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Volunteers |
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| As a society we all have a responsibility to keep our vulnerable populations—our children, our elderly, our MRDD and other special needs populations—safe. Volunteers play a critical role in many organizations—including for-profit and not-for-profit organizations—that serve these populations, yet more often than not volunteers are not adequately screened. Most states have laws governing the screening of people who have contact with children and the elderly. For example, on March 22, 2001, Amended Ohio Senate Bill 187 became law (Ohio Revised Code section 109.574-577, 121.401, 121.402). The purpose of the legislation is to help ensure that youth-serving organizations that place volunteers in positions requiring “unsupervised access to children on a regular basis” use appropriate screening methods. The legislation applies to organizations or entities including “a religious, charitable, scientific, educational, athletic, or service institution or organization or local government entity that provides care, treatment, education, training, instruction, supervision, or recreation to children.” (Ohio Revised Code Section 109.574(A)) In accordance with the law, the Ohio Community Service Council was mandated to develop a set of best practices for organizations to use when screening volunteers who work with children. (Click on Ohio Community Service Council’s Best Practices for Screening Volunteers Who Work with Children in Ohio for detailed information concerning these best practices.) There are also requirements governing persons who will be working with the elderly and MRDD populations, also spelled out in various provisions of the Ohio Revised Code. Individuals/employers who use volunteers who are in contact with any of these populations are urged to become well acquainted with the statutes that govern their particular organization or entity, and the requirements they impose to perform background checks and/or fingerprinting. |
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| A pioneer in the employment background screening industry for nearly twenty years, RefCheckSM is working hard to fulfill its responsibility to children and other vulnerable and special-needs populations by offering its background screening services to non-profits, volunteer organizations and community groups at subsidized pricing—making an organization’s due diligence process cost effective. Through the Safety 1st Volunteer Screening Program, RefCheckSM can screen the backgrounds of your community’s volunteer coaches, school and church volunteers, outing chaperones, youth services and camp volunteers, hospital and MRDD home volunteers, mentors, boys’ and girls’ club, YMCA and YWCA volunteers, scout leaders, and others. Utilizing one of the largest private sector criminal history databases in the country, comprising data from multiple criminal records sources in nearly fifty states and the District of Columbia, this database includes records from criminal courts, state criminal record repositories, probation, prison parole and release files, Sex Offender Registries, other government agencies, as well as proprietary data. Checking your volunteers has never been easier. For information concerning the services available click on this Services link. Contact Us for information on how to take advantage of these invaluable services. |
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