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Background Check

Background Screening

F.O. Parks and Recreation has implemented a mandatory background screening policy for all coaches and volunteers. These background checks will be paid for by F.O. Parks and Recreation. To read the complete policy the park board has adopted please see the below information. To submit the information to complete your background check please click the following link: https://opportunities.averity.com/fortoglethorpega

F.O. Parks and Recreation

Background Screening  Policy

Adopted 3/1/2021

PURPOSE

It is the intent of this policy to establish certain guidelines wherein the F.O. Parks and Recreation ( hereinafter referred to as FO) and its affiliated athletic boards can seek to protect our program participants by investigating the background of coaches and volunteers (hereinafter referred to as "candidates") who will be involved in the F.O. approved programs.

GENERAL 

A. Criminal background screenings are conducted by and outside third party who specializes in such work.

B. Any person who has been found guilty, plead guilty, or pled no contest, regardless of adjudication or has a pending charge pertaining to , any of the disqualifying offenses listed in the policy will be immediately disqualified from coaching or volunteering with F.O. or an associated athletic board.  F.O. also reserves the right to disqualify a person for any crime that would be considered a potential risk to children and/or vulnerable populations.  As candidate who willfully fails to comply with this background screening policy shall be automatically disqualified. 

C. This policy will apply to all F.O. coaches and volunteers. Both head and assistant, coaches participating in sanctioned F.O. athletic leagues. If there is any doubt as to who should be screened, the general rule is anyone who would potentially have unsupervised access to children in a F.O. approved program. Each coach and volunteer will be screened every 12 months for as long as he or she continues participating in F.O. programming.

The criminal background screening is mandatory, there are no exceptions.

SCREENING PROCESS

All candidates must sign a  Release for Criminal History which gives F.O. the right to check criminal history records and verify social security numbers. This release and screening is executed directly through www. protectyouthsports.com and the secure URL at which candidates can execute their F.O. background check is : https://opportunities.averity.com/fortoglethorpega

The cost associated with these background screenings will be paid for by F.O. 

No other personal information (e.g. work history, financial , credit, etc. ) is checked or researched. The company executing background checks has agreed to such terms contractually, and confirms such direction annually. 

The third party contractor conducting the checks will cross-reference the screening results with disqualifying crimes listed in this policy. A pass/fail grade will then be relayed to F.O. based on the cross-reference. A pass grade for any candidate that has zero disqualifying crime matches, a fail grade for any candidate that has one or more disqualifying crime matches. All information pertaining to the background check will remain with the third party contactor, subject to the applicable laws requiring disclosure. F.O. will not be informed of the results of an background check; rather, the F.O. will only be issued a pass/fail grade for each candidate. 

If the third party contractor reports any "fail" grades to F.O., F.O. shall notify the candidate that he or she is disqualified for their desired position. F.O. will also notify the appropriate Athletic Board if their candidate is disqualified. Upon request, the candidate will receive a copy of the background check from the third  party contractor.

CONFIDENTIALITY

To help ensure confidentiality, athletic board members, employees of athletic boards, and F.O. should not be notified of a Coach's criminal history. The criminal background reports shall be kept in a secure location by the third party contactor for a period as required by applicable law. 

APPEALS PROCESS

If a candidate's background check includes a charge set forth on the list of disqualifiers below, F.O. shall immediately disqualify a person from their position. There shall be no appeal of a decision to disqualify a candidate, if the candidate's relevant criminal history is accurate; all decisions are final. 

If a candidate wishes to dispute the content of the profile report, the candidate shall contact the third party responsible for conducting the background check by calling the telephone number listed on the report. The candidate is responsible for providing any or all documentation to support his or her claim.

DISQUALIFYING CRIMES

If a candidate (1) has been convicted of, (2) has a charge pending against him or her in which it is alleged that he or she has committed any of the following crimes, or (3) has a record of a conviction of an equivalent offense in another state, the candidate will be disqualified from the position with any program approved by F.O. 

All Sex Offenses

Examples include, but are not limited to: Child molestation, rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, sodomy, prostitution, solicitation, indecent exposure, etc. 

All Felony Violence Offenses

Examples include, but are not limited to: Murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, kidnapping, robbery, aggravated burglary, etc. 

All Felony Offenses other than violence or sex within the past 10 years

Examples include, but not limited to: Drug offenses, theft, embezzlement, fraud, child endangerment, etc. 

All Misdemeanor Violence offenses within the past 5 years

Examples include, but are not limited to: Simple assault, battery, domestic violence, hit and run, etc. 

Two Misdemeanor Alcohol offenses within the past three (3) years or three (3) or more offenses within the past five (5) years

Examples include, but are not limited to: Driving under the influence, drunk and disorderly, public intoxication, etc. 

All Misdemeanor Drug offenses within the past three (3) years or two (2) or more offenses within the past five (5) years

Examples include, but are not limited to: Simple drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, etc.

All other misdemeanors within the past five (5) years that would be considered a potential danger to childer

Examples include, but not limited to: Contributing to the delinquency of a minor, providin alcohol to a minor, etc. 

WHY THESE CRIMES

The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) has reviewed the resources of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners and sought the counsel of recognized background screening experts to develop a set of Recommended Guidelines for Volunteer Background Screening in park and recreation settings. These guidelines were produced as as result of this review.