Greetings from the Seneschal
Greetings unto the hard-working seneschals of the West!
For those of you not off to the wilds of Atenveldt, I expect that the hints of spring have you madly getting ready for tourney season. Most of this year's kingdom events are booked:
March Crown - Yolo County Fairgrounds
Beltane - Cloverdale sheep ranch
June Crown - Gibson Ranch
A&S - Ed Levin Park
Purgatorio - Tres Pinos
I've got a couple of sites I want to check out for October Crown, and I need autocrats for June Crown and A&S. Please check in your groups and see if anybody would like to volunteer.
The background check policy goes into effect on Friday, 2/15. Many of you have already provided me the names & contact info for your youth officers, but there are many groups that I haven't heard from at all.
Pleasepleaseplease get me those names! If those background checks are not completed, those officers' warrants will be suspended immediately.
Please review the policy as outlined below, and let me know if you have any questions.
Rose
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Background check policy:
As was announced last year, the SCA is implementing a background check program to minimize risk of harm to our membership and to the organization.
This program will consist of conducting background checks --via a properly licensed vendor--on all persons wishing to serve in a leadership or supervisory position where minors are expected to be taking direction from--or be in the direct control of adults who are not their parent or legal guardian.
Officials who must receive the background check include, but are not limited to: Page School officers at all levels, adults acting as youth marshals for any martial activity, and other persons organizing/in charge of youth activities for an event.
This program will be implemented on February 15, 2008. The Kingdom Seneschal will be informing those who need to undergo a background check of this requirement. Current officers who need to undergo a background check will have 4 weeks to return the appropriate paperwork or their warrants will be revoked.
At the beginning of February, I will notify the Page School Chancellor, the Earl Marshal and all local seneschals of the new policy, and ask them to forward me the names and addresses of all those who are required under this new policy to complete a background check. I will then forward a packet to each of those people, which
should be returned to me by March 7, 2008. I'll forward the completed packets to the vendor by March 14, 2008. A monthly report is due to Renee Signorotti at the Corporate office, with the name and address of
those for whom background checks have been requested.
The cost of each background check is $14, to be split evenly between the Kingdom and Corporate: the Kingdom will be billed monthly. I recommend that the Kingdom's portion be charged directly to the group
to whom the officer reports.
F.A.Q.
Q: Who is required to have a background check?
A: All Page School ministers at all levels, the Earl Marshal and Kingdom Rapier Marshal, and any other person who oversees or organizes youth activities at any event. Instructors (i.e., collegium or A&S teachers, or fighter practice instructors) are not required to have background checks. On implementation, each Kingdom seneschal will provide Renee Signorotti in the Corporate office a document each month containing the name and address of all individuals who require and are authorized to obtain background check clearance.
Q: Will the SCA be checking my credit?
A: No. The FCRA covers all consumer background reporting -- of which a criminal check is one type. No one's credit is being checked by the SCA. Ever.
Q: How much will it cost? Who pays it?
A: Costs for the checks will be split between Corporate and Kingdom 50/50, and billed monthly to the Kingdoms. Per-unit cost is $14.
Q: How will this affect school/scout demos?
A: The demo is a school activity and is under the supervision of the school staff/scout leaders. We are guests, and no additional checks will be necessary.
Q: How often will background checks be done? How long is a background check good?
A: Background checks will be conducted as needed, and each check is good for a minimum of two years.
Q: Will the report provided to Kingdom seneschals include the status of all background checks or only the ones that are in their region?
If not all, how will it be maintained in order to account for people relocating or crossing Kingdom boundaries?
A: All Kingdoms will have access to ALL people who have a PASS. (Note: this is not currently the way the system is set up, but the Society Seneschal is making that change.)
Q: How will the collected data be stored and protected?
A: The vendor will collect and store all data; the SCA will only be notified of pass/fail status.
Q: I've been notified that I need to have a background check. When do I need to submit the background forms? Who do I send them to?
A: Send completed forms to Renee Signorotti in the Corporate office by March 15, 2008.
Q: Is the "two-deep" rule still in effect?
A: Yes, any formal activity requires that the "two-deep" rule be complied with, and that a person with clearance be responsible for the activity. They may or may not be present at the activity.
Q: What is the "two-deep" rule, anyway?
A: The "two-deep" rule states that two adults not related to each other by blood or marriage/relationship shall supervise all official youth activities.
Q: How do I get copies of the forms?
A: Copies of the forms are available from the Kingdom seneschal, and must be submitted to the Corporate office for processing.
Q: Can I be checked "at large?" What if I pay for it myself?
A: There will be no "at large" checking: only those who are required for their office will be checked. At this time, the system is not designed for people to pay for their own background checks, but this may be a possibility in the future.
Q: What about errors? How reliable is the vendor?
A: The vendor is checking against state Department of Justice records, not Megan's law web sites or other records. The state Departments of Justice tie name, date of birth and social security numbers to criminal conviction records. The vendor was reviewed by SCA retained counsel and was found to be clear of fraud, abuse, malfeasance and/or malpractice claims/litigation as recorded by any of the 50 states or the Better Business Bureau. If a vendor of this nature falsely (by accident or error) reports against those databases, they run the risk of losing access to those databases at a minimum, putting their business at immediate risk. If, however, a state Department of Justice is carrying in its records incorrect criminal abuse convictions against one of our members, then that member needs to get that issue resolved for reasons far more important than whether
or not they get to be an officer in a hobby.