Program checks pasts of volunteers

Sonya Perez likes to keep an eye on her son and daughter, so she volunteers as an assistant soccer coach and works the concession stand at games.

But when their games coincide, Perez must choose which to attend, and worries about the well-being of her other child.

"You don't know who's in the park," Perez said.

The National Recreation and Park Association has teamed up with several companies to introduce a certification program for youth coaches and other volunteers that includes nationwide criminal background checks and photo identification cards for those who pass.

The program, called TLC2, started in the fall and has screened 56,300 volunteers, turning away 4,500 who had committed sex offenses, violent crimes or other felonies, organizers say.

Individual park districts have conducted criminal background checks on volunteers for years, but the park association says these checks are often only statewide. For a flat fee of $995 and $22.50 per volunteer, TLC2 provides districts with a nationwide background check and photo ID for each volunteer, as well as volunteer training videos and software.

"There's no other program that does both qualifying, credentialing with IDs and training" of volunteers for park districts, said Kathy Spangler of the Ashburn, Va.-based park and recreation association. "This is a focus on making communities safe ... and the notion we are attracting the very best volunteers."

Organizers said no particular incident sparked the program, and some civil libertarians have expressed privacy concerns. But parents' fears and uncertainty about trusting their children to strangers have created a market for the background checks.

Missy Poirier of Wellington, Fla., said she hopes her park district adopts the TLC2 program. She says she doesn't stray far from her 6-year-old daughter's soccer, cheerleading and tennis activities.

"We stay there, we like to know what's going on," Poirier said. "Now you hear so much about child abductions and sexual harassment. You don't know who your kids are going to be left with."

Photo IDs and comprehensive background checks give park districts added peace-of-mind, said Andre Pichly, recreational superintendent for the city of West Sacramento, Calif.

"The photo ID badge is something we've never had before. Coaches were identified by a shirt or as 'that guy or gal standing over by the side,'" he said. "With a photo ID badge, it really lends some credibility of who they are, adds a level of security."

TLC2 organizers recommend park districts reject prospective volunteers who have committed sexual or violent crimes and anyone with a felony on their record in the last 10 years. It also recommends rejecting applicants with recent misdemeanors involving violence, alcohol, drugs or minors.

Fred Wilson, director of operations for the National Sheriffs' Association in Alexandria, Va., said he hasn't seen any other "major nationwide effort" that combines background checks and photo IDs.

"That just protects everyone," Wilson said of the program. "That's really at the core of what we call community policing. We've been after that kind of thing for some time."

Jay Stanley, who directs an American Civil Liberties Union project that examines new technologies and their implications for civil liberties, said the accuracy of the background checks, the rights of those disqualified to appeal and the standards used to ban potential volunteers all suggest a need for further inspection.

"Obviously there are times when background checks are appropriate. But if used without discretion and good judgment, it reinforces a tendency to become a society that's unforgiving where no one can recover from a youthful indiscretion," Stanley said. "We need to think long and hard if we want to go in that direction."

Fordham University law professor Joel Reidenberg said mistakes made in the background checks could leave districts open to lawsuits.

"I would be very hesitant if I were a local parks and recreation department to support this. Frankly, they open themselves up to enormous liability if they do. There will be errors," Reidenberg said. "They are probably far better off focusing on how the children are supervised."