[MR] Background Checks and Children's Activities

[Alianora Munro]

I've so far stayed out of this, and will likely regret stepping in here, but I can't bring myself to let this go unremarked

>There's just something fundamentally wrong with telling
>an officer of a group that they need to pay out of pocket to continue being
>an officer, or telling a non-officer that they need to pay to volunteer at
>an event.

The flaw with that reasoning is that *every* organisation requires certain out-of-pocket expenses of it's officers and participants.  It's the nature of volunteer organisations.

For example, my mother has been active in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) for years, serving as an officer in local and state level organisations and as a chairman or vice chairman of national committtees.  This has included a lot of travel (car and air), a lot of luncheons, a lot of hotel rooms, not to mention telephone bills, paper, printer ink, and postage.  She doesn't get reimbursed for any of that.  I am sure many SCA officers can point to situations where they've paid out-of-pocket for things they've needed to do as part of their office.

A blogging buddy of mine who is a competitive rower tells me she not only had to be fingerprinted and have a background check, but also had to swear an oath of allegiance to the state constitution when she coached a community rowing program -- and she was coaching adults.  Again, out of her pocket.

The same goes for professional activities.  I taught high school for several years.  Under state law in Maryland, I had to be fingerprinted and undergo a criminal records check before I could teach.  The school gave me a copy of the forms I needed to fill out; filling them out, contacting the state police barracks, getting fingerprinted and paying for the records search was my responsibility.  I was not reimbursed for the fees, nor was I compensated for my time.

Little as perhaps we want to admit it, the SCA is no longer a small group of noble friends.  It's a large international organisation.  Frankly, I'm surprised that we've gone as long as we have without requiring background checks for more of our officers.

'nora
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dame Alianora Munro, OL
the website: http://hometown.aol.com/noramunro/Chateau/index.htm
the blog: http://damenora.blogspot.com

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