COLUMBUS, Ohio — An overload of requests for criminal background checks is burying the state agency responsible for making sure teachers, police officers and health care aides are clear to be in your home, 10 Investigates Paul Aker reported on Wednesday.

The cause of the backlog can be found in London, Ohio, where the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation said it was swamped with background checks, many of which were newly required by state law.

Part of the problem was Friday's deadline for teacher background checks. BCII said it still has thousands of background checks to be processed before Friday, Aker reported.

To combat the problem, BCII said it was relying on more heavily on computers to analyze finger prints, and it's hiring two new workers.

"I feel very good about this situation," said Steven Raubenolt with BCII. "We're catching up with the backlog because of the changes we made."

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