Position:
Every child in the Commonwealth is entitled to basic protections
to insure their safety. The safety of all children is a paramount
concern regardless of where or through whom they are served.
Uniformity in practice and safeguards related to child abuse
and criminal history clearances should be consistent regardless
of educational placement, childcare option, or provision of
in home or out of home care services, particularly if such services
and interventions are supported with public funds.
Child Safety
- Background Clearance Checks:
Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law requires private
and public agencies to secure both Child Abuse and Criminal
history background clearances for a broad range of individuals
who are in paid employment capacities with children and youth.
This clearance process is one mechanism used to address issues
of child safety. The background clearances identify substantiated
incidents of child abuse and any relevant criminal offenses.
Many private and public agencies also extend these requirements
to volunteers and others for whom they are not statutorily
required but who are involved in activities with children
and youth.
FBI clearances
are also required for potential employees residing out of
state. The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare has identified
an option for provider agencies to access FBI information
for current residents of the Commonwealth as well. Timely
processing of clearances is imperative to staff recruitment,
the provision of ongoing services, and ultimately, the protection
of children.
Core Principles:
The protection of children is both an ethical and legal mandate.
Child safety implies that children are first and foremost
protected from abuse and neglect, regardless of the environment
or setting of the child.
Application of
this public mandate should extend to all children regardless
of whether they are served through the public or private service
systems.
Consistency in
application of compliance requirements for background clearance
checks reflects best practice as well as an encompassing effort
to insure safety for children.
Such safeguards should be incorporated into practice based
on regulation, legislation and/or agency-adopted policies.
Increased attention
and efforts to insure safety have inherent costs. Some county
agencies require broader application of Child Abuse, Criminal
history, and FBI background checks than is currently mandated
by state and federal policy and law. The potential for increased
program costs related to broader application and reliance
on available mechanisms to secure background clearance checks
must be recognized.
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