Develop Your Screening Policy
Here’s how you can develop a screening policy that fits your organization’s role, size, and resources: Know the screening rules and…
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Home / Elements of Prevention / Screening & Hiring
All youth-serving organizations (YSOs) want to identify employees and volunteers who are safe to be around children, and screen out those who might cause harm. Yet sometimes, individuals who have harmed or may harm children are screened and hired—and use the opportunity to abuse again. This can happen for a number of reasons. A basic screening may not uncover prior abuse, and comprehensive screening and background checks can’t guarantee that someone will not harm children if given the opportunity.
There’s no “one size fits all” approach to screening and selecting employees and volunteers. Regardless, Safe Kids Thrive recommends a basic level of screening and background checks for all YSOs—each one part of a comprehensive process with multiple components informing an individual’s suitability to be with children.
The Screening Toolbox below identifies the elements of a comprehensive screening and hiring process:
Most YSOs undertake some form of screening (application, interview, and reference checks), to ensure candidates have the basic skills and judgment to care for children and pose no safety threat. Some organizations screen further because of statutory mandates, accreditation or licensing requirements, the nature of services provided, or required unmonitored interactions with minor children. These additional screening steps can include fingerprinting, local and national checks of criminal history and sexual offense records, professional credential checks, and driving record checks if the position requires transporting children.
Background checks aren’t foolproof. Because most child sexual abuse cases are not reported to the authorities, not every offender has a criminal record or has a criminal record that includes sexual offenses. In many instances, such as school settings, suspected offenders have been allowed to resign—sometimes with letters of recommendation—and are not reported to the authorities. These offenders can later apply to a new school district, be hired with a clean record, and use the opportunity to re-offend.
In other cases, offenders do have a criminal history that is not checked as part of a routine screening and hiring process. Smaller organizations and private, single-owner businesses that serve children may not conduct a check of criminal history as part of the hiring process because the perceived risk to children is too low—or they don’t have the knowledge or means to do so.
Our multi-level decision-making framework provides your YSO with the building blocks to implement minimal required screening standards. We present guidance on instances when more comprehensive screening should be used, how to make decisions about risk, parts of the screening process that can decrease that risk, and how to craft policies that reflect best practices. Each of these elements can be tailored to help your YSO protect yourselves and the children who rely on you for services.
Screening & Hiring /
Here’s how you can develop a screening policy that fits your organization’s role, size, and resources: Know the screening rules and…
Screening & Hiring /
Certain organizations, such as public schools and licensed childcare programs, must also query national criminal record and fingerprint-based…
Screening & Hiring /
Here are some best practices to consider when conducting your criminal background checks: Save time and resources by delaying criminal…
Choose the elements of a robust prevention plan that will support your organization.
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