Background Checks on Temporaries or Volunteers

CPK

I know it is a good practice to follow, but Is it a common practice to conduct background checks on all contract hires, volunteers, etc. who may work around children while representing your entity?

HRQ

We are a childcare company, so of course most of our employees and volunteers work directly with children. We require volunteers to have the same qualifications as teachers, however we limit their direct contact with the children. (No diapering, not to be left alone with the children, etc.)

Qualifications include criminal history check, written and telephone references, high school diploma or equivalent, negative TB test. These all match or exceed state licensing requirements.

Our maintenance staff meet all the same requirements. The don't work directly with the children, but they do work in the buildings when children are present.

We require the same qualifications of any contracted teachers, such as music teachers, dance teachers, computer teachers, etc. too.

Janitorial, floor care, etc. contractors only work after hours when children are not present, so they do not have to comply with the staff requirements.

If your volunteers/contractors work around the children, even if they don't have direct access to the kids, you would be negligent NOT to do background checks.

joannie

Check your state laws. Some state do require background checks on anyone working with children.

ACU Frank

Except their parents, who probably pose the greatest danger.

joannie

That is a very good point, Frank. Maybe the schools child care facilities should run background checks on the parents and refuse to release the kids back to them if they don't pass. Oh, wait, we do have a system like that. CPS, DHS, Child welfrare, or whatever else it might be called in different states. Shame that system doesn't work well, isn't it?

davids

We are a municipality that has parks & recreation programs and library programs (to name two), run by volunteers, for children and seniors. We run the same criminal background checks on those volunteers as we do for regular employees.