Criminal Records

What we have always recommended to programs is that they not approve any mentor whose criminal background includes:

• a crime involving a child
• abuse or violence
• a crime committed while serving in volunteer capacity

Beyond that, I think programs should have discretion in what they accept and don't. For examples, I know some programs require a 5 year sobriety period for volunteers who have had alcohol or drug issues.

Some of this is influenced by the nature of the program (and the level of supervision to the match) and the age of the youth. A program working with high-risk teens at a community center is going to allow volunteer backgrounds that an in-school elementary program may not.

I always encourage programs to sit down and just throw out a bunch of scenarios of background check results: A DUII five years ago. Two DUIIs a decade ago. A marijuana possession charge from college. An assault charge two years ago for a bar room fight. If you throw out enough of these, you begin crafting a set of approval/rejection criteria that can then be refined into a policy that works for you.

Hopefully some program coordinators here will post their policies and give you a bit of a head start!

(Just a reminder that the Forums do allow you to attach files if you want to post anything that way. Just hit "File Attachments" down by the save button.)