Showing Posts In "Vulnerable Population, Volunteer Checks & Sexual Offenders" Category

New U.S. Model Penal Code Could Severely Impact Access to Sexual Offender Registries

The revisions to the MPC were quietly approved on May 17, 2022, by the American Law Institute (ALI), a nonprofit organization comprising judges, attorneys, and law professors who provide legal recommendations to states to clarify, update, and standardize criminal laws.

Staca Shehan, who oversees the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) Child Sex Trafficking […]

Background Screening is Your First Line of Defense

The majority of child sexual abuse cases involve a perpetrator that the child knows and trusts, so it’s no surprise that an estimated 4.8 million youth athletes may be victims of sexual abuse. Some sports groups in the country are beefing up their background screening practices, such as the Athlete Protection & Safety program at […]

Five Questions to Evaluate Your Sex Offender Registry Search Process

A successful sex offender registry (SOR) program requires strategic decision making on three factors, which include sources (managing the nuances in the web of federal, state, county and tribal SOR sites), processes (effectiveness in maximizing efficiency and mitigating downtime), and resources (choosing what to manage in-house and what to outsource to a partner.) There are […]

Sex Offenders’ Registries and Background Checks: An Introduction

Background screening reports allow employers to make informed decisions on potential or current employees, contractors, volunteers, or candidates for employment or service. Criminal background checks – including the sex offenders’ registry – typically is part of that process. Dating back to 1994, New Jersey was the first state to create a sex offenders registry called […]

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Volunteer Background Checks

Background checks on volunteers should be conducted in the same way as employment background checks and in some states, the process is actually required. When an organization determines it will not bring on a volunteer because of the results of a background check, the adverse action process should be followed. Volunteers have the right to […]

New Amendment to the PA Background Check Requirements for Employees Who Have Contact with Children

Pennsylvania amended section 6344(m) of the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL), pertaining to background checks for employees who have contact with children. The amendment prohibits employers, administrators, supervisors, or other persons responsible for employment decisions from employing applicants on a provisional basis absent a waiver from the department. Child day-care centers, group day-care homes or […]

PA Amends Background Check Requirement for Employees Working with Children

Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services Law was amended in 2015 to require that employees who have direct contact with minors submit a child abuse clearance, Pennsylvania State Police criminal background check, and an FBI background check as a condition of employment. Although employers were permitted to work on a conditional basis while awaiting the results of […]

Churches Conducting More Background Checks, But Sex Offenders Still Slipping Through Cracks

Even though churches rely on volunteers to work with youth and children, Josh Weis, executive vice president at Ministry Brands, said they’re only running a minimum of what is required when it comes to background checks. In fact, a recent audit revealed that 60 percent of churches and ministries don’t conduct broad screenings. He continued […]

Did That Mall Santa Undergo a Background Check? A New Bill Would Demand It

It soon could be mandatory for those employed as a children’s character to complete a background check in the state of New York. Employers would be required to run a person’s name through child abuse and sex offender registries and knowingly hiring an offender would be a Class A misdemeanor. If signed into law, the […]

Google and Facebook are not Substitutes for a Volunteer Background Check

It may be tempting for nonprofit organizations to skip the background checks for financial reasons and go straight to social media and Google, but there are just as many reasons not to rely on these sources. To start, some important things just won’t show up. A Facebook profile is only information that the user wants […]