FEATURE
Screening for Volunteer Organizations
According to the National Foundation to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse, 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys have been subjected to some form of sexual abuse by age 18. 46% of child molesters are non-family members who are known to their victims, and 42% of current offenders with a child victim and a prior criminal history had a past conviction for a violent crime. In light of these statistics, it becomes increasingly important for organizations to screen volunteers that will be working with children.
On October 9, 1998, the Volunteers for Children Act was signed into law as Public Law 105-251, amending the National Child Protection Act of 1993. This law effects any business or organization that provides care, treatment, education, training, instruction, supervision, or recreation for children, the elderly, or individuals with disabilities... whether public, private, for-profit, not-for-profit, or voluntary.
With this amendment, if a volunteer or employee of an organization sexually molests a child, elderly person or individual with a disability in his or her care and if it can be shown that this volunteer or employee had previously been convicted of a relevant crime in the United States that organization may be held liable for negligent hiring.
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), one of the largest volunteer sports organizations in the country, is now rethinking its policy for background screening its coaches and volunteers nationwide. In early March the AAU executive committee met to examine options for conducting criminal background checks. The AAU does not currently conduct criminal background checks nationally, but it recently completed a pilot program in Washington and Idaho. In this initial study, it was discovered that out of the 4,236 coaches and volunteers screened, 38 had felony convictions including murder, incest, drug trafficking, and theft.
"We are trying to protect the kids," said Henry Forrest, chairman of the AAU compliance committee. "We can't guarantee 100 percent, but if we can weed those out then that's what we're after."
Are you currently screening your volunteers? InfoMart now offers VolunteerScreen - a suite of volunteer screening solutions that help you identify potential offenders. Click here to learn more about VolunteerScreen and how it could benefit your organization.
