Category Archives: Non-profits

Former Penn State coach’s arrest makes child-centered organizations take closer look at their own employees

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Last week’s news about child sexual abuse by a former Penn State University football coach made national headlines and stirred emotions everywhere about the seriousness of child abuse by those with whom we trust our children.

Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was arrested on 40 counts stemming from sexual misconduct with eight male victims over the course of several years. Sandusky allegedly found the victims through his own foundation, The Second Mile, which he started to help underprivileged boys in Centre County, PA. While Sandusky has never been arrested or convicted of a crime, the sordid details of the investigation — and a possible cover-up by those who knew and worked with Sandusky at the university — has made sports teams, recreational leagues, foundations that serve children and countless other organizations and businesses take a closer look at how they handle background checks of coaches, volunteers, staff members and anyone else who comes into contact with the children under their care. It’s absolutely imperative for such organizations to check sex offender registries and search for the criminal records of any prospective employee, coach or volunteer.

Background checks for such businesses and nonprofits have largely been in place for some time now, but a case like Sandusky’s brings into sharp focus the diligence such organizations must have in the protection of the children they serve.

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United States Not the Only Place That Should Background Check Workers

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kid-in-tunnelSome Americans may think we’re the only place that worries about whether employees are background checked and verified before entering the workforce, but it’s really a global issue.

Case in point — recently, an Australian child agency came under fire when it came to light that the agency wasn’t completing background checks on foster parents (known as “carers” Down Under) as required by law.

The agency, Life without Barriers, gets a hefty chunk of change from the state (more than $100 million annually) to operate.  Thus, the background check issue came to light after an audit of the organization that had grown rapidly over the past few years.

As papers around the globe are now reporting, Life without Barriers made many decisions that could have cost children their promise of a safe haven.  In once instance, Life without Barriers allowed a foster parent to be part of their agency even though the parent had lost his/her children due to his/her domestic violence.  Other stories are comparably horrifying.

Of the foster parents involved with Life without Barriers, over half never went through the Australian “Working with Children Check”, a comprehensive background check that’s meant to protect the kids.  Even more shocking, almost two thirds of the foster parents had not gone through any kind of criminal background check.

It’s wonderful that this has come to light, but it highlights just how pervasive a problem it can be when an organization is supposed to background screen but instead takes the “easy way out”.  In the end, the piper will always be paid.

Church Volunteers May Need Background Checks, Too

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It’s been called a “nuisance” and an “outrage” by some people and a “godsend” and “good thing” from others.  However, there’s no doubt that performing background checks (even if it’s just handled through fingerprinting) on church volunteers does provide more than a small measure of protection for the members of any house of worship.

Though some folks are quick to assume that background checks keep people from volunteering at religious centers, there’s no hard data to back that fact.  Actually, it seems that having background checked volunteers gives a church an excellent way to encourage members to allow volunteers to watch children, help out with the nursery, etc.

Do church workers need the most comprehensive background checks available?  Perhaps not.  But even a simple one will let the religious institute’s powers-that-be find out quickly if someone should be working with children or others who could be vulnerable. 

In the end, it’s a sign of the times, but it’s also an incredible opportunity for churches to step up to the plate and prove that they are serious about keeping their flocks secure.

Should Your Nonprofit Organization Make Volunteer Background Checks Mandatory?

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Are you involved with a nonprofit organization?

If so, does it have mandatory background checks for volunteers?

If you said “no”, don’t feel ashamed, as you’re probably in the majority. Surprisingly, a good number of volunteer organizations – even many dealing with kids – have no policy of background checking the people who help out. And that can mean a world of problems down the road.

Want some reasons to implement background screening for your volunteers? We’ll give you three biggies:

  1. Do your volunteers ever collect money for the organization? If they do, how do you know that cash is getting to your nonprofit? A criminal background check can ferret out people who have sketchy histories when it comes to dealing with dollars.
  2. Do your volunteers ever have any opportunity to be with kids (even if it’s not “alone time”)? If you said “yes”, you can imagine what could happen if one of your helpers turned out to have a history as a sex offender or criminal.  This is the era of the Internet and news will travel faster than you think.
  3. Do your volunteers ever drive on behalf of your organization? If their driving records include DUIs or other vehicle-related incidents and there’s ever an accident, guess who will get blamed?

Now, we know that many volunteer organizations balk at the thought of paying for background checks.  After all, it’s a common misconception that screening costs an arm and a leg… and most nonprofits have little to spare.   However, conducting background checks is not nearly as pricey as most people believe. In fact, it’s much more affordable than the bad press that one incident can create.

Be safe and keep your organization healthy.  Always background check your volunteers.

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