Volunteers don't mind background checks

One of the tenets Patricia Sheahan lives by is a background check, both criminal and child abuse, for the staff and adult volunteers who enter Mother of Sorrows School in Murrysville.

Sheahan, the school's principal -- she prefers the title "educational leader" -- considers the clearances an important safety measure. The mandate applies, she said, "to every single person employed by me and any volunteer who sets foot in the building."

Pennsylvania School Code requires that all applicants for school employment obtain Act 33 (child abuse) and Act 34 (criminal history) clearances.

The Catholic Diocese of Greensburg also requires volunteers to obtain those background checks. It's part of an effort, Sheahan said, "to try to get a handle on the background of every adult working with any of my students."

Sheahan knows it is possible for someone to fall through the investigative cracks. But paperwork tampering can be discovered, she said.

About a year ago, Richard Wayne Alwine, a janitor at the school, was accused of altering his criminal background record to hide a 1959 murder conviction. Alwine, 63, allegedly altered the document that he presented to Sheahan. He was employed at the school little more than a month. Sheahan became suspicious of his criminal background after a telephone caller said there could be a problem with the document.

Alwine, formerly of Irwin, was convicted of forgery and tampering with public records. Last November, he was sentenced to a prison term of 31/2 to 7 years.

The school's volunteer handbook, published on its Web site, lists an abundance of volunteer opportunities for parents, from supervising the cafeteria and recess and serving as classroom aide to hosting special events and videotaping various activities. It also notes the requirement to obtain clearances.

Sheahan said the response from most parents is that the mandate has become status quo.

Eight years ago, Sheahan said, some parents asked, "Why do we have to have both?"

"It's a safety issue," she said. "That was a step that is easy to do. It costs them $20. But no one questions it. They would probably be aghast if the school did not require it.

"If I had an indicator that there was a (criminal) history, I would meet with the person and make a decision on a case-by-case basis," she said.

Sheahan has never had to turn down a potential volunteer after a background check. She said only one or two families over the years have declined to get clearances.

"They know they won't be able to participate in the life of the child's school," she said.

About 125 volunteers work within the school, she said.

Many Catholic schools are now taking similar precautions. As part of the Catholic Church's response to the abusive priests scandal, volunteers who work with children in either the schools or churches will undergo a police criminal background check.

As state police checks may turn up only convictions, not arrests or a record of charges filed, national church guidelines suggest that employees and volunteers be asked if they have ever been accused of or investigated for an act of abuse or harassment.

Angela Burrows, executive director of infomedia services for the Diocese of Greensburg, said the mandate applies to Scout leaders and coaches as well.

The diocese includes 20 elementary and two high schools, educating about 5,000 students, in Westmoreland, Fayette, Armstrong and Indiana counties.

MAKING THE GRADE

It's a request brought home in many a child's backpack: please volunteer within the school district.

But now, instead of simply offering their time, many parents are also being asked to offer up their backgrounds. More districts are requesting, even requiring, that school volunteers -- from playground aides to coaches -- obtain clearances.

School officials have also had to become judges of a sort. Convictions for child molestation, homicide or drug peddling might easily eliminate some potential volunteers. Nonviolent convictions, such as bounced checks, shoplifting or marijuana use, might give administrators more pause before declining the help.

Unlike some states, Pennsylvania does not mandate screenings of school volunteers. But the potential for physical or sexual abuse, and the potential for lawsuits should a parent with a record commit a crime while supervising children, have contributed to districts taking the extra measure.

In Fayette County, the Laurel Highlands School District requires Act 33/34 clearances from its volunteers. Gary Brain, director of secondary education, confirmed that those clearances apply to all volunteers, from field trip chaperones to coaches.

James Antis, assistant superintendent at the Indiana Area School District, said the clearances for staff and adult volunteers have been "a long-standing policy here."

No particular incident led to the mandate.

"Just good judgment," he said. "It's the prudent thing to do."

Antis said the parent who is occasionally in the building where their own children attend, perhaps to supervise a party, is not required to obtain the clearances.

"Anyone else in the building working directly with students ... tutors, grandparents, or anybody who works directly with children, (including) coaches," must present the forms in order to volunteer.

"We have only had a positive response," he said.

As for leeway depending upon specific offenses, Antis stopped short of saying the district had a zero tolerance policy.

However, he said, "We tend to avoid anything that comes back other than a clean report, anything that is questionable."

Carol Ritter, recently elected president of the Pennsylvania PTA, said she has never encountered resistance to the clearances.

Acknowledging that most parents she's worked with were already actively involved in their children's schools, she added, "Parents want their children to be safe."

She would like to see the clearance fees waived, as some parents can't afford the cost.

"And that results in exclusion," Ritter said.

Many PTAs might like to fund the clearances. But at $20 per person with, for instance, a volunteer base of 100, she said, "You're talking a lot of money."

The bottom line is to provide the opportunity for parents to participate in their children's education.

"Parent involvement is so vital for children's success," Ritter said.