Kristina Taylor Articles

If you’ve been following our recent tweets, you’ll notice that we’ve been talking a lot about schools instituting regular background checks on all volunteers.

For many parents, it may come as a shock that there are schools that don’t background screen any person who has access to their child(ren). After all, school is supposed to be a “safe” place for kids to go. But there are many schools that deem such actions as “too costly” to undertake.

The plumber who fixes your leaking faucet.
The housecleaner who tidies up while you’re at work.
The carpet layer who laid the flooring in your bedroom.

What do these three people have in common? They are all strangers in your house. And that means you have allowed them access into your personal sphere of influence.

As important as it is to have a procedure for background checking all potential new hires, it’s equally as important to have expectations for how the data is handled. This is especially true in the day and age of the Internet.

Are you involved with a nonprofit organization?

If so, does it have mandatory background checks for volunteers?

If you said “no”, don’t feel ashamed, as you’re probably in the majority. Surprisingly, a good number of volunteer organizations – even many dealing with kids – have no policy of background checking the people who help out. And that can mean a world of problems down the road.