A: In the past few years, there have been several changes made to Pennsylvania laws in order to better protect children from abuse. Increased background checks for adults who work or volunteer with minors is a change that has caused many organizations, including Penn State, to change some of their human resources practices.
According to Penn State policy AD39 (and state law), a child is any individual under the age of 18. While most students turn 18 before attending Penn State, there are circumstances in which some students are still minors. Additionally, as a result of the many community partnerships that exist across the University, there are times in which faculty and staff work with children. Because of this, Penn State employees may be required to complete child abuse clearances. This policy applies to employees including, but not limited to:
— Staff— Faculty (including adjunct faculty)— Post-doctoral scholars and fellows— Technical service employees— Temporary employees not sponsored by a staffing agency (i.e., wage payroll)— Administrators and academic administrators— Executives— Volunteers— Graduate assistants— Graduate and undergraduate student employees— Work study students— Interns (paid or unpaid)— Visiting scholars— Third-party contractors
Employees falling under the aforementioned categories who have direct contact with minors are required to obtain publicly available clearances, as outlined by policy HR99. These clearances include:
— Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Background Check— Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance— Federal (FBI) Fingerprint Background Check
Once employees in the College of Education have obtained the required clearances, they must take them to Megan Houser, human resources consultant, in 279 Chambers Building.
“I will make copies of the clearances and employees will keep the original,” Houser said. “I then notify OHR’s transactional support center (TSC) who track employee clearances and will notify individuals when clearances need renewed. The three clearances are good for five years.”
After the TSC updates their records, the College of Education’s finance office is notified and employees are reimbursed for the cost of the clearances.
If for some reason there are changes in an employee’s clearances status, they must report those changes to human resources within 72 hours, as required by state law.
“It is a fairly simple process,” Houser said. “But we are here to answer any questions that anybody may have.”
For additional information about Penn State policy related to background checks and child abuse clearances, refer to policies HR99 and AD39. For specific questions related to College of Education employees, contact Houser at mnb146@psu.edu.
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