Volunteer Clearance and Mandated Reporter Information

You are required to submit a Policy and Procedure Form every year.

Your clearances are good for five years from the verification date that is listed on each clearance. 
 
1. Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance (FREE for volunteers)
Creating an account and submitting your clearance application online will give you immediate access to your results or the status of your results if your results cannot be processed immediately.  Follow the instructions on the website.  This process is FREE for volunteers – simply select the “volunteer” option when prompted to do so on the registration form.  The clearance report can be printed and/or mailed to the applicant’s address. 

Print your results and mail a copy to the VIPS Supervisor.

For questions related to the Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance, please contact the ChildLine Verification Unit at 717-783-6211 or toll free at 1-877-371-5422.

2. Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check (FREE for volunteers)
To apply online, follow the instructions on the Pennsylvania Access to the Criminal History (PATCH) website.  This process is FREE for volunteers – simply select the “volunteer” option when prompted to do so on the registration form.  Please write down the Control Number and the Request Date; this information will be required in order to inquire on the status of a record check.

Once a criminal history check has been requested, one of the following possible responses will be immediately received:

• Pending: indicates that a response did not come back quick enough.  If this is the response received, please check the status at a later time.
• No Record: indicates that there is no criminal history information contained in the files of the Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository.  The “Certification Form” for No Record should be printed and used as the Original.
• Request Under Review: indicates that the user must periodically check back to determine the final status, which would be either No Record or Record (mailed to the requester).

Print your results and mail a copy to the VIPS Supervisor.

If you have questions about the Pennsylvania State Police Request for Criminal Record Checks form (Form SP4 164), please call: (717) 783-9973 or toll free 1-888-783-7972.

3. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Criminal Background Check
Important: Have you been a continuous resident of Pennsylvania for the past 10 years?
Volunteers who have been continuous resident of Pennsylvania for the past 10 years do not need to obtain the FBI Criminal Background Check.  Instead, complete the Self-Disclosure Form and mail the completed forms to the VIPS Supervisor.
 
Volunteers who have not been a continuous resident of Pennsylvania for the past 10 years do need to complete the FBI Criminal Background Check process as follows:

Cost:  $23.25  (payable by major credit cards, money orders, or cashier’s checks payable to MorphoTrust. No cash transactions or personal checks are allowed.). The price is subject to change without prior notice to SCASD.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has contracted with IDEMIA to process the FBI criminal history checks.  As explained below, this is a three-step process: Registration, fingerprinting, and reporting.

Registration
The first step is to enroll online or over the phone. The Identogo registration website is available online 24 hours/day, seven days per week. Telephonic registration is available at 1-844-321-2101 Monday through Friday, 8am to 6pm EST. During the pre-enrollment process, all demographic data for the applicant is collected (name, address, etc.) along with notices about identification requirements and other important information. 

When registering online, an applicant must use 1KG6ZJ as the appropriate agency specific Service Code.  Using the correct service code ensures that the background check is submitted for the correct purpose.  Fingerprint requests processed through any other service code cannot be accepted by the District and are not-transferrable. If an applicant enters the wrong code by mistake, the incorrect applicant type will appear at the top of the screen.  In this case, the applicant should select the “Back to Home” button and begin the process again, by reentering the correct Service Code. If the applicant proceeds with the process under the incorrect code, the pre-enrollment and/or results cannot be transferred to another state agency and the applicant will have to start the process over and pay for the background check again.

Fingerprinting

Reporting

Applicants will receive a copy of their report which needs to be submitted to the VIPS office.  Applicants are urged to make a copy of this letter, as applicants can only access the letter one time from Identogo.  If an applicant has lost their receipt or needs to confirm their UEID, the applicant may visit the UEP website  and check the status of their file by providing alternate personal information.  Applicants will enter their personal information after clicking on the lower portion of that screen to obtain their receipt for the UEID.
 
4. Mandated Reporter Training
Training is recommended via the link above. You do not need to submit verification of completion.

All volunteers are responsible for reporting suspected child abuse if they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is the victim of child abuse if they:
• Come into contact with the child in the course of employment, occupation, or the practice of a profession or through a regularly scheduled program, activity or service.
• Directly responsible for the care, supervision, guidance or training of the child.
• Receive a specific disclosure from an individual that an identifiable child is the victim of child abuse.
• Receive a specific disclosure from an individual 14 years of age or older that s/he has committed child abuse.

Submitting Your Clearances

• Mail all documents to the Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) Supervisor before you begin volunteering. Do not bring these documents to the SCASD employee you will be volunteering with.
• Upon submission of your clearances, you will be notified when you are cleared to volunteer provided you listed your email address on the Volunteer Policy and Procedure form.
• Please note that it takes five (5) days for paperwork to be reviewed and cleared. Please plan accordingly when asked to volunteer for an event.
• Clearances must be turned in at least 48 hours before an event.

The VIPS office is part of Community Education and is located at the Panorama Village Administrative Center.
Documents and clearances may be mailed to:
VIPS Supervisor  
Community Education
240 Villa Crest Dr.
State College, PA 16801

Any questions may be directed to the VIPS Supervisor at volunteers@scasd.org.