Free Background Checks

 

Although we know that the most reliable and most expensive background checks are based upon fingerprints, Oklahoma mentoring organizations use various means to investigate their volunteers. 

If designing or improving a program, always seek direction from the research-based content on
http://www.mentoring.org/program_resources/criminal_background_checks. 

Another resource for beginning a program, the Center for Disease Control offers guidelines to create policy through Preventing Child Sexual Abuse Within Youth-serving Organizations: Getting Started on Policies and Procedures at

http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pub/preventingchildabuse.html. 

The United States Department of Justice's Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website, listed within MENTOR's website, allows a sex offender search nationally or by areas
http://www.nsopw.gov/core/conditions.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1.

Some organizations use firms such as SelectForce, Trak-1, or others.  Client searches can be customized and done online for fees; the more detailed the checks, the more the cost.  Simply Google to find other sources.

Back to free background checks...

Yukon's Helping Hand Volunteers program, one of the largest in the state, however, uses FREE background checks. 

For the simple volunteer form, the Helping Hand Volunteers' staff uses the downloadable OSBI information request at http://www.ok.gov/osbi/documents/RecordCheckForm.pdf. 

Then staff members check these links for volunteers:

• http://www.familywatchdog.us/ (a national sex offender registry)

• http://docapp065p.doc.state.ok.us/servlet/page?_pageid=395&_dad=portal30&_schema=PORTAL30  (Oklahoma Department of Corrections)

• http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/start.asp?viewType=DOCKETS (Oklahoma Supreme Court Network)

On the OSCN site, you can select "Search Dockets," and it will give you a group of counties in Oklahoma that report directly to the network.  If you select "Non-OCIS Counties" it will give you the remaining Oklahoma counties and the information from them. We use both tabs. Christal has these addresses among her "favorites."


Thanks to Christal for the information from Yukon.

Christal G. Whitmire
Secretary
Yukon Public Schools Helping Hand Volunteers
405-354-3716 x1031

P.S.
Looking at someone's Facebook page is also a positive way to monitor activities.