Kiwanis Criminal Background Screening

Posted by Neil Weathington 
 
Bob Pinckney visited and updated the Carrollton Kiwanis Club on the screening process.  He is one of the three Georgia Kiwanians chosen to serve on the state wide committee on screening.  As an added bonus, Mr. Pinckney was able to bring with him an InterClub from the Fairfield Kiwanis Club.
 

Thanks to Dan Lewis for agreeing to serve as point person for the screening process of current members.  About 50 applications were sent to Background Screening and Security Solutions LLC, the firm contracted to process screening.  We will be sending applications via the USPS to individuals who were not in attendance.  Please feel free to download the application, complete, and bring to Friday's meeting.  Please direct any individual concerns to Neil Weathington or Dan Lewis.

Each screening costs $ 5.00, and the board voted to pay this fee for current members from the operations budget.  Many clubs choose to pay the fee from the foundation budget because it purpose is to provide further safety of children involved in Kiwanis Foundation projects.

The application fee has been increased from $ 20 to $ 25 for new members to cover the cost of screening.

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Question:  What does "working with children"  mean ?

Answer:  An individual under the age of 18 shall be considered a child.  "Working with Children" is any event where a Kiwanian is within 1,000 feet of a child.

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Question:  Is the Social Security Number required to run the search ?

Answer:  According to the GBI, the following information is contained in the Georgia Criminal History Record:  Name, DOB, SSN, Sex, Race, Height, Weight.  Each of the pieces of data serve as a marker for an accurate trace.  It is possible to run the report without the SSN but for common names, a nightmare ensures when multiple records are returned with a "possible record" notation.  It is a real nightmare to sort out the pertinent data.  The GCIC generated consent form asks for markers listed above.  Asking for the Social Security number was not an arbitrary choice.  We patterned our consent after the GBI / GCIC state standard.

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Question:  The consent form contains verbiage about a consumer report.  Will a credit check be part of the screening process?

Answer:  No.  Credit checks are not part of the BSASS screening protocol.  The $ 5.00 charged for each applicant only covers the GCIC / NCIS search.

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Thank you for participating in the effort.  The Georgia District of Kiwanis is going the "extra mile" to guarantee the privacy and security of members and to document the minimized risk to children and to protect the integrity and reputation of Kiwanis International in its mission to serve children.