Special Screening Considerations for Youth and Vulnerable Populations
Personal safety is the primary concern for children and other vulnerable populations. Relevant criminal offenses that would disqualify a volunteer from working with these groups generally include crimes against persons. Organizations serving youths generally permanently disqualify any individual from a position requiring substantial contact with children if their crimes include any of the following: past history of sexual abuse, conviction of any crime in which children were involved, and history of any violence or sexually exploitive behavior. The relevance of other offenses depends on the position involved. For example, a position working in home-health care would likely have access to prescription drugs and therefore a recent record of certain drug-related offenses would have relevance.