BD: Background Checks (fwd)

[Steve and Melissa Guest]

forwarded with permission from John...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 19:30:54 -0000
From: jdean <jdean at oz.net>
Reply-To: scna-board at scn.org
To: scna-board at scn.org
Subject: BD: Background Checks

Randy, et. al.

I volunteered with Washington Special Olympics (WSO) for many years as an
organizer (one of many) of the state-wide Summer Games.  For the last ten
years or so they have required background checks for certain classes of
volunteers.  The required background check is really perfunctory and is run
by the Washington State Patrol.  All they do is search their database of
arrests/convictions looking for a match on the volunteers name and render a
report to the requesting organization (ie WSO).  WSO has to have the
volunteer's consenting signature on the background check request form or the
WSP will not do the check.  No one goes around interviewing your
associates... it is not like getting a security clearance.

We were told by WSO that the check was required by state law and that WSO
would be in serious trouble if they employed a volunteer who had not passed
the check.  The law applied only to volunteers who would have "sole
supervision" of minors or other persons not legally competent.  No one I
know of really looked into this claim by WSO, nor did we look up the text of
the law.  We did all assume that it had something to do with screening out
known sex offenders.

There may well be other variations of the law WSO was reacting to, and some
of that may apply to the occasional volunteer job in SCN... but I think not
to most, only to a very few.

The Treasurer is another matter... bonding is the issue there.  It is
rudimentary prudence to have your Treasurer bonded, as much so in a
volunteer organization as in a commercial enterprise.  And the bonding
company will simply refuse to issue the bond unless their criteria are met
by the proposed bondee.  Disagreeing with their criteria, even if they will
disclose them to you (problematic), is neither useful nor relevant.  So the
answer for the Treasurer candidate is: do not stand for Treasurer unless you
are willing to go through the process of getting bonded.

Regards

John Dean

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