According to a recent story in The Salt Lake Tribune

The House Education Committee voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of a bill that would expand the criminal background checks required of school employees to include volunteers.

HB81 would require background checks for "volunteers who [are] given significant unsupervised access to a student in connection with the volunteer's assignment."

Legislators dismissed the concerns of Rob Layton, of the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, who warned that vague language in the bill would make it difficult for citizens to volunteer in schools.

"You are excluding a large range of people," he said, citing those who have been arrested, but not charged, and those who have been convicted of drug and alcohol-related misdemeanors, such as open container and marijuana possession laws. "It is just additional burdens on [volunteers]."

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, said more stringent requirements are necessary to protect children. The bill comes after public safety officials last year unearthed nearly 7,000 arrests, criminal charges or convictions. But a single employee could account for a dozen or more of those, said agency spokesman Jeff Nigbur.

The bill would also allow districts to require employees, applicants and volunteers to pay the background check fees, rather than the district covering those costs.

Currently, teachers undergo a background check as part of receiving or renewing a teaching license.

Licensing fees charged to them cover the costs of background checks. Periodic checks are also required for non-teaching staff such as bus drivers.

A district may choose to require non-certified employees, such as custodians, secretaries, and lunch clerks, to undergo a background check when they are hired, although the district must cover those costs. Becky Williams, the human resources director for Davis School District, said shifting those fees would save her district approximately $300,000 over six years. Pre-employ.com offers background check services to thousands of organizations and is the largest supplier of volunteer background checks in the nation. Full descriptions can be found here:

http://www.mybackgroundcheck.com/Business/Volunteer

According to the U.S. Department of Labor's “VOLUNTEERING IN THE UNITED STATES, 2008” report, 61.8 million people (26.4 percent of the population) volunteered at least once between September 2007 and September 2008. With that many volunteers per year, some kind of volunteer background check and tracking system is obviously needed.

This need to provide a safe environment for the vulnerable populations that nonprofit organizations serve – including children, the elderly, and those people with special needs – has led to the need for a comprehensive and cost-effective volunteer tracking and risk management system to be made available to the nonprofit sector.

Realizing the safety and security of those served is a top priority, many nonprofit organizations have partnered with companies that provide criminal background checks that look for “red flags” such as drug felonies, domestic violence, child abuse, and sex offender crimes in the pasts of not only volunteers, but the employees of nonprofits too.

By screening out potential “bad hires” with background checks, nonprofit organizations reduce liability while ensuring the safety of their members and communities served. The consequences of a poor hiring decision could include: negligent hiring lawsuits, decreased workplace safety, lowered productivity, and bad publicity that could make securing donations more difficult.

To meet the specific requirements of nonprofit organizations, a comprehensive and cost effective web-based volunteer and employee tracking system must exceed other more typical background check programs in order to provide volunteer, employee, and community protection at the local, regional, and national levels.

MyBackgroundCheck.com — a leading provider of applicant supplied background checks — has partnered with many nonprofit organizations to ensure the security of volunteers, employees, and communities. The company’s unique Volunteer/Employee Tracking System effectively manages risk while significantly reducing background check costs.

By selecting MyBackgroundCheck.com, nonprofit organizations give volunteers and employees a useful resource. With an account, volunteers and employees can view background check results, manage personal information, and receive notification of changes to their background check information and who is requesting access to their information.

To learn more about volunteer background checks and the volunteer tracking system from MyBackgroundCheck.com, visit www.volunteertrackingsystem.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364. Follow MyBackgroundCheck.com on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.

pr@mybackgroundcheck.com

According to an article in USA TODAY, screening volunteers with criminal background checks has become common in many volunteer organizations, and background checks are seen as an effective way to protect children, the elderly, and the disabled from sex offenders and people with criminal pasts — and protect volunteer organizations from liability over negligent recruiting.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor's "VOLUNTEERING IN THE UNITED STATES,  2008" report reveals that approximately 61.8 million people (or 26.4 percent of the population) volunteered at least once between September 2007 and September 2008.

If volunteers in America work with children, the elderly, and the disabled, they most likely undergo criminal background checks that look for "red flags" such as drug felonies, domestic violence, child abuse, and sex crimes, USA TODAY reports. Using background checks on volunteers has grown steadily since 1993, when the National Child Protection Act became law and enabled organizations to use criminal background checks to screen out volunteers with criminal records, according to USA TODAY, and some states have enacted their own laws concerning volunteer background checks:

• Florida: A 2005 state law requires school districts to run potential volunteers through the sexual predator and offender database.
• Minnesota: A 2008 state law made background checks mandatory for volunteers who work with children, the elderly, the disabled, and other vulnerable populations.
• Ohio: A 2001 state law encourages youth organizations to require background checks for volunteers.
• Oregon: A 2001 state law authorizes the State Police to conduct national background checks on people volunteering to work with children, the elderly and the disabled.

