Pennsylvania's New Comprehensive Background Checks

[qwazse]

Once Volunteers turn in their Clearances to their Unit (Committee Chair, Cub Master) or whomever is collecting them.  After they're  received and reviewed  where do the clearances go from there?  Does council re-review them and take them or does Council simply look and say yes you have them and youre good to go?  Basically how does the Clearances play into the Rechartering Process of a Unit? 

The clearances go directly to council HQ.  Any volunteer who does not have all of their clearances on file will be dropped from the charter. The unit just gets paper copies as back-ups.

[RememberSchiff]

My understanding

 

- A subsequent law HB 1276 fixed some problems: how often to renew background checks would now be 5 years instead of 3, “direct volunteer contact" was better defined, and  two of the background checks, PA State Police and Department of Human Services, would now be free. If a FBI background was required, the volunteer would still bear that cost.

 

- Council and National will collect background checks only electronically, volunteer/unit/CO handle paper

 

- Councils post updates and links, but make it clear each volunteer is responsible for whatever background checks needed.

 

- No test case yet of some poor adult getting sandbagged.

 

I found this Nov,2015 update from Five Rivers Council

 

http://www.fiverivers.org/youth-protection/pennsylvania-act-153-background-checks-information/60618

 

After recharter, I would like to know each PA council adult headcount change. 

 

And during these past months, PA restored former Penn State coach and convicted pedofile Sandusky's state pension. PA Act 153 and HB 1276 were enacted largely due to Sandusky's acts of child molestation while a coach. 

 

My $0.01

[jlglmg2010]

My understanding

 

- A subsequent law HB 1276 fixed some problems: how often to renew background checks would now be 5 years instead of 3, “direct volunteer contact" was better defined, and  two of the background checks, PA State Police and Department of Human Services, would now be free. If a FBI background was required, the volunteer would still bear that cost.

 

- Council and National will collect background checks only electronically, volunteer/unit/CO handle paper

 

- Councils post updates and links, but make it clear each volunteer is responsible for whatever background checks needed.

 

- No test case yet of some poor adult getting sandbagged.

 

I found this Nov,2015 update from Five Rivers Council

 

http://www.fiverivers.org/youth-protection/pennsylvania-act-153-background-checks-information/60618

 

After recharter, I would like to know each PA council adult headcount change. 

 

And during these past months, PA restored former Penn State coach and convicted pedofile Sandusky's state pension. PA Act 153 and HB 1276 were enacted largely due to Sandusky's acts of child molestation while a coach. 

 

My $0.01

 

So does council even see the paper copies?

[qwazse]

So does council even see the paper copies?

Our new SM brought his paper copies to HQ, I can't remember if he said they scanned them and gave them back or held onto them. Otherwise, no. They only see digital.

[jlglmg2010]

Our new SM brought his paper copies to HQ, I can't remember if he said they scanned them and gave them back or held onto them. Otherwise, no. They only see digital.

 

So basically do Adults turn the clearances into the proper person and they verify that all adults have them and then take clearances and whatever else they need to recharter and tell Council that everyone has turned in their Clearances and that's it or does council review each and every persons clearances and required training before rechartering the unit while the Unit sits there and waits for the papers to be viewed?

[Stosh]

So basically do Adults turn the clearances into the proper person and they verify that all adults have them and then take clearances and whatever else they need to recharter and tell Council that everyone has turned in their Clearances and that's it or does council review each and every persons clearances and required training before rechartering the unit while the Unit sits there and waits for the papers to be viewed?

 

Now that didn't make one bit of sense to me, totally convoluted and confusing.  So it's reasonable to say then, Yes, that is exactly how it's supposed to go. 

[PA Scoutmaster]

So far it's been easier than I thought it would be. People who help with the troop are usually the same people that help at church, soccer, school, etc. All the groups now need the same clearances, so there hasn't been any push back asking people to get it done. Our council has an email address to send them, so it's pretty easy to submit. The only issue was one guy that needed the FBI check and it took months. Everybody else had lived in PA for 10 years so just had to sign a waiver stating as much and that they hadn't had any out of state convictions in that time.