As part of our goal to support a safe school environment, Trinity Preschool of Berwyn continues to follow the requirements of the state regarding volunteer clearances.
Effective July 1, 2016, revisions to the Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law will require school volunteers (any adults serving in unpaid positions in the District) who have regular and repeated contact with students and who are responsible for care, supervision, guidance or control of children to have the background clearances described below.
The Child Protective Services Law requires volunteers who have not been a continuous resident of Pennsylvania for the last ten years to obtain an FBI criminal history check, which is not administered by the State government. Volunteers who have lived in Pennsylvania for a full ten-year period may provide a signed and witnessed waiver in lieu of the FBI criminal history check.
1. The Pennsylvania Criminal Record Check can be done either online or by mail. The online results are available right away. If you choose to mail the form, it could take up to 8 weeks for the results to be returned to you. To complete the process online, go to https://epatch.state.pa.us and click on “Submit a New Record Check” and follow the instructions. At the end of the process, you will need to print two copies of the certification form. You must click on “certification form” in order to pull up the correct form to print. Please keep a copy of your Criminal Record Check for your personal records. If you choose the mail-in option, go to https://epatch.state.pa.us, click on “Criminal Background Check Form” and print out the form. You will need to submit the completed application to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The results will be mailed to your home. Note: the fee for the PA criminal record check will be waived for school volunteers effective July 25, 2015.
2. The Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance (Act 151) application can be submitted online. Once you enter the link you will be directed to the Child Welfare Portal where you must create an account or log in if you already have an account. Note: you will need an email address to create an account. Click here to submit the Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance application: https://www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis/public/home. Note: the fee for the PA child abuse history clearance will be waived for school volunteers effective July 25, 2015.
3. The FBI Federal Criminal History Record (Act 114)
(a) For Volunteers Who Have Lived In Pennsylvania For Less Than 10 Years:
Click here for instructions on how to obtain a FBI Federal Criminal History Record.
Click here to register on-line for the FBI Federal Criminal History Record and fingerprinting. Service codes:
- Employment in PA public schools: 1KG6XN (Pennsylvania PDE-School Districts)
- Volunteering in PA public schools: 1KG6Y3 (Pennsylvania PDE-Volunteer)
(b) For Volunteers Who Have Lived In Pennsylvania For The Entirety Of The Previous 10-Year Period:
Pennsylvania Ten-Year Resident Waiver Form: Volunteers who have lived in Pennsylvania for the entirety of the previous ten-year period and who affirm in writing that they have not been convicted of a similar offense in another jurisdiction will not need to complete the FBI Federal Criminal History Record/fingerprinting and will only need to obtain the PA Criminal History and PA Child Abuse History clearances listed above. Volunteers who have lived in the state of Pennsylvania for the last 10 years or more may submit a NOTARIZED AFFIDAVIT to that effect in place of the FBI Criminal History Report (fingerprinting). This form must be submitted along with the other two clearances.
Where Do I Send My Clearance Confirmations?
Once you receive the results of the background checks, you may send a copy online to us through our contact form, or hand deliver hard copies to the Trinity Preschool office. Trinity Preschool shall maintain copies of the required information and may require the individual to produce the original documents prior to acceptance to serve in a school volunteer capacity.
