[Federal Register: October 17, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 199)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 60257-60259]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17oc05-15]
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CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
45 CFR Chapter XXV
AmeriCorps State and National, Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve
AGENCY: Corporation for National and Community Service.
ACTION: Notice inviting preliminary informal public input in advance of
rulemaking on criminal background checks for AmeriCorps State/National,
Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve America grant programs.
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[[Page 60258]]
SUMMARY: The Corporation for National and Community Service (the
Corporation) invites public input regarding a Corporation requirement
that grantees conduct and document criminal background checks on grant-
funded employees and participants who, on a recurring basis, have
access to children and other vulnerable populations, including the
elderly and individuals with disabilities. In addition, the Corporation
seeks input concerning whether any category of individuals should, on
the basis of their criminal histories, be disqualified from working or
participating in a Corporation-funded project in which they have such
access.
We will consider input submitted in writing, as described below, or
orally in one of two conference calls we will hold on the dates listed
below. The Corporation will not respond formally to this input, but
will consider it in drafting any Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The
public will have a separate opportunity to provide formal comment on
any proposed rule the Corporation publishes for comment in 2005 or
thereafter.
DATES: Please submit written input to the Corporation as soon as
possible. In addition, the Corporation will hold conference calls on
this topic on October 21, 2005 and October 28, 2005. See Supplementary
Information for conference call information.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written input to the Corporation by any of
the following methods:
(1) Electronically through the Corporation's e-mail address system
to tbryant@cns.gov.
(2) By fax to 202-606-3467, Attention Tom Bryant, Associate General
Counsel.
(3) By mail sent to: Corporation for National and Community
Service, Attn: Tom Bryant, Associate General Counsel, 1201 New York
Avenue NW., Suite 10600, Washington, DC 20525.
(4) By hand delivery or by courier to the Corporation's mailroom at
Room 8410 at the mail address given in paragraph (3) above, between 9
a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Due to continued delays in the Corporation's receipt of mail, we
strongly encourage responses via e-mail or fax. You may request this
notice in an alternative format for the visually impaired.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about the
substance of this notice, or for information about the conference
calls, contact Tom Bryant at (202) 606-6678 (tbryant@cns.gov). The TDD/
TTY number is (800) 833-3722.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Many national and community service programs
are dedicated to helping children learn to read, giving at-risk
children better opportunities to thrive, helping the elderly maintain
their independence, and otherwise serving vulnerable individuals. With
that commitment comes the responsibility to safeguard the well-being of
program beneficiaries, including thorough effective screening of staff,
participants, and volunteers in each program. Several years ago, a
Corporation-sponsored technical assistance provider published the Staff
Screening Tool Kit, 2nd Edition with helpful information designed to
strengthen an organization's screening process. You may download the
Tool Kit at http://www.nationalservice.gov/screeningtoolkit.
Currently, only the AmeriCorps State and National grant program has
a criminal background check requirement in its grant provisions. For
the 2005-2006 program year, it states as follows:
Criminal Background Checks. Programs with members (18 and over) or
grant-funded employees who, on a recurring basis, have access to
children (usually defined under state or local law as un-emancipated
minors under the age of 18) or to individuals considered vulnerable by
the program (i.e. the elderly or individuals who are either physically
or mentally disabled), shall, to the extent permitted by state and
local law, conduct criminal background checks on these members or
employees as part of the overall screening process.
The grantee must ensure, to the extent permitted by state or local
law, that it maintains background check documentation for members and
employees covered by this provision in the member or employee's file or
other appropriate file. The documentation must demonstrate that, in
selecting or placing an individual, the grantee or the grantee's
designee (such as a site sponsor) reviewed and considered the
background check's results.
The Corporation intends to codify a requirement for AmeriCorps
through the formal rulemaking process and seeks input on whether the
current provision should be maintained or amended.
Senior Corps is comprised of three separate programs: (1) The
Foster Grandparent Program (FGP); (2) the Senior Companion Program
(SCP); and (3) the Retired Senior Volunteer Program. We intend to
codify a requirement for each program through the formal rulemaking
process.
The Learn and Serve Program consists of (1) School-Based K-12
Programs; (2) Higher Education Programs, and (3) Community-Based
Programs. Given the fact that participants in Learn and Serve programs
are generally not individually attributable to a Corporation grant, we
are considering whether and to what extent we should codify
requirements relating to the screening of staff and participants in
Learn and Serve America programs.
The Corporation intends to strengthen its internal procedures for
its two Federally-conducted programs, AmeriCorps National Civilian
Community Corps and AmeriCorps VISTA, outside the scope of this
rulemaking process.
To inform the rulemaking process, the Corporation invites
preliminary informal input from the public addressing a criminal
background check requirement for grantees. The Corporation specifically
invites input on the following questions:
(1) What are the most effective screening practices used by
organizations that serve children and other vulnerable populations?
(2) Is recurring access to children and other vulnerable
populations (i.e. the elderly or individuals who are either physically
or mentally disabled) the most appropriate way to describe the
predicate for the background check requirement?
(3) What are the costs associated with conducting criminal
background checks?
(4) What are the types and levels of background checks that are
available to grantees?
(5) Should the Corporation require grantees to obtain a background
check from a specific data base (e.g. state registry or the Department
of Justice's National Sex Offender Public Registry at http://www.nsopr.gov
)?
(6) Should the Corporation codify a per se disqualification for
program participants or staff based upon a particular background check
finding?
(7) How should the Corporation balance the goal of including at-
risk participants in national and community service programs with the
need to ensure appropriate protection for vulnerable populations?
(8) What are efficient and effective ways to document background
checks and how should a program document that it considered such a
finding of criminal history in selecting or placing an individual?
(9) Are grantees in a particular program category already required
by State or local law to have safeguards in
[[Page 60259]]
this area that obviate or mitigate the need for a separate grant
condition?
(10) Does the current language in the AmeriCorps grant provisions
appropriately define the scope of the requirement and documentation of
compliance?
(11) What safeguards are necessary to protect the privacy of
program participants or staff?
(12) What are the best practices to monitor and enforce compliance
with requirements relating to the screening of participants?
(13) Where grantees are involved in a variety of programmatic
activities, as in the case of RSVP, how should the Corporation identify
those programs where volunteers and staff have access to children or
other vulnerable individuals on a recurring basis?
(14) To what extent do state and local laws constrain the
Corporation from requiring grantees to conduct criminal background
checks on national service participants or employees, who, on a
recurring basis, have access to children or other vulnerable
populations?
(15) How often should a criminal background check be conducted for
a national service participant who serves for two or more years?
(16) Are there categories of grantees (e.g. local school districts)
for whom a separate Corporation requirement for criminal background
checks might not be necessary because the grantee is already
independently required to have appropriate applicant screening
safeguards in place?
For more information on the Corporation, please visit our Web site at:
http://www.nationalservice.gov.
Conference Calls and Public Input
The Corporation is planning two conference calls in October, 2005.
The first will be conducted on October 21, 2005, at 3 p.m., e.s.t. and
the second on October 28, 2005, also at 3 p.m. e.s.t.
The USA Toll Free Number is 1-888-790-1769. The passcode is
7282715. Each conference call will last approximately 1 hour. Please
check our Web site at http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/newsroom/releases_detail.asp?tbl_pr_id=196
for additional or updated
information regarding these conference calls, or contact Tom Bryant at
tbryant@cns.gov.
Dated: October 11, 2005.
Frank R. Trinity,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 05-20652 Filed 10-14-05; 8:45 am]