EmployeeScreenIQ

A loophole in the state's background check law could be allowing people with criminal records to volunteer in Rhode Island schools. To learn more about background checks, go to http://employeescreen.com.

According to an article by the South County Independent, students planning to volunteer or intern at the University of Rhode Island were told in September they needed to undergo a background check.

However, those students were turned down by university police, who stopped performing state or national background checks. Students were then turned down by the South Kingstown Police Department. Both of those departments referred students to the state Attorney General's Office in Providence.

The problem with the current system is that the Attorney General's Office only performs state background checks on volunteers, leaving room for people with a criminal record outside the state to secure a volunteer or internship position with the school.

Current state law requires only school employees, police and campus police, court system employees, financial agents, household security providers and massage therapists to submit to both state and national background checks.

In essence, the state is only required to perform FBI fingerprint checks for law enforcement and criminal investigation purposes. That finding is what led university police to stop offering national checks, after which time they were told to send anyone looking for state checks to the Attorney General's Office.

As the loophole in state law could potentially lead to bad hires, the Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch has announced that legislation to require federal background checks on classroom volunteers will be discussed during the next session of the General Assembly.

It seems as though the biggest concern to officials will be the cost of background checks, as there is a $22 fee for FBI fingerprint checks. That means the biggest hurdle could be figuring out exactly who will pay that fee.

Labels: Background checks