EmployeeScreenIQ

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Background Checks could be Made Easier through National System

New legislation could make it easier for youth-serving organizations to access background checks.

The Child Protection Improvements Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-CA, would create a nationally-accessible background check system for youth-serving organizations, according to an article by the American Chronicle.

"We are fortunate to live in a country where millions of volunteers generously make time to participate in community service," Schiff said in the article. "But with so many volunteers working with children we need to ensure that child predators are not preying on innocent children through the guise of volunteerism.

"Children's safety is paramount, and we need to make certain that those working with our youth have been thoroughly and properly screened," Schiff continued.

The proposed legislation is based on a successful pilot program that makes it easier for groups like Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Boys & Girls Clubs to perform fast, accurate and affordable background checks on potential volunteers and employees.

The existing program performed more than 37,000 FBI fingerprint background checks from 2003 to 2008. In 6.1 percent of cases, more than 2,000 potential volunteers had criminal records of concern.

The new bill hopes to keep the program affordable for small non-profit organizations. It includes protections for the privacy of volunteers to help keep criminal histories private and the opportunity to correct any errors on their record.

The new program would:

create universal access to nationwide background searches by establishing a criminal background check designee to process background checks on prospective employees and volunteers for youth-serving organizations
create "one-stop" functionality where a local organization could elect to obtain both a state and FBI search through the central clearinghouse
keep the fee as low as possible for non-profit organizations, no more than the actual cost
ensure that individuals subject to background checks can request their full criminal histories, challenge their accuracy and completeness and receive a prompt response from the jurisdiction holding the records

Labels: Background checks

posted by Jen Carpenter # 11:47 AM

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