Ensuring the safety and security of members and the community should be a top priority for volunteer organizations, and they need a volunteer background check program in place that meets the specific requirements of for volunteer screening, MyBackgroundCheck.com — a pioneer in the consumer requested and applicant supplied background check industry — has developed a unique and comprehensive Volunteer Tracking System (VTS) for volunteer background checks that tracks volunteer applicants that effectively manages risk, significantly reduces volunteer background check costs, and protects volunteers, volunteer organizations, and the community.

For more information about MyBackgroundCheck.com's Volunteer Tracking System (VTS) for volunteer background checks, visit www.volunteertrackingsystem.com, call 1-800-503-2364, or request information. Take a Volunteer Screening and Risk Management Nonprofit Organization Survey. Follow MyBackgroundCheck.com on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com

The results of a recent sample of criminal background checks on prospective church volunteers show the need for churches to remain on guard in protecting their congregations against workers with criminal pasts.

According to an article posted online at The Birmingham (AL) News, an agency that conducted 5,000 background checks for 450 churches found serious felonies in 80 cases and more than 600 people – almost 1 in 8 – that had some criminal history that may disqualify them from working at a church.

For example, the article reports that the Westmont Baptist Church in Birmingham – which supported a resolution adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 2007 that urged churches to perform criminal background checks on employees – has a policy in place that even volunteers that work with youth down through preschool cannot work as a volunteer unless they pass the background check. According to the story, the church began using a background check service two months ago and already has declined security clearance to a potential volunteer because of information found during a background check.

The churches that have taken part in the background check program are not all Southern Baptist, the article reports, and the statistics did not include geographical or denominational breakdowns. Overall, according to the report, while only a small percentage of churches even do minimal background checks, the message is getting out to churches about the importance of background checks.

The results of the background check program reported in the article shows that any organization – even if it is a church – must take steps to ensure the safety and security of its members and the community. MyBackgroundCheck.com – a leader in consumer requested and applicant supplied background checks – offers a Volunteer Tracking System (VTS) to help non-profit organizations manage risk at minimal costs.

For more information about how the Volunteer Tracking System (VTS) helps volunteer organizations like churches, visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com/Business/Volunteer, fill out a "Request More Information" form, call 1-800-503-2364, or complete a Volunteer Screening and Risk Management Nonprofit Organization Survey. To follow MyBackgroundCheck.com on Twitter, visit http://www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com

With summer vacation almost here, some parents are busy making – or have already made – plans to send their children off to summer camps for days, weeks, even months. However, while summer camp should be a time for fun, freedom, and frolicking, volunteer screening helps keep it safe and secure.

Ensuring the safety and security of campers is a top priority for any summer camp. Since many popular organizations promoting summer camps are nonprofits – meaning that they must rely on the work of volunteers – a thorough and extensive volunteer screening program is necessary to protect the campers, fellow summer camp workers, and organizations.

According to the American Camp Association (ACA), more than 11 million children and adults attend approximately 12,000 camps throughout the United States, and these camps use almost two million individuals as staff or volunteers to serve children, youth, and those with special needs.

While the benefits of the summer camp experience are many – including the learning of responsibility, resourcefulness, and resilience – these lessons can only be taught in a safe and caring environment. To ensure that environment exists and is protected, many camps routinely perform volunteer screening of applicants to increase security and reduce risk and liability.

And while the chances of having Jason Voorhees from the “The Friday the 13th” horror movie series as a summer camp counselor are non-existent, it takes only one volunteer with a criminal past – and future criminal intentions – to turn a summer full of laughter into a memory full of sorrow.

To meet the specific requirements of non-profit organizations for volunteer screening, MyBackgroundCheck.com – a leading provider of volunteer screening for nonprofits such as the American Red Cross – has developed a unique and comprehensive Volunteer Tracking System (VTS). VTS tracks volunteer applicants within nonprofit organizations for effective risk management at the local, regional, and national levels, while significantly reducing volunteer screening costs and protecting volunteers, communities, and organizations.

VTS also allows a volunteer screening “donation” option in which the volunteer donates the cost required for the volunteer screening, allowing the money saved by the nonprofit organization to be used on the children instead. In return, the volunteer can use the screening reports for college entrance, rental applications, and job opportunities.

For more information about MyBackgroundCheck.com’s VTS, please visit www.volunteertracking.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or speak with a VTS representative at 1-800-503-2364.

Contact Us @ MyBackgroundCheck.com