Volunteer Screening

 

What is screening?

 

Screening is an on-going process designed to identify any person (volunteer or staff) who may harm children or vulnerable persons.  Volunteer screening serves two main purposes:

 

            to create and maintain a safe environment

           to ensure an appropriate match between volunteer and task

 

Though a relatively new concept, volunteer screening is being adopted by a growing number of organizations.  The process includes assessing risk, writing position descriptions, discerning suitability of an individual for a given task, providing training and, when necessary, modifying the setting and arrangement of task.

 

Volunteers frequently have a highly public role on behalf of a non-profit organization; they are persons that individuals dealing with the non-profit organization see first and most often.  We can manage several risks by effectively screening, evaluating and placing volunteers.

 

The Safe Steps are much like a menu – you need only select those steps that apply specifically to positions within your organization.  The key to a successful screening program is to use the steps in a way that best suits a specific position.

 

There are 10 Safe Steps to Screening:

 

 

Why screen?

 

Any organization that provides programs to vulnerable people has an obligation to appropriately screen people who for them, including volunteers.  Screening is not only the right thing to do; it is legally required under the principle of “Duty of Care.”