Volunteers, background checks, & fingerprints? Options

[nana25k]

And you ,Von & Christina are going tohave a wonderful time!!!

[StarDreamers.us]

We are looking forward to the time. Less than a month until we get there. Sounds like you and Ron are having a ball.

Safe Travels!

[Kirk]

I'm sure that it depends on the job you are doing that determines whether they require the check or not. We are logging into the government computer network, taking credit card payments for hunt fees using the pay.gov site and also working with school groups.

There is nothing in there which we have not done. In addition, we passed a background check just in Sept. of this year for the USFWS at a fish hatchery for next year arrival and we are to be working with school children. We spend last winter with the NPS as interpretive park rangers, also requiring a background investigation. And just two weeks ago we received notification from a Texas state nartural area that we have passed a background check for a position there which starts on Feb. 1, 2010. But still, no fingerprint requirement.

As I said before, I have absolutely no problem with providing fingerprints or the usual information because I feel that it is the responsible thing for agencies to do, especially if you are to be in contact with children. I believe that a parent has the right to expect their child to be safe and lead by competent people when they go into a public facility. In addition, I might be more than willing to pay a small fee for the fingerprint service, if I were asked to do so, but I would not if expected to do so. There is a very major difference, in my view. I have made out of pocket purchases of things used on the job at more than one volunteer position, when I wanted something that was not available or that there was not budget for. I volunteer where I do because I enjoy it and I choose agencies that I believe in.

I suppose that it might be possible that we have not been asked for prints due to our long list of park & refuge references, but I wouldn't think that would have such and impact. I guess I need to ask one or two of my contacts inside the USFWS just to find out. It is also possible that the rules of background checks have changed due to the privacy laws of today.

At present we are with the COE and are required a total of 20 hours/week for our site. Last week I worked three, eight hour days and Pam worked two more, for a total of 42 hours to cover that required 20 hours. So it isn't a case of value in my view but rather of attitude by the leaders toward those of us who volunteer.

In the beginning, 3 years ago, we too were not required to have a background check but last year that had begun to change.

I suppose that I just don't get it as we have only been to nine different national wildlife refuges, with the first being now nine years ago and the most recent ending Oct.1, 2009. And our most recent background check by the USFWS was just this past Sept. so perhaps .....?

It may well be that the fingerprint issue will become more common, and there is really nothing at all wrong with that. The issue is one of the attitude of the agency toward the volunteers. Those who make big demands tend also to be less appreciative of our work and they tend to treat us as less than equals. In my limited experience, I have found that these things are a huge hint about the attitudes that you will find by staff members when you get to a place. There are many here who seem to be putting words into my posts that I didn't put there. Based upon the little we know about volunteering, we think that we give more than fair measure to every place we go and in all places except those which ask for four days/week each, we have always put in more than the required hours of work.

We are people who have a lengthy experience history in nearly all volunteer phases with interpretive and repair work experience that extends back into our working years. As such, we expect to be treated as the professionals that we are. I was a Boy Scout leader for 18 years and in that time I paid all of my own expenses, paid for my training and purchased all of my own uniforms. But I was also employed and had a budget to do this and over a year, my hours were always secondary to my profession. Today, we spend about 8 months of every year as resident volunteers, somewhere. We have now been doing this for just under ten years. We ask very little in return for what we do, but with our fixed income and limited budget, such expenses today are a bigger factor than used to be and our work as volunteers is enough longer that I believe they always receive more than the value which our service costs them. We try very hard to make sure that is the case. Perhaps once we have done this long enough to get experience we will understand?

On the subject of CA and fingerprints, I sent an email to a friend who is presently a campground host there and it would seem that the price I was told before was rather inflated.

.In regards to your message & posts re/Ca state parks.We had to go to Lompoc ca PD to get finger prints for Gaviota state park cost us$32 for both.Then for here at HMBay the same even though we were in the same state park system.The parks are in the same system but would not except one to the other.

This post has been edited by Kirk: Nov 4 2009, 08:14 AM

[John-n-Diana]

Linda,

How do you achieve the transfer? I had the full deal done this summer to work with PARR inspections and seems like there must be a clearinghouse where I can print off the information for USFWS. In my experience, to legally work on the "USFWS network" you must have the full background check. Often the friends group provide computers where internet is provided for volunteers to use.

