Screening and Background Checks

Originally published by Mentor.

Abstract
Careful screening improves the quality of your mentors and helps ensure the safety of youth involved, while also managing your organization's level of risk and liability. This page includes sample tools to assist you with suggested components for volunteer screening and links to related resources.

Screening and Background Checks
Careful screening improves the quality of your mentors and helps ensure the safety of youth involved, while also managing your organization's level of risk and liability. This section includes sample tools to assist you with suggested components for volunteer screening.

Components of Volunteer Screening
There are five basic elements for screening volunteers: * Written application; * Fingerprint criminal background checks and related checks; * Character reference checks; * Face-to-face interview;...

Related Resources
SafetyNET Background check service
SafetyNET is a criminal background check for your volunteers. Get a full FBI check for $18, and results are delivered within 3-5 business days.

Child Sexual Abuse Risk Exposure Matrix
National Collaboration for Youth resource to help assess child abuse risk. Ratings for lower, medium and higher risk.

Parent Permission Form
Parent Permission Form for Community-based programs.

Mentee Profile form
This NMC form notes a student's interests, academic profile, desired mentor characteristics, and available time.

Mentor Profile form
A simple form used for keeping track of a mentor's contact information, interests, and available time.

Mentor Reference Check
Use this NMC form to check the references provided by a potential mentor.

Mentor Application
This form is a standard volunteer mentor application. Can be used in a school or community-based program.

Evaluation Management Training
The recent National Cross-Site Evaluation of High-Risk Youth Programs reveals the how and why of prevention.

Screening Volunteers
Training module developed by The Mentoring Center outlining procedures for screening volunteers for programs depending on the type of program at hand.

County Risk Management: Policy and Practice (by Risk Management Resource Center)
This on-line course is a risk management training program for county officials and staff, and is designed especially for small and rural counties. The course is free.

Mentoring Essentials: Risk Management for Mentoring Programs by Dustianne North and Jerry Sherk
Includes information on: assessing risk; anticipating risk; strategizing to reduce risk; preparing participants for risk; troubleshooting problems and preventing crisis; minimizing damage when risk...

Volunteer Risk Management Tutorial
This free, on-line tutorial will help your organization manage the risks of using volunteers. It tests your knowledge about risk management and helps you improve practices you already have in place.

Understanding the Volunteer Protection Act
An unfortunate consequence of the states’ volunteer immunity laws has been the creation of a false impression that volunteers are immune from lawsuits. The truth is that many volunteers remain fully...

Nonprofit Risk Management Center Publications
Your nonprofit may be liable for injuries or accidents that occur within your rented space, and some, but not all, damages to the space you rent.