Volunteer Screening Poll Results

In my research and experience, one of the biggest issues that seem to keep coming up about youth sports is the background checks being run on coaches. The issue doesn’t seem to be whether or not to check a coach’s history, as everyone seems to be pretty much on the same page that background checks should be done.

The issue, it seems, is whether or not to allow a volunteer coach to keep working despite derogatory information, or a criminal history once a background check is done.

While I think that everyone agrees that registered sex offenders shouldn’t be allowed to coach (especially youth teams) opinion seems to differ on other crimes.

We created a poll to try and test the water, and learn about the responses given.

As of today, the results are:

• 71% -- no matter what the crime is, criminals should not be allowed to coach
• 18% -- as long as the crime was non-violent, it’s not a problem
• 12% -- as long as the crime didn’t involve children, it’s not a problem
• 0% -- it doesn’t matter at all

What this tells us is that overwhelmingly, people are concerned about criminal pasts, that a background check should be done, and that the majority of people wouldn’t be comfortable with a criminal of any sort coaching their children.

Volunteer Screening Poll

Should youth coaches be allowed to work with children despite criminal history? Never, no matter the crime Always, no matter the crime As long as the crime was non-violent As long as the crime didn't involve children .

Milford makes tough decisions

The city of Milford, CT is faced with an interesting problem. As the city plans to conduct background checks on employees and volunteers, the Park, Beach and Recreation Commission has a plethora of checks to run, but no one to pay for it.
As the New Haven Register reported, the commission set out to create a screening program for adults who work with children, and little headway has been made. The commission still needs to decide on virtually every detail of a screening program, including who will be screened, what they will look for and of course, who is going to pay for it.

Recreation Director William McCarthy has been given the tough task of making these decisions.

McCarthy said the slow progress is a result of an extremely complex issue that he wants to make sure is handled correctly.
"This is like wrestling with alligators here," he said. "I’m just trying to make sure we don’t get bit."

"There’s so much to talk about here," said commission Vice Chairwoman Ann Fabian. "Theoretically I think it’s a good idea, but it’s a huge issue and checks and balances need to be there to protect privacy."

Generally, the council is in agreement about a few things; that every adult who works with children should be checked, lifeguards, coaches, referees, instructors, and volunteers included, which could be as may as 300 people, at $15 to $20 per background check.

"This is another issue where we’re walking on eggshells here," McCarthy said. "Do you ask someone who’s already volunteering their time to pay to have a background check done on themselves?"

The idea of screening employees and volunteers was a hot button in Milford after news recently broke that a youth basketball coach had an affair with a high school student on his team.