Diana

[Kirk]

I just completed a conversation with three different people who work with the USFWS and are in positions to know, and who work at different facilities which are located in different regions. All three agree that fingerprints are becoming a requirement for some volunteers, but there were three different opinions as to exactly who would have to get finger prints. One region seems to require that all volunteers who work with children must have a check with prints, one said that all volunteers who work there for six months or longer and the other stated that most volunteers were not yet being asked for prints, but that it was being discussed. All three of them said that volunteers who use the USFWS computer system will need a background check with finger prints, but there were three different opinions as to when that was effective.

In every case, they said that the USFWS was paying the cost of the prints, but one did say that if the volunteer paid the cost, the refuge would issue them a tax usable receipt for a donation in the amount of the cost. The other two didn't mention a volunteer paying the cost. When I asked if the background check was transferable from one refuge to another, all did agree that it should be, but none knew of any provision at this time for such a sharing of them. It seems that this is new enough that most are not completely sure just what the rule is to be or how applied, or when. One made the comment that it has been talked of for several years, but that it is starting to be pushed more.

I asked about the cost of being fingerprinted and one said $15 when done by the local sheriff, and the one didn't know and I forgot to ask the other.
I asked one of them if he knew of any difference between the background check with and without fingerprints and he did not. The only one to have any answer as to why the change speculated that it might be somehow coming down from Homeland Security people.

I also asked about the cost of the background check and got three different answers. One said the cost was $150 per volunteer, another said around $100 and the last said about $200. My guess is that they don't normally see that actual cost, but that is only my opinion and was not something that I thought to ask. I also asked if the same person returns each year, do they need a new one, and the answers ranged from no, to "I wouldn't think so."

This is a summary of what I was told and in my words. The reason is that federal employees have become very cautious of what they say which may be publicly quoted. Such things can be a problem for government employees, so I have not indicated who the employees were or where they are located, to protect them from any recriminations. Thus, all of the words here are mine and only based upon what I was told.

Based upon our experience and considering what others have posted here, I conclude that most likely the difference is probably between USFWS regions since it seems that the actual policy comes from that level. That could explain the difference in experiences between areas. One thing I am very sure of is that there is little consistency in the FWS on that issue at this time.

If it is true that it comes from the Dept. of Homeland Security, I suspect that they will at least attempt to push it through to the state agencies in time, just as they have done with rules of driver's license identification requirements. Nothing was very conclusive.

This post has been edited by Kirk: Nov 4 2009, 09:37 PM

[Karen E]

Our experience has been:

With the state of Georgia, we have not been asked for background checks or fingerprinting. We have volunteered in Georgia parks for 4 winters. They want references, and they call them, but nothing else, so far.

We are currently in our first volunteer camp host position with the National Forest Service. They had us sign paperwork for background checks and driving records because we will be driving a government vehicle. They did not require us to get fingerprinted.

We worked as paid employees of the National Park Service last year and this year. We were both required to do a background investigation, mine was a 7 year and Jim's was a 5 year. They also required us to get fingerprinted, we paid for them but were reimbursed for that when we got to the job. The first year, we were in Helen, Georgia, and they cost us $5.00 each to get the fingerprints done. The second year, we were had them done in Parker, Arizona, and they cost us a whopping $3.00 each. Jim had to do a drug test and I had to have a credit check done. But, all of the background investigation was paid for by them, and it was for a paid job. I had to agree to the credit check because I was handling money for the NPS.

I think that the person who hired me last year told me that the background checks were requirements for government hiring put in place by Homeland Security, but I could be wrong about that. I do know that the hiring process took months, and the background check was not completed before we actually started working, and we were told we would be dismissed is we didn't pass.

[Dream Reacher]

We volunteered at a state park in Vermont this summer. They did a background check on us and asked us to have our finger prints taken at a police dept in the area where we were located if the charge was not to much and we would be reimbursed. The local police were going to charge us $25 @ and they would not forward it to Vermont. We called the volunteer recruiter and he said if we passed the background check [which we did] just come on to the park and we could have it done there. We went to a nearby police station in Vermont the first week we were there for fingerprints which were paid for by the park service. We had a great summer but we probably would not have gone if we would have been required to pay for it ourselves. We always give more hours than required and are always willing to help out wherever they have a need but we would not pay for a volunteer position.
We also have had an extensive backgound check with a church building volunteer group we belong to. I think it is a good idea when there is a possibility of volunteers being around children.

