[SCA-BMDL] (no subject)

[Alaric MacConnal]

Greetings All!
A missive from the Society Seneschal ... directed to the East Kingdom but
since it also mentions Aethelmearc I'm sending here.
In Service,
Alaric
Seneschal
The following information has been forwarded to the East Kingdom by Baron
Sir Jibril al-Dakhil, Earl Marshal of the East Kingdom, on behalf of the
Society Seneschal, with instructions to distribute widely.
Greetings Unto the East Kingdom: Below is the Society’s Guidelines
A.J. Pongratz Society Seneschal Vice President of Operations, SCA Inc.
In reviewing the official website of the Pennsylvania Department of Health
and Human Services and the recent statute with other officers and agents of
the SCA, I have determined that this statute will not impact on Heavy
Combat or Rapier Combat by minor children of the age of 16 or 17 nor youth
activities.
An adult volunteer responsible for the welfare of a child or having direct
contact with children you will need clearances beginning July 1, 2015; if
approved as a volunteer before July 1, 2015, the volunteer has until July
1, 2016, to get an FBI clearance. Volunteers responsible for the welfare of
a child or having direct contact with children can include: Parent/Guardian
chaperones for schools Girl Scouts/Boy Scouts Agency volunteers that help
with transportation or other services Big Brothers/Big Sisters Literacy
programs Little League Coaches Church Sunday school teachers, child event
coordinators Hospital volunteers working with children
In determining if a volunteer is responsible for the welfare of a child,
only a volunteer acting in lieu of or on behalf of a parent, will need
clearances. It is important to note that in SCA combat and youth
activities, the parent of the child is effectively required to be present
and that the marshal merely officiates over the safety of the heavy and
rapier field. The rules set forth in the Seneschal’s Handbook regarding
Youth Activities, including Youth Combat, the SCA, its officers and agents
do not maintain care and custody of a minor child; unlike Boy Scout Leaders
and coaches, SCA volunteers do not have care and custody of minor children.
As the Seneschal’s Handbook (part of the SCA’s Governing Documents)
indicates that no officer or agent may, under color of authority, may be in
loco parentis (in the place of the parents):
X. DEALING WITH MINOR/YOUTH-RELATED POLICIES 3. Parents or guardians of
minors shall have ultimate responsibility for the welfare and behavior of
their children at all times. It is the responsibility of the adult who
brings a minor to an event to ensure that the minor is safe and not in
danger. At events and activities in which youth participate in any way,
participating minors must either have a parent or legal guardian present
at the event/activity, or a temporary guardian present in possession of a
properly executed ―Medical Authorization Form for Minors.This Medical
Authorization Form must designate an adult present at the event or activity
as able to authorize medical treatment in the case of emergency (a form of
temporary guardianship).
As no officer or agent of the SCA may provide care, guidance, supervision
or control of children in an official capacity. no volunteer acting in an
official capacity by and for the SCA is covered by the “newâ€
Pennsylvania statute by virtue of the fact that our volunteers are not
“acting in lieu of or on behalf of a parent†; however, if the SCA
volunteer has direct contact with children because they provide routine
interaction with children as an integral aspect of their volunteer
position, e.g. Youth Officer or Youth Marshal, the individual must receive
an FBI background check in excess of the standard SCA background check.
While some may question the concept of the “routine interaction with
children†language, the Pennsylvania State Department of Health and Safety
indicated that consideration should be given to what the volunteer’s role
is within the agency. Is their contact with children regular, ongoing
contact that is integral to their volunteer responsibilities? Clearly
contact with youth is anticipated by Youth Officers and Youth Marshals;
however, those individuals that do not have direct contact with children as
an integral to their volunteer responsibilities, e.g. Marshals, Heralds,
Gate Staff/Watch/Constables, Arts and Sciences Officers, Exchequers and
Seneschals, need not obtain a clearance. Furthermore, there is a proposed
amendment to clean up this language of this law by changing the definition
of “direct contact†to mean that an individual provides care,
supervision, guidance or control of children –AND- has routine
interaction with children. The current definition in law uses the word
“or†instead of “and†, but changing the definition will
significantly narrow the universe of volunteers required to obtain the
background checks (Youth Marshals and Youth Officers would be exempt), but
this has not yet been enacted.
All prospective Youth Officer and Youth Marshal for Aethelmearc and the
East Kingdom must obtain the following: Report of criminal history from the
Pennsylvania State Police (PSP); and Child Abuse History Clearance from the
Department of Human Services (Child Abuse). Additionally, a fingerprint
based federal criminal history (FBI) submitted through the Pennsylvania
State Police or its authorized agent is required if the position the for is
a paid position and the volunteer has lived outside Pennsylvania in the
last 10 years.
>From now until July 24, 2015: The PSP criminal history clearance costs $10
The Child Abuse clearance costs $10 The Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) federal criminal history clearance costs $25.75 through the
Department of Human Services (DHS)
Beginning July 25, 2015: The PSP criminal history clearance costs $0 The
Child Abuse clearance costs $0 The FBI federal criminal history clearance
costs $25.75 through DHS
Volunteers who are not required to obtain the FBI Clearance because they
are applying for an unpaid position and have been a continuous resident of
Pennsylvania for the past 10 years must swear or affirm in writing that
they are not disqualified from service based upon a conviction of an
offense under §6344 to be placed in the custody of the Kingdom Seneschal.
If a volunteer is arrested for or convicted of an offense that would
constitute grounds for denying participation in a program, activity or
service, or is named as a perpetrator in a founded or indicated report, the
volunteer must provide the administrator or their designee with written
notice not later than 72 hours after the arrest, conviction or notification
that the person has been listed as a perpetrator in the statewide database.
A volunteer who willfully fails to disclose information as required above
commits a misdemeanor of the third degree and shall be subject to
discipline up to and including termination or denial of a volunteer
position.
Individuals who reside in another state or country may serve as a volunteer
for no more than 30 days as long as they provide clearances from their
state or country of residence. If the individual will be volunteering for
more than 30 days, they must obtain clearances as outlined above under
“Which clearances are needed.†Volunteers who reside in Pennsylvania do
not have a provisional period and must obtain clearances as outlined above
under “Which clearances are needed.†As Pennsic is less than 30 days,
there is no need to have any volunteer from another state have a background
check in excess of what is required in their own home state.
While Youth Marshals and Youth Officers should apply for a background check
through the Department of Human Services, the monitoring and maintenance of
Background Check Clearances, the responsibility for maintaining Youth
Marshal and Youth Officer background checks should be monitored and
maintained by the Kingdom Seneschals. I will leave it to the respective
Seneschals to determine the method for maintaining and monitoring the
clearance status in a reasonable manner for at least 3 years.
All Child Abuse clearance information is confidential and may not be
released to other individuals. The Kingdom Seneschal must monitor and must
maintain the paper work related to the background clearance; however, this
information is confidential and can only be shared with another officer for
an official purposes. As such, it should be up to the individual to obtain
a background check and then submit the clearance to the appropriate Kingdom
Officer. Upon submission of the clearance, the marshal or officer
submitting to the check can either chose to tender the results to the
Marshal or Seneschal (if they pass) or not tender the results (if they do
not pass). Every individual who tenders the results should be reimbursed.
In terms of maintaining the results of the check (whether the individual in
question passes or does not pass), such results must be considered
confidential.
Respectfully submitted this 1st day of July, 2015.
A.J. Pongratz Society Seneschal, V.P. Operations SCA, Inc.
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