Background Checks: A Must!

Why is it imperative for your school to conduct thorough background screenings of job applicants, volunteers, and even contractors? Consider these examples:
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Church Law and Tax Report 1995) spot-checked the criminal records of 500 childcare workers in four states (Missouri, Nevada, South Carolina, and Wisconsin). It used the FBI national database of criminal records rather than individual state databases in order to reveal each worker’s criminal record in all states, not just the state in which the worker was employed.

The results were alarming: 61 of the 500 workers had arrests or convictions (12 percent of all workers). The crimes included financial offenses such as shoplifting, theft, bad checks, and welfare fraud, as well as various drug offenses. Perhaps most significantly, many workers had convictions for assault and battery, endangering the life of a child, indecency with a child, and lewdness—crimes directly related to a worker’s suitability or fitness for working with children. Of the 500 workers in the study, 39 had a total of 440 arrests and 181 convictions for the more serious crimes.

• New Jersey passed legislation in 1987 mandating that all persons being recommended for employment in schools undergo a conviction-records investigation at the state and national levels (American Association of School Personnel Administrators 1995). Since then, 2,340 applicants (about 1 percent) have been disqualified for employment as a result of convictions for serious offenses. This number includes 63 murderers, 158 sex offenders, 81 child abusers, and five kidnappers. Hundreds of other applicants (not counted in the 1 percent above) who had been convicted of aggravated assault, robbery, arson, and drug violations were also screened out of consideration for employment in schools as a result of this law.

• Pinkerton Information Center conducted background checks on employment applicants for a large accounting firm (Pinkerton Services Group 1995). All applicants were college educated and dedicated to the white-collar, professional career track. Out of 300 applications, Pinkerton found that 36 percent of the applications had significant discrepancies. Other recent surveys by Pinkerton (Wathen) have shown that up to 30 percent of job applicants incorrectly report dates of employment, 11 percent misrepresent reasons for leaving previous jobs to conceal being fired, and 37 percent overstate their previous job titles, responsibilities, or educational qualifications. Of all applicants who answer no to the question about a criminal record, almost 10 percent were found to be lying.

Because of the publicity regarding child abuse, more than 30 states require criminal-background checks, fingerprint checks, or both of individuals working with children in daycare, preschool, or school settings. Usually the requirements single out employee applicants or volunteers who have unsupervised access to children to undergo background checks. States that require criminal-background checks usually have a particular form that must be used. Be sure to check your state’s requirements and procedures when conducting criminal or other background checks.

According to Gammon & Grange, a leading Washington, D.C., law firm that specializes in working with nonprofit organizations, fingerprinting serves four purposes:
1. Some police departments require fingerprints to conduct a criminal-records check.
2. Some jurisdictions require all childcare workers to be fingerprinted as a matter of law.
3. Individuals with a criminal record of sexual abuse will be reluctant to provide fingerprints and may decide not to proceed with the application.
4. Fingerprints may assist the police in an investigation if sexual abuse or other criminal activities do occur at your organization.

If your school is sued for damages because of an allegation against an employee or a volunteer who has unsupervised access to children, the plaintiff’s attorney will allege “negligent hiring,” “negligent supervision,” or both for recovery of damages. These legal theories are now being mentioned in almost all such lawsuits. You will be asked if and how you checked a person’s references. Do you have documentation that you checked the references? Did you conduct a criminal-background check? What type of supervision did you exercise over your staff and volunteers? Questioning can be long and detailed.

In addition to employee and volunteer checks, some states now require that contractors on school grounds be subject to criminal-background checks. Even though this law does not apply to private schools, it should be a consideration. You do not want to have to explain to a parent why you allowed someone on your campus that you did not ensure was safe. When you consider what fits within the category of “contractor,” think broadly. Think about tutors; speech therapists; companies that sell books, uniforms, and other items to your students; and any other nonemployee that you allow on campus.

Since at least 45 states do not require private-school teachers to be state certified, and many private schools do not require their teachers to have state teaching certificates, those schools may not have the benefit of having available personnel who can easily obtain background information. Under those circumstances, a school usually must contact a third-party vendor to conduct the various searches. Even if your school is located in a state that permits you to access its criminal-records system, additional types of background reports are available elsewhere that provide insightful information that could be important to your final employment decision. School administrators typically arrange for background checks only on job applicants who are finalists for positions, since schools must usually pay for the searches unless state law indicates otherwise. Remember also to do background checks on substitute teachers.

Many companies can conduct criminal-background checks and other types of employment checks for your school. Simply “Google” the phrase background checks, and your computer screen will be filled with company names and contact information. You should also check with your state’s department of education to see what companies it might recommend.

Companies work with Christian ministries include:
FactsFinder.com— www.factsfinder.com  
Protect My Ministry— www.protectmyministry.com 
SecureSearch— www.securesearchpro.com 

You should investigate the vendor to make sure they follow all aspects of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

As American culture continues its accelerating slide from its historic Judeo-Christian roots, it is increasingly necessary to change the way those in the Christian-school community do business. Today, it is important to have well-worded employment agreements and employee handbooks instead of the simple handshakes of past decades. Today, school administrators are dealing with student social and moral issues they never had to face before. Today, it is necessary for schools to budget annually for legal fees just as they do for utilities. And today, it is necessary to take the appropriate steps, such as background screening, to protect the students and also the legal liability and financial integrity of the school ministry.

ACSI urges your school to make a commitment to a vigorous screening process for employment applicants. Administrators can no longer afford to go just by instinct and rely on what people say or print in their résumés. Remember also to conduct a background-screening process on all volunteers who will have unsupervised access to children in your school. Then consider screening contractors who come on your campus. Your students’ parents will appreciate your conscientiousness, and such precautions may save your school from a great deal of grief and expense.

For additional resources on background checks, go to www.acsi.org/kwllrefarticles. There you will find the link Employment Issues. Another great source to help you protect your school regarding employment issues is ACSI’s Personnel Resources for Christian Schools CD (Purposeful Design Publications, 2009), available from www.purposefuldesign.com.

References
Christianity Today International. 1995. Government Survey Reveals Convicted Criminals Workings in Child Care Centers. Church Law and Tax Report March/April.

Pinkerton Services Group. 1995. Pinkerton Information Center background verification and database services. Brochure.

Purposeful Design Publications. 2009. Personnel resources for Christian schools. CD. Colorado Springs, CO: Purposeful Design Publications.

Von Behren, Craig. 1995. Pre-employment background checks: Avoiding negligent hiring & retention of unfit employees. Sacramento, CA: American Association of School Personnel Administrators.

Wathen, Thomas W. Background checks: The backbone of business. Leaders Magazine.

CSE 13.3