This post has been edited by Dream Reacher: Nov 6 2009, 12:00 AM

[nana25k]

Diana..sent you a PM

[windquest2]

Although we are mostly lurkers on the forum, I couldn't help commenting on this thread. The reason for the wide range of experiences probably ins commensurate with the level of responsibility involved. Camp hosts and traditional "volunteer" jobs require very little in the way of background checks. With the Department of Interior, you are required to submit to a entry level check in order ot have you own set of keys to the public buildings. That check requires fingerprinting (at your expense) and simple paperwork. It costs you facility $200. In many cases, when you go to the nearby police department, they will not charge you for the service and thank you for volunteering.. I don't see this as an issue as you are giving thousands of dollars in time, a little extra donation is minuscule. In our opinion, we are volunteering to help and we do what ever is required to do that. If you want to have more responsibility you will be required to comply with more regulation....I am a heavy equipment operator for the DOI (FWS) As such, I have master keys to the Refuge, access to DOI learn, and operate equipment costing more than 100K, and sometimes work with young adults in the refuge programs...the clearance costs the refuge $2500 and they ask for a six month commitment................understandable. Fingerprinting is your dime.I should be noted that each regional office sets the requirements and I will assume (dangerous) they may vary from one region to another. We do know that if we volunteer outside the DOI (like the Department of Agriculture) they will likely require security and other training be repeated) Also, volunteer records are generally not kept on the DOI computer system, and therefore, may have to be transferred from one facility to another the old fashioned way.

Each of us have different wants and expectations of our volunteer experiences. Some will want to do the least amount of work for the maximum benefit and others will work long hours, drive hundreds of miles for the chance to work in a special place and make a difference. Since we are volunteering, the choice is solely with the volunteer and there is no right or wrong answer.
HENRY

[Jean Hoyle]

Here is a reply from the Washington State Volunteer coordinator from an e-mail that I sent asking about the policy.

"Hi John and Jeanie - See my answers below after your questions.  Let me
know if you have any additional questions."

Sarah Oldfield
Washington State Parks
Volunteer Program Coordinator
(360) 902-8583


Sent by Jean Hoyle


Sarah Oldfield,

We received the Washington State Parks volunteer packet with our mail
delivery Monday.  We have a few questions regarding the new requirement
for finger prints.

1. Why? We do not understand what additional security will be gained
over the background check which we have agreed to in the past.

"The checks we did in the past were only conviction records in Washington
State.  The only way to check all states is to run fingerprints through
the FBI."

2. Do you accept prints from another state?  We travel and are not in
Washington until our next assignment in February.

"Yes, you can go anywhere to have your prints done.  The fingerprint cards are
from the FBI so all are the same."

3. Will this need to be done every year, or will they be kept on file
for the future?  We are on a fixed income, the additional expense does
not help the parks get volunteers.

"No, I will keep your cards on file here.  We will run a check every five years."

Can you understand how it could get to be a budget buster if we have
to start doing this for every state we volunteer for in a year, 4+.

4. What type of security are you going to give these records to make
sure that they don't fall into the wrong hands?  Sending a hard copy of
our prints through the US Mail is not what I would call secure.

"Your cards will be kept in a secure locked file at our headquarters building in Tumwater."

We are hoping to spend some time in Washington Parks this year, so a
reply would be appreciated."

[Karen E]

...) Also, volunteer records are generally not kept on the DOI computer system, and therefore, may have to be transferred from one facility to another the old fashioned way.

Each of us have different wants and expectations of our volunteer experiences. Some will want to do the least amount of work for the maximum benefit and others will work long hours, drive hundreds of miles for the chance to work in a special place and make a difference. Since we are volunteering, the choice is solely with the volunteer and there is no right or wrong answer.
HENRY

I work for pay as a seasonal employee a a national park, Dept of Interior. I had to complete the Defensive Driving Course on the job this summer, a 4 hour, very boring online course on DOI Learn. When we got to our volunteer post with the Forest Service, Dept of Agriculture, they wanted us to take the same course. I asked if they could use my certificate from DOI. They said yes, I called my supervisor, he faxed the certificate, and I do not have to redo the course.

Karen

[Kirk]

Karen,

I wonder if that is the same course that we took for the Corps of Engineers? Your description sounds like it is.

[chinook507]

If anyone is retired military you might be able to go to the nearest military installation and go to the Provost Marshals Office and have them done for free. It would probably be worth a phone call, I know that I just had to get mine done for a background check, but I have not retired yet. Just a thought!