Risk Management and Criminal Background Checks - one point of view.

[Rich Littleton]

Yooo hooo!  Anybody home?

SCN(A) does not 

"... provide services to children, the elderly or the
disabled, > do not have relevant criminal records." 

Unless there is now a "Children, Elderly, and Disabled" committee I have
not yet heard about. 

Joel, when does it meet?  WHERE does it meet?  What services does it
provide?

I'm dying to hear the details.  (I might volunteer.....)

Rich

______________________________________________________________________

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On Sun, 24 Oct 1999, Joel Ware IV wrote:

> NOTE that criminal background checks are one tool of many in the
> general area of volunteer screening procedures.  They are used by
> a large and growing number of volunteer agencies.
> 
> Here is one nationally-recognized point-of-view article on the
> use of criminal background checks.  His point is expressed below:
>    "The very least an organization can do as part of risk management in
>     its hiring process, is make certain that their volunteers and
>     employees who provide services to children, the elderly or the disabled, 
>     do not have relevant criminal records." 
> 
> TEXT:
> Posted by Jody Gorran on December 08, 1998 at 20:33:55:
> 
> Jody A. Gorran, Programs Director 
> National Foundation To Prevent Child Sexual Abuse
> 
> Risk Management and Negligent Hiring under New Federal Law Impacts
> Insurers and Insureds
> 
> Since October 9, 1998, when the Volunteers for Children Act, was signed
> into law by President Clinton as Public Law 105-251 and amended the
> National Child Protection Act of 1993, if a volunteer or employee of an
> organization sexually molests a child in his care and if it can be shown
> that this volunteer or employee had been previously convicted somewhere in
> the United States of a relevant crime, the organization may be held liable
> under the legal theory of negligent hiring. 
> 
> Under the law, a “Qualified Entity” which is any business or organization,
> whether public, private, for-profit, not-for-profit or voluntary, that
> provides care, treatment, education, training, instruction, supervision or
> recreation to children, the elderly, or individuals with disabilities, now
> has the ability, under the National Child Protection Act of 1993 as
> amended by the Volunteers for Children Act, to request fingerprint-based
> national criminal history background checks through the FBI of their
> volunteers and employees. 
> 
> Prior to October 9, 1998, these “Qualified Entities” did not have the
> legal ability to request these fingerprint-based national criminal history
> background checks through the FBI. We want every effected organization,
> particularly those who deal with children, to immediately start requesting
> them. If a current or potential volunteer or employee has a relevant
> criminal history, he must be prevented from having access to children, the
> elderly or the disabled through these organizations. Such a person must
> not be placed in a position where he may easily victimize someone again. 
> 
> Courts are increasingly holding employers liable for the violent acts of
> an employee on grounds of negligent hiring. In making such a finding, a
> court must conclude that the employer violated its duty of care in the
> hiring of the employee or volunteer. Actions against an employer for
> negligent hiring will turn on the alleged breach of the duty of care owed
> by the employer to the injured party. There is a duty of care whenever
> there is a foreseeable risk of injury to others arising from the failure
> to take the necessary steps to prevent such injury. Because these
> “Qualified Entities” provide care to children, the elderly and the
> disabled, their duty of care is quite high because these are the most
> vulnerable groups in our society. 
> 
> The very least an organization can do as part of risk management in its
> hiring process, is make certain that their volunteers and employees who
> provide services to children, the elderly or the disabled, do not have
> relevant criminal records. Since October 9, 1998, these “Qualified
> Entities” have the lawful ability to request fingerprint-based national
> criminal history background checks. 
> ...
> 
> Food for thought ---
> 
>  -Joel.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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