Open Forum

Hi - Do you conduct criminal background checks on minors? I realize access to criminal information may vary from state to state.

Thank you

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Jan Milroy
Coordinator of Volunteer Servi
Living History Farms
Urbandale IA
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To clarify, I am asking about volunteers who are minors.

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Jan Milroy
Coordinator of Volunteer Servi
Living History Farms
Urbandale IA
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We have school tours, youth group activities, school district sponsored events and we also conduct a number of aviation related summer camps.  California state law requires that we conduct a Megan's law check on all staff, paid and unpaid, who may have contact with K-12 grade pupils/student.  All applications, long form for paid staff and short form for volunteers, carry a warning that this will be done.  This notice also indicates that the Museum may require a more detailed background, including the taking of fingerprints, at the volunteers expense.   

In California, the Megan's Law list does not include juveniles whose crimes have been adjudicated in juvenile court.  However, if their crimes are adjudicated in criminal court, regardless of their age, they would be on the list.

If the Museum finds a staff member on the list,  I will contact the appropriate agency to see if there is any other information they can release to us.  So far, knock on wood, we have had only one individual who was on the list.  The same day I contacted the law enforcement agency and was provided with additional information and a request to contact them when we resolved the person's status.  The Executive Director and I meet with the individual, advised him of the information, and let him know his services were no longer needed.  I re-contacted the LE agency and wa told they were going to schedule an appointment with the gentleman.

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Raymond Meyer
Safety & Security Manager
Aerospace Museum of California
McClellan, CA

safety-security@aerospaceca.org
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Hello,

In Florida the Department of Children and Families requires that any person that will be in contact with a k-12 student -volunteer or paid, minor or not - during full day summer camps must get a level 2 background screening. If you are not familiar, level 2 requires that their fingerprints be taken and tested. This such a burden on our program as the checks cost $68.75 per person, and we rely heavily on volunteers, a lot of which are teens.  I am a strong advocate for keeping our kids safe, and I am happy to have everyone checked, I just think the price is very steep for a non-profit to have to pay. 

Aside from our summer camp, our other programs are not monitored by the Department of Children and Families as we are not caring for the children for 8 hours or more a day. For these programs we only do level 2 background checks on paid employees and level 1 back ground checks on adult volunteers, no checks on minors. We do this because we employ a strict policy and and have systems in place where volunteers are never left alone with minors without the instructor or paid employee. Also, most of our programs are family programs in which the caretakers/parents are always with their children. 

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Kylee Crook

Director of Education
Bass Museum of Art
Miami Beach FL
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