Background checks - concerned parent

[scotteg83]

So i registered 7 years ago, and signed the background release.

 

 

So do they ever re-run a background?  Is it every year with recharter?

[mac266]

5 minutes ago, scotteg83 said:

So i registered 7 years ago, and signed the background release.

 

 

So do they ever re-run a background?  Is it every year with recharter?

I don't know.

[ValleyBoy]

7 or 8 years ago we had a volunteer who's background check came back with him being in jail in another state.  Local county sheriff wrote a letter to our council that the volunteer was not the same person that the background check came back on.  At the time I believe the background checks were ran on full name, sex, and birth date.

[Thunderbird]

10 minutes ago, scotteg83 said:

So i registered 7 years ago, and signed the background release.

 

 

So do they ever re-run a background?  Is it every year with recharter?

My understanding is that they do re-run the background checks.  You would have to ask your council as to how often.

[NJCubScouter]

1 hour ago, mac266 said:

This is simply false.  *ALL* registered volunteers have a background check.  This is conducted by the local Council, not the unit.  The unit simply turns in the signed applicaton form to the Council.  

I think we need to be clear on what we mean by "background check."  The BSA contracts with a company to perform criminal background checks.  Supposedly, all applications go through this process.  I know they do in my council, and not just for new applications.  When I recently applied to be a merit badge counselor (after an absence), I was specifically told by the council registrar that I had passed the background check - which they apparently did even though I have been registered as a troop committee member since 2003 and as a den leader and assistant cubmaster before that.  (I believe the background check system probably went into effect around 2001-2002, because it was fairly new, but was in effect, when I applied to be a troop committee member in early 2003. ) 

Which still begs the question, what is a criminal background check, at least as performed by the BSA?  It is a search (on the Internet) of publicly available databases of criminal offenders and offenses.  They do not call the references you list on the application.  (Supposedly that is up to the unit.)  They (probably) will not find a juvenile offense, since those are generally sealed.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, they will not find an offense that has been expunged.  They will not pull up a speeding ticket.  They will not find a drunk driving offense unless it is a criminal offense in that state (in NJ it is a motor vehicle offense, not a criminal offense, no matter how many times someone does it.)  I do not think they would find a municipal ordinance violation.  They will find crimes of which there is currently a public record.  That's it.

[NJCubScouter]

17 minutes ago, scotteg83 said:

So i registered 7 years ago, and signed the background release.

So do they ever re-run a background?  Is it every year with recharter?

They do not re-run the criminal background check for a recharter.  I believe, though I am not 100% positive, that they need your written authorization every time they run the criminal background check on you.  That authorization is contained in the adult leader application.  So, if you apply for a new position where a new application is required, they re-run the check, which you have just authorized.  That would include a registered unit leader registering with a different unit (i.e. pack to troop, or troop to crew, or troop to another troop, etc.); a registered unit leader registering at a different level (i.e. district or council); a registered adult registering to also be a merit badge counselor; etc.

[scotteg83]

16 minutes ago, NJCubScouter said:

They do not re-run the criminal background check for a recharter.  I believe, though I am not 100% positive, that they need your written authorization every time they run the criminal background check on you.  That authorization is contained in the adult leader application.  So, if you apply for a new position where a new application is required, they re-run the check, which you have just authorized.  That would include a registered unit leader registering with a different unit (i.e. pack to troop, or troop to crew, or troop to another troop, etc.); a registered unit leader registering at a different level (i.e. district or council); a registered adult registering to also be a merit badge counselor; etc.

That makes sense.  Just mean you can have a Scouter that has been registered in one position for 40+ years, and have a criminal background issue since they have never registered for a new position

[HelpfulTracks]

On 8/22/2018 at 6:27 PM, MikeS72 said:

If that parent has registered they would be background checked.  That may or may not be the case, depending on the unit.

My personal opinion is that if you volunteer in any capacity, the unit should request that you register and undergo the background check.  Not everyone or every unit feels the same.

 

2 hours ago, mac266 said:

This is simply false.  *ALL* registered volunteers have a background check.  This is conducted by the local Council, not the unit.  The unit simply turns in the signed applicaton form to the Council. 

I may be reading this incorrectly, but I think what MikeS72 was saying, is that IF a parent is registered, a background check is run. HOWEVER, not every unit registers every parent (in fact few do), so a background check being run on an individual is dependent on the unit going through the process of registering all adults. At least that is how I read the post initially, because he goes on to say he personally believes a unit should register every parent that volunteers in any capacity.

Edited September 4, 2018 by HelpfulTracks

[RememberSchiff]

19 minutes ago, NJCubScouter said:

I think we need to be clear on what we mean by "background check."  The BSA contracts with a company to perform criminal background checks.  Supposedly, all applications go through this process.  I know they do in my council, and not just for new applications.  When I recently applied to be a merit badge counselor (after an absence), I was specifically told by the council registrar that I had passed the background check - which they apparently did even though I have been registered as a troop committee member since 2003 and as a den leader and assistant cubmaster before that.  (I believe the background check system probably went into effect around 2001-2002, because it was fairly new, but was in effect, when I applied to be a troop committee member in early 2003. ) 

Which still begs the question, what is a criminal background check, at least as performed by the BSA?  It is a search (on the Internet) of publicly available databases of criminal offenders and offenses.  They do not call the references you list on the application.  (Supposedly that is up to the unit.)  They (probably) will not find a juvenile offense, since those are generally sealed.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, they will not find an offense that has been expunged.  They will not pull up a speeding ticket.  They will not find a drunk driving offense unless it is a criminal offense in that state (in NJ it is a motor vehicle offense, not a criminal offense, no matter how many times someone does it.)  I do not think they would find a municipal ordinance violation.  They will find crimes of which there is currently a public record.  That's it.

The BSA now contracts with First Advantage  where previously they used NexisLexis for background checks.

In the past, there have been concerns that scouters were unknowingly giving permission for background checks which extended into non-public education, employment, credit history,  DMV databases.  

Page 4 of the BSA Adult Application spells this out.  

That said, I know adult applicants  who were rejected. None of them  received  as stated  below on Page 4  the  credit or contact information.

"I understand that if the Boy Scouts of America chooses not to accept my application or to revoke my membership based on information contained in a consumer report, I will receive a summary of my rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and contact information for the reporting agency, First Advantage."