If you’re an adult in Pennsylvania, any volunteer position involving the welfare of children requires clearances. According to PA Child Protective Service law, volunteer positions for school programs, libraries, hospitals, daycares, sports events, and any other position that involves mentoring, direct contact, or the supervision of any child under the age of 18 require these clearances.
Fortunately, receiving these clearances is relatively simple to do, and most organizations pay for the clearances on behalf of their volunteers. Before volunteering for your next chaperone trip or community service opportunity, here are the different clearances you need to obtain prior to volunteering with children in any capacity.
1. Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Clearance
One of the required clearance is a criminal history background check through the Pennsylvania State Police Department. This comprehensive criminal history background check unveils every recorded incident up to 7 years prior; from minor offenses like loitering to serious federal crimes that are likely to make a volunteer candidate ineligible. Our licensed third-party screening agency will help you with all of the paperwork, and we back our PA State background checks for volunteers with clearly documented and straightforward details for safer volunteer onboarding.
2. Child Abuse History Clearance Check
Since child abuse data resides within the Department of Human Services registry, this second mandatory clearance check ensures that any child-related incidents like neglect or domestic abuse have not been overlooked. Like the PSP clearance process, this clearance is free for eligible volunteer positions. To complete this clearance, you can apply at the Pennsylvania government website, or you can reach out to our certified screening agency for comprehensive assistance and guaranteed form-submission accuracy.
3. FBI Criminal History With Fingerprinting
FBI fingerprint screening is used to reveal any criminal history on the federal level and provides an additional layer of screening protection for the youth of Pennsylvania. If you have lived outside of Pennsylvania in the last 10 years, fingerprint-based FBI clearance is mandatory. If you have retained residency within the state for 10+ years, you do not need to complete the fingerprinting process, but you are required to complete an FBI disclosure form attesting that the volunteer position is unpaid and your PA residency status is accurate.
How to Complete the Clearances
Access our all-inclusive guidance to complete the processes, or you can find the required forms on the PA government website. If you need to complete FBI fingerprinting, we can even connect you with local biometric offices that perform fast and affordable fingerprinting on short notice.
If you have questions about the various requirements, or if you would like comprehensive assistance with the entire clearance process, our licensed screening professionals are happy to help. We can quickly manage extensive volunteer onboarding needs, walk you through the paperwork details, and guarantee form-submission accuracy.
