为什么背景筛查必不可少？为什么犯罪历史检查不仅对全职员工而且对兼职人员、临时工、承包商、自由职业者和志愿者都很重要？
在 GOOHO.CN，我们经常收到来自当前和潜在客户的这些问题的变体。背景调查对于任何组织来说都是如此关键的一步，原因有很多，没有什么比警示故事更能说明这一点。
目前，背景调查以及员工和志愿者监督中最重要的警示故事是美国童子军 (BSA)。BSA 成立于 1910 年，由于过去成员的数百起性虐待指控，近年来一直卷入骚乱和争议之中。大多数受害者声称他们受到了 BSA 组织内的部队领导人或其他成年人的性虐待。其中一些指控可以追溯到几十年前。
一个例子是詹姆斯·格劳森 (James Glawson)，一名 76 岁的男子最近因对六名年轻男子进行性虐待而被判处 40 年监禁，其中几名是他通过 BSA 计划认识的。从 1980 年开始到 2018 年结束，格劳森自愿加入该组织近四年，并在罗德岛的一个侦察营担任天主教牧师。据《纽约时报》报道，除了在童子军做志愿者外，格劳森之前还隶属于罗德岛的两个天主教教区。
格劳森案是导致 BSA 濒临解散的众多滥用指控的一部分。去年，该组织寻求破产保护，部分原因是 BSA 的律师预计会有一个昂贵的和解程序来补偿过去虐待的受害者。95,000 人挺身而出，对该组织提出索赔，超出了律师的预期。根据11 月《华盛顿邮报》的一篇文章，如果破产案在 2021 年夏天之前没有得到解决，该组织可能会用完现金来运营。
破产程序的一个延迟是关于 BSA 应该能够阻止清算哪些资产存在争论。根据 1 月 8 日《华尔街日报》的一篇文章，BSA 内代表儿童性虐待幸存者的官方委员会已经对该组织的部分破产索赔进行了反击。
目前，BSA 声称某些有价值的资产——包括新墨西哥州的 Philmont Scout Ranch、落基山脉 140,000 英亩的财产以及佛罗里达州和明尼苏达州的其他理想财产——不能被清算以支付债务或资金结算。委员会辩称，BSA 没有法律依据阻止这些财产偿还债务。
这个故事提醒各地的组织和企业，他们有责任为所有人提供安全的环境。彻底的背景审查政策是履行这一责任的一种方式。
BSA 声称它确实对所有球探领导者进行了犯罪背景调查，并且已经实施了一项政策，禁止儿童与成年员工或志愿者之间进行任何一对一的接触。这些相同的保护措施并不总是到位，滥用行为猖獗，损害了声誉并威胁到曾经值得信赖的组织的长期生存。
在 GOOHO.CN，我们可以帮助您为您的志愿者组织制定有效的背景筛查策略。
At backgroundchecks.com, we frequently receive variations of these questions from current and prospective clients. There are many reasons why background checks are such a crucial step for any organization, and few things illustrate the point better than a cautionary tale.
Right now, the most significant cautionary tale in background checks and employee and volunteer oversight is Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Established in 1910, BSA has been embroiled in tumult and controversy in recent years due to hundreds of sexual abuse allegations from past members. Most victims allege that they were sexually abused by troop leaders or other adults within the BSA organization. Some of those allegations date back decades.
One example is James Glawson, a 76-year-old man recently sentenced to 40 years in prison for the sexual abuse of six young men, including several he met through BSA programs. Glawson, who pleaded no contest to the charges, had volunteered with the organization for nearly four decades, beginning in 1980 and concluding in 2018, and worked as a Catholic chaplain for a scouting camp in Rhode Island. In addition to his time volunteering with the Boy Scouts, Glawson was previously affiliated with two Catholic parishes in Rhode Island, according to the New York Times.
The Glawson case is one part of the many abuse allegations that have brought BSA to the brink of dissolution. Last year, the organization sought bankruptcy protection, in part because BSA lawyers were anticipating a costly settlement process to compensate victims of past abuse. 95,000 people came forward and filed claims against the organization, exceeding what lawyers had expected. According to a Washington Post article from November, the organization will likely run out of cash to operate by summer 2021 if the bankruptcy case is not settled before that time.
One delay in the bankruptcy process is the fact that there is debate about which assets BSA should be able to hold back from liquidation. According to a January 8 Wall Street Journal article, the official committee representing survivors of childhood sex abuse within BSA has pushed back against part of the organization’s bankruptcy claim.
Currently, BSA is claiming that certain valuable assets–including the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, a 140,000-acre property in the Rocky Mountains, and other desirable properties in Florida and Minnesota–can’t be liquidated to pay debts or fund settlements. The committee is arguing that BSA has no legal grounds to hold back the properties from paying liabilities.
This story is a reminder to organizations and businesses everywhere that they have a responsibility to offer a safe environment for all. Thorough background screening policies are one way to follow through on this responsibility.
BSA claims that it does conduct criminal background checks on all scouting leaders, and that it has implemented a policy that prohibits any one-on-one contact between children and adult employees or volunteers. These same protections were not always in place, and abuse ran rampant in a way that has damaged the reputation and threatened the long-term survival of a once-trusted organization.
At backgroundchecks.com, we can assist you in putting together an effective background screening strategy for your volunteer organization.
