Do you know your child’s bus driver, and just how well? Many parents take for granted that the bus driver pulling up to the curb every day does not have a criminal record. But, as schools have implemented background check policies for not only teachers but volunteers and visiting parents over the past few years, [...]

Can a parent trust a preschool, even a registered one, has no criminals or sex offenders amongst its staff? Yesterday, Fox Chicago News revealed an eco-friendly preschool in the West Loop area was unwittingly harboring a sex offender. Investigating a tip, the local news station found Eric Ellis, who is listed as a Registered Sex [...]

Like many adults, you join a dating website to meet others in your area, and then an individual contacts you. To feel each other out, you chat a bit online and then decide to meet up in a public place. Although, with online dating now far more common than it used to be, this scenario [...]

Some claim background checks for volunteer positions go too far, but this week, it was discovered that Jerry Sandusky, the former assistant Penn State football coach, applied for such a role at Juniata College in May 2010 and did not pass the background check. According to the Associated Press, Sandusky was recommended for the position [...]

Anyone can meet anyone online, and anyone can be someone else – real or fabricated – over the internet. As a result, dating website Match.com has been conducting sex offender background checks on all members. A screenwriter who met a man, who had six previous conviction of sexual battery, over Match.com a year ago sued [...]

Certain states require background checks for employees that work directly with the most vulnerable citizens: children, the elderly, and the disabled. Such background checks are de rigueur for teachers, daycare workers, home healthcare workers, nurses, and aides. But ice cream truck workers? Such a bill was introduced recently in Iowa and passed in the state [...]

Students, volunteers, and staff may balk at background checks, but a recent string of incidents in Brockton, Mass., displays why regularly screening all school personnel is necessary. According to The Enterprise, the director of Human Resources for Brockton Public Schools recently decided to retire as the result of a district-wide background checks controversy. The district’s [...]

It’s 10 o’clock. Do you know where your children are? At one point, this public service announcement of 20 to 50 years ago was relevant. As most children likely stay in and play video games at night these days, however, parents know where they are. But what about at 8 a.m., when you drop your [...]

Quicker background checks aren’t always the most thorough. And for screening job candidates and potential dates, how can you be sure you’re getting the most information on an individual?

Sex offenders are ended up in teaching positions. Are a lack of criminal background checks to blame?