Absence of target populations

[Rich Littleton]

The key elements for needing background checks are two:
1.  fragile populations (people over which one has much control);
2.  sole control of that population (one person only having that control)

That does not exist in SCN(A).

We don't do home visits to shutins.

We don't have one person teaching a group of exclusively fragile persons.

Given our difficulties in recruiting (and keeping) volunteers, we won't
have enough vols. to expand out services to fragile populations before the
next (3000) millenium.

I once taught an e-mail class in which a 7-year-old was a student.
Howver, there were 2 other teachers, and 5 students, and it was in a
public library.  This is NOT the type of situation for which background
checks are needed, yet this is as close as we come.

However, there are other areas of real importance that SCN(A) people can
put effort into.

Rich



______________________________________________________________________

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On Sat, 23 Oct 1999, Kenneth Crandall wrote:

> I work with SeniorNet of Puget Sound.  We have a facility on a Bellevue
> Elementary school campus.  Everyone in our organization, who works in this
> facility, are required to undergo this screening process.  It is painless as
> it is run by the Bellevue school district.
> 
> I do not consider these painless processes, that have been developed to help
> insure the safety of our children, to be a "police state" mentality.
> Whenever we read about attacks on children, the question is always raised by
> the public, "Why wasn't something done to protect them?".  This is the
> something.
> 
> SCN should consider it's goals and objectives before similar screening
> should be proposed for it's volunteers.  If some volunteers will be working
> directly with children or disabled people (and I hope they would), then it
> is possible that screening should be considered for these volunteers only.
> 
> The fact that we are teaching at a public library is not adequate to prevent
> the need for screening since liaisons can be setup to occur outside of the
> library.  It should be simple enough to get guidance from the Washington
> State Patrol, who conduct these screenings, to determine if some of our
> volunteers would have to be screened.
> 									Ken Crandall
> 									bd252 at scn.org
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-scn at scn.org [mailto:owner-scn at scn.org]On Behalf Of Sharma
> Sent: Saturday, October 23, 1999 2:24 AM
> To: scn at scn.org
> Subject: Re: BD: Background Checks
> 
> As a nurse I have been background checked pretty much every year for the
> last several years. You fill out a very short form, give it to the
> organization asking for it, and that's it.
> 
> Anyone who is in contact with a helpless population, i.e. kids, disabled
> people, anyone who might be vulnerable, must be background checked to make
> sure they are not a convicted sex offender or other type of predator. The
> law is quite clear about the responsibility of organizations to do this.
> 
> Now it may not apply to classes held in public libraries but would if
> anyone was going to peoples homes or in contact with kids in a not so
> public place. One school I was thinking of doing volunteer work at would
> have done a check on me before I could enter their building to do
> volunteer work.
> 
> In the police state we live in we do not have much choice about this and
> I found it more annoying to think about than to do.
> 
> -sharma
> 
> 
> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 19:30:54 -0000
> > From: jdean <jdean at oz.net>
> > 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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