really expunged at all levels of the law)

Before a criminal or a juvenile record is expunged, you'll be required to be fingerprinted. The prints are then stored at the FBI in Quantico, Virginia. The records are not destroyed -- they are sealed. There are certain circumstances in which the records can be unsealed with a court order. You don't want to take chances with this one, folks. Chances are you'll be approved, especially if the crime wasn't serious. I'm going to put on my birth mother hat for a moment and say that I would be extremely upset if I found out after I had matched with a couple who did not disclose previous arrests and/or convictions, and I had signed the relinquishment papers in good faith. That is just flat-out wrong...

Actually that's not true. I work for the courts. All agencies run an FBI background check. Your "rap sheet" will always show every action (including arrests where you were never charged, and convictions that have been expunged). ALWAYS disclose with an explaination. If you don't, when they get the report back showing any arrests or convictions, now you have to also explain why you lied on your application. Also, the myth that past offenses "fall off" of your record after a certain number of years is also not true.

i know it is still on my record but the level of checks they go to are not that deep. i ended up telling them about my expunged record, they said dont worry about it, and it didnt even come up on my background check

In this case, I think you should hire an expungement attorney. I know a skilled professionals law firm who can help you in this situation. You can visit their website: and contact them.

Wow, did not know that there were people who worked on expunging cases. Also, my now 15 yo decided to take a bb gun to school a few years ago (right after Sandy Hook). He was arrested and put on probation. When the probationary period was over, the lawyer said he would also have to disclose an arrest (if asked) but could say he was never convicted. I say be honest.

You're right that your son should be honest. Yes, indeed there are various types of lawyers. You should ask your son not to dwell in such a crime next time. As its a serious crime and can devastate your son's future.