Volunteer Screening

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Volunteer Screening

• SUSAN J. HENDRICKEN
• Manager
• Parks and Recreation
• City of Charlottetown

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FIRST STEP

• PUTTING THE CHILDREN FIRST

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OUTLINE

• INTRODUCTION OF ISSUE
• BACKGROUNDER FOR POLICY
• ROADBLOCKS
• BECOMING PROACTIVE
• ACCESSING USEFUL RESOURCES

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BECOMING PROACTIVE

• COACHING CERTIFICATION
• VOLUNTEER SCREENING
• EDUCATING PARENTS
• JOB DESCRIPTIONS
• CODE OF ETHICS

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Being Reactive

• Addressing the issue after the factclosing the
  barn doors after the horses get out.setting
  yourself up for liability out of negligence and
  most importantly a child may have already been
  harmed!!!

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Purpose of Screening

• To implement a preventative measure to assist
  organizations in successfully recruiting
  appropriate leaders for our resident youth.
• To reduce the liability or element of risk to
  both the City and volunteer based organizations
  in the matter of recruitment of volunteers.
• To act in a proactive manner to protect children
  involved in sport, recognizing the significant
  role a coach can play in a childs physical,
  social and emotional development

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Procedure

• SDA delivers form to potential volunteer
• Waiver/Consent Form optional
• SDA submits completed forms to Police
• Police return checked forms to SDA or
• volunteer (if waiver not signed)
• Master List created of all volunteers and
  screening results at PR DEPT

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Confidentiality

• One person in SDA assigned task of receiving
  completed forms
• Same person assigned to address anything relevant
  that shows up on a form
• Forms destroyed after or kept under lock and key
  in a central place

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Roadblocks

• Human Rights Stance
• Level of Police involvement in process
• Paperwork for SDA
• Frequency
• Confidentiality

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Nothing is ever full proof!

• Never been fingerprinted and/or photographed -
  no readout
• Under the age of 18
• Volunteer reserves the right not to submit the
  report.but should then be declared ineligible to
  coach/volunteer

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What is Unacceptable??

• Activities under Narcotics Control Act
• Food and Drug Act (i.e..trafficking magic
  mushrooms prescription drugs)
• Criminal code Offences (i.e. assault,
  weapons,theft and fraud and impaired driving)

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Outline

• Issue
• Backgrounder for Policy
• Purpose of Screening
• Procedure
• Roadblocks
• Proceeding from here

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Background

• Municipalities and Parks and Recreation
  Departments, in particular, play a key role in
  ensuring that Recreation and Sport is a safe
  place for children in every sense of the word.

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The Big Picture

• Action steps for parents
• Boundary setting by SDA
• Talk it up.. Silence is the 1 enemy here
• Recognize many forms of abuseemotional
  ,physical, sexual, and neglect
• Use of resources available - MARS