How To Help Ease the Background Check Process
We had a lively Facebook discussion this weekend about parent volunteer background checks, sparked by a story about a Pennsylvania school that canceled its trunk or treat event over concerns that not all adults would have been sufficiently checked and cleared.
Based on our Facebook post, there’s no question that our community supports background checks and the need to keep kids safe. But some of you did raise concerns about the process being overwhelming for parents and possibly preventing some from volunteering.
We wanted to share these ideas from our community about steps PTOs can take to help make the background check process a little easier for parents.
1. Provide background check paperwork at big events that draw lots of parents (open houses, parent-teacher conferences) so it’s easy for parents to take care of it. If possible, have someone from the district available to help parents fill out the forms.
2. Issue frequent reminders about the background check regulations in your community, especially if there have been any changes.
3. Designate a person in your group, like your volunteer coordinator, to maintain a list of volunteers and make sure necessary paperwork is up-to-date.
4. Hold a few volunteer orientation programs a year and do updates on your website and Facebook to provide information on what’s required to volunteer.
5. Send background check information home to parents at the end of the school year (for the next year) as well as in any information packets that get sent home at back-to-school time.
6. When seeking volunteers for a specific event (like a book fair, carnival, or family night) include information about background checks with the request for help.
7. Check if your district has different levels of volunteer participation and clearance requirements. Share this information with parents. In some cases, a district will require minimal background checks for volunteers participating only at public events (like carnivals) and more in-depth checks for volunteers who will be working directly with children.
8. Discuss with your school district if your group can get assistance to help reimburse volunteers for the cost of background checks. One community member said her district will reimburse volunteers after they have logged in 10 hours of volunteering.
