4-H Joins Trend of Volunteer Background Checks

From churches to Little League to scouting organizations, requiring background checks for adult volunteers who work with children has become commonplace. The Texas 4-H program is no exception, and now counties statewide are screening volunteers.
Three years ago Texas 4-H began to phase in its Youth Protection Standards program, which requires all adult volunteers to have a background check. The program now has reached all counties of the state, leaving only new volunteers to be screened.
Angela Burkham, who coordinates the statewide program, said, “We were fortunate not to have had any events, but we wanted to be proactive in providing the safest environment for our youth and adults.”
Searches are handled by the Volunteer Center of North Texas. Initially, the statewide screens cost $6, but now have gone up to $10 because a national search is conducted by the center.
Burkham said 4-H has a 6 percent occurrence of red flags as a result of the searches, lower than the statewide average of 7 percent for organizations that use the Volunteer Center.
Just because a volunteer might have a red flag, he or she is not necessarily prohibited from assisting with 4-H. Burkham said the organization handles these on a case-by-case basis. For instance, someone who has been convicted of driving while intoxicated would be restricted from driving children but could participate in other activities.
Confidentiality and preserving the integrity of the volunteer are foremost in the process, Burkham said. Training is required for anyone who would look at a report for someone where a record shows up, she said, and reports are shredded once they’ve been reviewed.
Potential adult leaders are asked to fill out the form for a background check when they volunteer. Ronda Alexander, Lubbock County Extension agent, said she believes this, in itself, serves as a self-deterrent to keep folks with potential problems from carrying through with the volunteer application process. She said she has had adults request a form, then never return it for processing.
The background check is just one piece of the puzzle for 4-H volunteering. Reference checks and personal interviews can be used “to recruit the right volunteers,” Burkham said.
Philip Shackelford, Austin County Extension agent, said the volunteers have been receptive to the new requirement. Initially, the county screened about 100 volunteers, he said.
“We’re treating this as a positive,” Shackelford said, “to show we’re doing our part to ensure we have no questionable leaders.”
Alexander said the response in her county also has been favorable. So far, they have screened 113 volunteers and are awaiting results on 27 more.
Once her volunteers have cleared the check, Alexander issues them a “certified volunteer leader” card they can show to anyone who might inquire.
Payment for the background checks is handled on a county-by-county basis. Some ask the volunteer to pay, some have fund-raisers to cover the cost, some pay from the 4-H Adult Leaders Association fund, and some may ask the commissioners court to pay.
Austin County went to and received funding from the commissioners court.
“We believe if we’re associated with the program, we bear some responsibility to protect the children,” said Austin County Judge Carolyn Bilski.
The county, she said, chose to put some of its discretionary income toward this important cause as it enhances quality of life for local youth and adults – something the judge said she believes is a function of county government.
She went on to say that revenue caps proposed by the Texas Legislature could prohibit availability of future county funds for such programs as 4-H.
CJCAT general counsel Jim Allison agreed.
“The effects of revenue caps on counties would be far-reaching. Counties would be forced to fund state mandates and inflation without regard to local needs and priorities,” Allison said. Extension and 4-H, Texas Department of Public Safety support, and economic development would be among the discretionary expenditures that could face serious reductions or elimination.
Tammy Wishard