No references/background check to work with kids?

[LisaR]

My husband and son decided to volunteer for a nationally known place where they will be working directly with children. I will not mention the name here just in case there are some weird people lurking.

They required my son to provide two references. What that meant was that two unrelated people needed to sign their name saying they knew my son. It did not require the reference to list their phone number, email, or home address. I thought that was odd but the likelihood that a minor is an ex-con is pretty slim.

I thought my husband would certainly require more scrutiny. He had to fill out a very brief application that simply asked for his name, address, and phone plus a half dozen questions that he had to answer with yes or no (Ever convicted of a crime? Valid driver's license? etc).

My husband did not need to list his employment record and he did not need to provide a single reference. He also did not need any type of background check. I have been communicating with the person in charge via email and she did say DH would have to provide a valid driver's license on the first day.

DS and DH went and volunteered for the first time and no license was required.

This seems so odd to me in this day and age. In fairness, I have never heard of any type of scandal with this organization over the years so they have either been lucky or they know what they are doing.

So is this the norm or the complete opposite of the norm today? Do you think this is the right approach or do the background checks miss so many things that it doesn't matter?

 

[Andtototoo]

My department runs a lot of background checks because we have church volunteers working with children and the elderly. You would be shocked at the amount of issues we uncover from people in the church.

Therefore, I think this organization is nuts.

ETA: Our insurance requires the background checks. If we fail to do a background check and the individual does something covered by a background check, our insurance will not pay out.

 

[scrapquitler]

do the background checks miss so many things that it doesn't matter?

This. And lets face it, background checks cost $$$ to do. Not every organization that uses volunteers has the financial means to do background checks.

And honestly, some of the background checks will drive away good potential volunteers. I was going to help run the nut/magazine sale for my DDs girl scout troop. When I volunteered to do it, the leader handed me a long, multi-page application and said that I had to submit this application for approval so that I could assist MY OWN CHILD'S troop. On it were questions like "What is the policy # of your automobile insurance" (I wouldn't be driving for the thing I was helping with), "What is your level of education and where did you attend college?" (again, irrelevant) Frankly, it was invasive. And I refused to fill it out. So maybe this organization knows that it won't get a lot of volunteers willing to provide all that personal information.

 

[Uncle Remus]

Shouldn't cost anythin' to run your husband's name thru these sites:

National Sex Offender Public Website

http://www.familywatchdog.us/

 

[DopeyDame]

Will your husband or son be alone with kids as part of their volunteering? I would think the level of scrutiny would depend not just on the level of involvment with kids, but the liklihood for independent time with kids. If the organization knows there will always be a staff member present (who, presumably, had a much more detailed check) than that may be why they don't do it for volunteers.
I think reasonable (and enforced) policies for adult-child interaction will do a LOT more to protect kids than background checks.

 

[Coconut36]

Will your husband or son be alone with kids as part of their volunteering? I would think the level of scrutiny would depend not just on the level of involvment with kids, but the liklihood for independent time with kids. If the organization knows there will always be a staff member present (who, presumably, had a much more detailed check) than that may be why they don't do it for volunteers.
I think reasonable (and enforced) policies for adult-child interaction will do a LOT more to protect kids than background checks.

I think this is key. For example in the district my kids attend as a parent volunteer you do not have to submit to background checks, fingerprinting..etc because you are are under direct supervision of a teacher/staff member and not alone/one on one with the children. If you do something like coach you do need fingerprinting/background checking..etc.

So if he is volunteering to help and will be under "supervision" that could explain the lack of detailed background check because of the level of involvement.

 

[spacemountainmom]

That seems just pure crazy to me. I worked in insurance underwriting for years and saw way too much to believe this would be allowed to go on.

My own church runs background checks on anyone volunteering with kids in any capacity.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

I work for a church. We require 3 references for anyone working with children or youth. The church pays to run a background check (I believe via SSN) on any paid staff, though it is our policy still that no adult ever is alone with a child. Unpaid volunteers still have references called and we check their name against the sex registry website. (Requirements set by our insurance company.)

I do think it's bold not to ask for personal references. The sex offender registry can be run with just a name, but other violent, nonsexual crimes, would not come up.

 

[LisaR]

I think this is key. For example in the district my kids attend as a parent volunteer you do not have to submit to background checks, fingerprinting..etc because you are are under direct supervision of a teacher/staff member and not alone/one on one with the children. If you do something like coach you do need fingerprinting/background checking..etc.

So if he is volunteering to help and will be under "supervision" that could explain the lack of detailed background check because of the level of involvement.

