[Ansteorra-announce] [Announcements] Announcement from the Board-Background check policy

[Patrick Anderson]

In a continuing effort to share information with the SCA's participants
about the upcoming background check policy, we would like to answer some
of the questions about the policy we have received thus far. Please bear
in mind that we have not established any policy to this point, and we
are still accepting all input into the policy development. Our answers
here reflect our understanding of the policy development as we have
researched to date. This policy is still in the developmental stages.

. Q: Should we use the "2 adults not related by blood or
marriage/relationship at all official youth activities" rule (aka: the
'two-deep' rule)? A: Yes. The two-deep rule is already listed in our
rules. (This is located in the Seneschals Handbook, page 9 and appendix
A)

. Q: Why are we doing this? A: Part of the Board's job is to see that
effective policies and procedures for the SCA are in place. In that
regard, the Board periodically reviews policies and procedures to ensure
that they remain consistent with the SCA's goals and values. After a
review of an East Kingdom law which required the Kingdom to review all
applicants for a position of youth officer and check to see if the
applicants were on a Megan's List, the Board concluded that an
organization-wide system of background checks for all youth officers
(martial and non-martial) would provide even more protection to the SCA,
Inc. and its youth members. For that reason, the Board has decided to
move forward with the new background check policy.

. Q: What are the specific numbers of minor related cases? A: Of the 29
R&D cases involving predatory criminal convictions, 6 involved warranted
youth officials.

. Q: Who will perform the background checks? A: The background checks
will be done by a third party. The SCA is still in the process of
selecting the background check vendor. The SCA will not have access to
specific background details, as indicated previously. We will simply
receive a pass or fail notice.

. Q: How can I resolve a false positive? A: You will have to follow the
resolution/error checking policy of the background check vendor.

. Q: What exactly will the background check be for? A: The background
check will only be checking for crimes against minors, not for traffic
tickets or prior arrests UNLESS of a sexual nature against minors.

. Q: What indication will I receive that I passed? A: The applicant will
receive a report from the background check vendor. As mentioned
previously, the pass status will be good for 2 years.

. Q: Is this a United States of America (USA)-only policy? Will this be
instituted in other countries outside of the USA? A: At this time, this
policy will only be instituted in North America (this includes Canada).
Currently, we are unable to implement this policy outside of North
America. This is due to overwhelming financial charges that we felt were
irresponsible to pass onto our membership. It is to be noted that we are
continuing to research ways of implementing this for our international
members in a fiscally responsible manner. Also, while we are planning to
initially use a USA based background check vendor, we are looking into
vendors who are authorized to conduct checks throughout North America.

. Q: This is a done deal - Why are you informing us of this after the
fact? A: It is important to note that this policy is not yet in force.
We continue to revise and update the policy based on the input we are
receiving from the SCA's members. Once we have finished developing the
policy, it will be released to the populace of the SCA for comment
before it is implemented.

We have also included the original questions and the answer statement
that was released to the SCA's members, in an effort to consolidate all
of the questions and answers about the upcoming background check policy
in one place. They follow below.

. Q: Are Kingdoms required to implement the Society policy? A: Once
upheld by the Board of Directors, the Kingdoms will have a time-line to
implement the policy-or cease youth programs as a part of their activity
offering.

. Q: I had a background check for work. Can you just use that? A: No.
All checks for this program will be done according to the same criteria
and by the same vendor for all participants. The vendor is a licensed,
bonded provider of background examinations.

. Q: Will the SCA be privy to specific details of my background, whether
I pass the exam or not? A: No. The SCA will receive a pass or a fail
notice.

. Q: Will my personal information be exposed to other SCA participants?
A: Information provided to the vendor in order to perform the check is
not provided to the SCA.

. Q: How long is my pass status good for? A: It is planned that the pass
status will be good for two years.

. Q: Will all existing officers have to be checked? A: All
officers/volunteers with supervisory positions, teaching, or direct
control of minor participants, new or existing would require the
clearance.

Again, we would like to thank you for your concern regarding the
upcoming policy. It is shared among many in the society. We are
committed to seeking the opinions of our membership and taking proper
action to insure that this is a fair process for everyone.

We encourage you to continue sending your comments on the upcoming
policy to comments at sca.org.

In service,

Aaron L. Lloyd - Director, SCA Inc.
Ombudsman, Background Check Policy

(Baron Aaron Palomides of Buckminster, KSCA, OP)

Hal Simon - Chairman, SCA Inc.

(Baron Edwin FitzLloyd, OP, OL)
--
Patrick Anderson
President
Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
president at sca.org
952-412-4112


Comments are strongly encouraged and can be sent to: 
SCA Inc.
Box 360789
Milpitas,  CA 95036

You may also email comments at lists.sca.org
or reply to this message.

This announcement is an official informational release by the Society for Creative Anachronism , Inc.  Permission is granted to reproduce this announcement in its entirety in newsletters, websites and electronic mailing lists.

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