Building a Culture of Prevention
You can help protect the children you serve by maintaining an environment that prioritizes both preventing child abuse before it occurs and—since…
Home / Screening & Hiring / Know the State & Federal Laws That Apply
State and federal laws and regulations require specific types of screening and background checks—particularly criminal and sexual offense records checks—for individuals and professions that provide certain services to children and youth. Specific types of screening and background checks may also be required in order for you to receive state or federal funding.
There is no “one size fits all” screening requirement—organizations have their own unique requirements and may make different decisions about what background checks to conduct. Some (e.g., public schools) have strict requirements, while others are left to the discretion of the organization (e.g., an afterschool program in a faith community). These requirements may also limit the use of certain types of screening information to exclude an individual from consideration. Therefore, if, after review, you’re still uncertain about the rules and requirements that apply to your operation, we recommend that your leadership consult with an attorney and/or relevant professional association(s) for advice and guidance.
We do have one universal recommendation, however: that every youth-serving organization like yours implements some level of a background check and screening for all employees and volunteers without exception—even if an applicant is known to you—especially if unsupervised or unmonitored interactions with children are expected. And keep in mind as you conduct criminal history and background checks that, unless specified otherwise by law, the existence of a criminal record does not necessarily automatically disqualify an applicant.
Reporting
You can help protect the children you serve by maintaining an environment that prioritizes both preventing child abuse before it occurs and—since…
Training
When it comes to training your volunteers, there is certain core content that is critical to include in a comprehensive training program to…
Screening & Hiring
Criminal background checks are an important tool in your screening and selection process—and you should ensure that you’re aware of any federal,…
Policies & Procedures
Policies and Procedures are an essential backbone of your prevention strategy at your Youth-Serving Organization (YSO), providing an overarching…
Screening & Hiring
Start with Basic Screening It is very important that all applicants who provide direct services and who are seeking positions of trust—either…
Policies & Procedures
In order to create concrete and detailed Policies and Procedures at your Youth-Serving Organization (YSO), it is necessary to analyze what policies…
Safe Environments
Physically safe spaces, with proper supervision, are required to maintain safety standards at your Youth-Serving Organization (YSO). Ensure policies…
Training
Ideally, all children/youth should receive training and education on issues of personal safety and abuse prevention. Personal safety and child…
Training
Training Contractors, Consultants, and Interns When it comes to training your contractors, consultants, and interns, there is certain core…
Screening & Hiring
Finding and retaining a qualified and diverse workforce is one of the greatest challenges for youth-serving organizations like yours. Given the…
Customized child sexual abuse prevention guidelines to meet the unique needs of any organization that serves children.
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