There is one person in charge that will always be present but the area is very large and my DH and son spent time with a few children individually. People would obviously notice if someone grabbed a kid and tried to run off so that wouldn't be an issue. But it made me wonder what some sick perv might tell a kid while they were tucked away in a corner.

Again, to the best of my knowledge this organization has never had a scandal so it seems to be working. But considering they didn't even ask DH for a photo id, he could have easily made up a name and address on the application if he was so inclined. At this point, they have no proof he is who he says he is. Obviously, this is not an issue because my hubby is a great guy, but it certainly made me wonder about people that are looking to be close to kids for some sick reason.

 

[LisaR]

I work for a church. We require 3 references for anyone working with children or youth. The church pays to run a background check (I believe via SSN) on any paid staff, though it is our policy still that no adult ever is alone with a child. Unpaid volunteers still have references called and we check their name against the sex registry website. (Requirements set by our insurance company.)

I do think it's bold not to ask for personal references. The sex offender registry can be run with just a name, but other violent, nonsexual crimes, would not come up.

I can't remember if DH had to give his SS# on form. I'll have to ask him when he gets home. Maybe they are running a background check using his SS and they just don't let you know that?

However, it would seem like they would want to run the check first before allowing a person to have contact with the kids.

The place they were volunteering at before this required references and a background check. Until those were verified, they could not step foot in the place.

On the plus side, they really enjoyed their first experience and will continue with it. The other place was such a long drive that it just wasn't worth it. This seems to be a great organization but I just thought the whole lack of references/information was odd.

 

[Tink415]

This. And lets face it, background checks cost $$$ to do. Not every organization that uses volunteers has the financial means to do background checks.

And honestly, some of the background checks will drive away good potential volunteers. I was going to help run the nut/magazine sale for my DDs girl scout troop. When I volunteered to do it, the leader handed me a long, multi-page application and said that I had to submit this application for approval so that I could assist MY OWN CHILD'S troop. On it were questions like "What is the policy # of your automobile insurance" (I wouldn't be driving for the thing I was helping with), "What is your level of education and where did you attend college?" (again, irrelevant) Frankly, it was invasive. And I refused to fill it out. So maybe this organization knows that it won't get a lot of volunteers willing to provide all that personal information.

You mention the info asked on a girl scout volunteer application...volunteers are basically unpaid employees and are treated in a business like manner, with applications, training, performance reviews, etc. Assisting sounds simple enough, but actually its not. A troop nut/magazine manager, a 'helper', is responsible for and may need to transport products that could potentially be worth significant money, they interact with adults & girls, use electronic systems to enter data and do banking and so on. Resulting in all those questions. A lot of potential volunteers get turned off or are too busy to fill out the paperwork unfortunately. Not sure what is a better solution.

All volunteers in my DDs school must submit to background check with social security # to help out in any way. Church too, and must take classes.

Op, maybe asking for your husbands license was missed the 1st time he volunteered, it happens, but I'd be surprised if he didn't get asked for it eventually.

 

[js]

My husband and son decided to volunteer for a nationally known place where they will be working directly with children. I will not mention the name here just in case there are some weird people lurking.

They required my son to provide two references. What that meant was that two unrelated people needed to sign their name saying they knew my son. It did not require the reference to list their phone number, email, or home address. I thought that was odd but the likelihood that a minor is an ex-con is pretty slim.

I thought my husband would certainly require more scrutiny. He had to fill out a very brief application that simply asked for his name, address, and phone plus a half dozen questions that he had to answer with yes or no (Ever convicted of a crime? Valid driver's license? etc).

My husband did not need to list his employment record and he did not need to provide a single reference. He also did not need any type of background check. I have been communicating with the person in charge via email and she did say DH would have to provide a valid driver's license on the first day.

DS and DH went and volunteered for the first time and no license was required.

This seems so odd to me in this day and age. In fairness, I have never heard of any type of scandal with this organization over the years so they have either been lucky or they know what they are doing.

So is this the norm or the complete opposite of the norm today? Do you think this is the right approach or do the background checks miss so many things that it doesn't matter?

Wow, I would expect they should do more.

My ds attends a private school, pre-K-8th grade. Parents that want to do lunchroom duty or help in the school, must take a course (maybe online but I am not certain) and have a background check. I am thankful for this.

 

[amid chaos]

They will most likely run a CORI check on your husband.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Honestly, if they aren't running FBI background checks on potential volunteers, I think I'd un-volunteer. If you are working with children then it needs to be done. Once every 5 years for each volunteer.