The debate on whether or not volunteers should undergo a background check continues and there are convincing arguments on both sides. Proponents for volunteer background checks say that in order to protect at-risk populations like children they need to be vetted properly to help weed out malfeasant individuals. While on the other side of the aisle people who are against volunteer background checks say that if people who would normally be willing to volunteer for certain positions may opt out of applying for those volunteer positions due to having to undergo a background check. Which means that we would lose a lot of good people that would otherwise be happy to offer their talents as a volunteer.

Every summer thousands of volunteers are required across a broad spectrum of activities. From summer sports to sleep over camp and hundreds of other places, volunteers interact with at risk populations daily and, subsequently, many believe should be thoroughly vetted. Background checks, especially criminal background checks on volunteers some believe should be a critical part of the vetting process and consider this approach a best practice for volunteer organizations.

And yet volunteer checks are often questioned as either unnecessary, inconvenient or too expensive.

Volunteer background checks are often considered an important tool in risk mitigation, one that can help protect at-risk populations and should be treated as a number one priority.

From an op-ed article posted to the Richmond-DailyNews.com (Jun 06, 19) and discussing the pros and cons of volunteer background screening:

The idea is a mixed bag. In some cases, potential volunteers may not like the hassle of government intrusion into their lives, with the result being that some otherwise decent volunteers may not bother. But there are also the rare cases where a background check might reveal a person has an unsavory history that disqualifies that person from being around children. Overall, erring on the side of caution – particularly when considering child safety – suggests background checks may turn away a few good people, but losing them is preferable to giving a pass to even one pedophile. ^{richmond-dailynews.com/opinion/gov-should-require-checks-on-volunteers/article_3a0a6312-8891-11e9-985f-d395ca0ace8a.html}

As of today this issue is still being discussed and both sides have not found common ground yet, but the bottom line is that volunteers are very much in demand and nobody wants a good person willing to contribute as a volunteer to be dissuaded to apply for a volunteer position due to the uncomfortability surrounding an impending background check and possibly the inconvenience of the whole process; yet no one wants an unsavory individual to gain access to at-risk populations like children either. There still needs to be some mediation on both sides so good volunteers aren’t scared away and also so the wrong type of individuals applying for volunteer positions never get hired.

To read more about this subject read recent press release found at: Background Checks for Volunteers: An Ongoing Debate; Opines CriminalBackgroundRecords.com