Clearances

Beginning July 1, 2015, an adult applying for an unpaid position as a volunteer responsible for the welfare of a child or having direct contact with children must have the following background clearances:

- Act 34 Pennsylvania Criminal History Clearance

- Act 151 Pennsylvania Child Abuse Clearance Certification

- Act 114 Federal Criminal History Backgound Clearance (FBI)

Fact_Sheet_for_Volunteers_Clearances

APPLICANT PROCEDURES

Fee: $23.85; All applicants will now receive an unofficial copy of their report. Fee is payable to IDEMIA.

The fingerprint-based background check is a multiple-step process, as follows:

Registration- The applicant must register prior to going to the fingerprint site. Walk in service is allowed but all applicants are required to complete pre-enrollment in the new Universal Enrollment system. Pre-enrollment can be completed online or over the phone. The registration website is available online 24 hours/day, seven days per week at https://uenroll.identogo.com

Telephonic registration is available at 1-844-321-2101 Monday through Friday, 8am to 6pm EST. During the pre-enrollment process, all demographic data for the applicant is collected (name, address, etc.) along with notices about identification requirements and other important information.

Service Name: School Districts. Access Code: 1KG6XN

Clearances for NEW EMPLOYEES must have been completed within one year from date of hire.

Important: A VOLUNTEER fingerprint report will not serve for employment purposes and you will need to be reprinted upon hire.

PA CHILD ABUSE CRIMINAL HISTORY CLEARANCE:

Beginning December 31, 2014, the Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance can be submitted and paid for online through the Child Welfare Information Solution (CWIS) self-service portal, www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis. Submitting an application online allows individual applicants to receive their results through an automated system that will notify the applicant once their results have been processed. Applicants will be able to view and print their results online. The self-service portal also provides the ability for organizations to create business accounts to prepay for child abuse clearances and have online access to the results.

Clearance Statements:

As of Dec. 31, 2014, requests for clearance statements (now called "certifications") may be made online at https://www.compass.state.pa.us/CWIS at a cost of $13.

Paper submissions of the clearance statement request form (CY113 Form) may be accessed via the same website. Under Clearance Applications, click on Learn About Clearances, Click on FAQ in the upper right hand corner, Scroll down to Clearance Application, Click the + beside How do I apply for a Pennsylvania Child Abuse Clearance. The link to download the form is located there. Complete the form, and mail with appropriate payment to

The ChildLine and Abuse Registry,

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services,

P.O. Box 8170,

Harrisburg, PA 17105-8170.

Clearances for NEW EMPLOYEES must have been completed within one year from date of hire. It must show EMPLOYMENT (not volunteer) as the purpose of the report.

PA STATE POLICE CRIMINAL RECORD CHECK:

Pennsylvania School Law requires that all applicants for employment in public and private schools, employees of independent contractors seeking business with public and private schools, and student teacher candidates undergo background checks if they will have direct contact with students.

The following three background checks are required:

Department of Human Services Child Abuse History Clearance
Pennsylvania State Police Request for Criminal Records Check
Federal Criminal History Record Information (CHRI)

Find information about obtaining clearances, associated laws and regulations, answers to frequently asked questions, and additional resources below. In addition, consider reviewing 24 P.S. §1-111, as amended, and the Child Protective Services Law concerning background checks, for more information.

Click here to access PATCH-Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History Web Site: Act 34 Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check

Clearances for NEW EMPLOYEES must have been completed within one year from DATE OF HIRE. It must show EMPLOYMENT (not volunteer) as the purpose of the report.