Young Eagles and Background Security Checks

[RickG]

At my place of employment, I just completed a mandatory "harassment" online training. I could have stamped my feet and held my breath until I turned blue and refused to take it, and I could have quit my job. Or, I could just take the training. I took the training. Yes, YE is a volunteer program. But, so are a lot of other volunteer programs that require similar Youth Safety training and rules.

And that is your prerogative.

It's not the awareness training many of us object to, but the notion that as YE Pilots we are trusted with these children's lives (taking anyone flying is a tall order, never mind someone's kids) .... but not enough to spend +- 15 minutes alone with them on a flight around the pattern w/o a criminal background check. That is an oxymoron and it just makes no sense. If this was a traditional youth program as many reference, I would be the first in line if not a champion of background checks for all involved. But that is not the scenario we are dealing with, and why those of us with concerns as to how this policy has been implemented, should continue to stand our ground.

The only people this debacle is hurting are the kids ... and those of us who willingly share our time, financial resources and experiences in aviation. As other members have more eloquently stated, this program does nothing to protect the kids, nothing to protect us as pilots, and everything to protect the EAA. That does not make for a winning recipe, especially when a program is 100% dependent on volunteers.

[cub builder]

Cub Builder, you are correct that a certain number of members reject the policy. There are definitely a lot of squeaky wheels on this forum. I don't know whether the complainers represent the majority or not. I do believe you are correct that this is what EAA is going to do, and therefore --as you state --- EAA's policy seems to be that the program stands, and therefore you and others who don't like it have the choice to not comply and quit flying Young Eagles. I do not believe that EAA is going to back down or scrap the program, like some on this forum repeatedly demand. I believe the program is here to stay.

Mark, you are quite likely correct. The HQ lack of acknowledgement makes it clear that it is their intention for the program to stay as it is. I don't think anyone, myself included, objects to a YPP if it had been implemented as a simple training program. But a significant number do object to being required to prove that we aren't registered perverts to be a part of the EAA. After all, that is the implication when they call it a "near miss" when there was a registered Sex Offender that was a part of a chapter, but didn't participate in any youth related programs.

I have read on this forum that some chapters are scrapping their Young Eagles programs over this. Others have said they are going to comply and go forward. My understanding is that San Jose Chapter 62 plans to go forward. There will be a San Martin Airport Fly-In scheduled for Saturday, May 14, 2016, and Young Eagles will go on as planned.

Within my own chapter, 3 of the 4 annually scheduled YE events have been scrapped. Some of us will likely fly kids at a second event without the EAA's involvement. The chapter president is advocating ignoring the YPP and pressing forward with "business as usual", which a number of us think might be unwise, and may cause the one scheduled event to be scrapped.

At my place of employment, I just completed a mandatory "harassment" online training. I could have stamped my feet and held my breath until I turned blue and refused to take it, and I could have quit my job. Or, I could just take the training. I took the training. Yes, YE is a volunteer program. But, so are a lot of other volunteer programs that require similar Youth Safety training and rules.

You kind of make my point. We all sit through some incredibly inane training as part of our employment. I think even the most offended YE pilot would agree to do the same, which really would have been a good approach by the EAA. We also do those things as a condition of employment. Would you have been offended if they had asked you for a DNA sample as part of the training? FWIW, that kind of inane training at work is one of those things that makes me look forward to retirement.

My place of employment requires a high level security clearance. But just last week the police were there to arrest someone with a high level clearance allegedly for involvement with child pornography, which would make that individual a sex offender in our state. So once again, a high level background check failed to show someone alleged to be actively involved in sex offenses with children. The point being that the background check is relatively useless to find likely sex offenders and does little to protect children. Following a common sense program of two adults present unless flying does.

NOTE TO EAA: Stand your ground. Don't scrap the program. Improve it. And, give us some numbers as to how many members are complying, so that those of us that want to continue with YE can move forward.
--Mark van Wyk

You and I agree that it should be improved. We only disagree on the extent. Let's do some kind of training and/or briefing. Drop the background checks as they are useless anyway. They only serve as an insult to a number of the membership. It's pretty clear that the background checks are the EAA HQ lawyers PR protection should something happen, not the answer to protecting children. But the EAA HQ answer so far has been to bury their heads in the sand and refuse to acknowledge that as implemented, this program is going to significantly hurt the YE program, and is going to cost the EAA in the loss of a number of members. As was stated previously, this is just another in a long string of disappointments with the EAA leadership.

-Cub Builder

[Mayhemxpc]

At her request, I am relaying a few comments or questions from my wife, who is not a pilot or involved with the YE program. She is in the CAP and has gone through their youth protection program, the BSA's program, and she is an elementary school teacher, having gone through all of the training required for that. So purely from the outside...
-- She points outs that background checks almost never catch a potential perpetrator. These people are very good at staying under the RADAR, through various techniques including coercion and guilt transfer. Almost always, the only time anyone becomes aware of a situation, it is in conjunction with a criminal investigation. (My comment: as Cub builder noted above.)
-- The DOJ already maintains a sex abuse registry. Once arrested, the person is listed there. To address a concern about offender participation, one solution which costs nothing but a little time, is to require the YE Program Coordinator to run the names of the YE pilots and staff through that registry.
-- This leads to her conclusion: Since the background checks do not catch potential perps, and the DOJ already maintains a public access website for known offenders, why is EAA spending the funds of the Association (i.e., of its members) for a private commercial organization to run an intrusive and largely ineffectual program? How much is this company and its shadow subsidiaries making off of this? Who recommended this program, run through this company?
(She offered some personal opinion about that which would probably not be helpful in this forum.)

Of course, I agree with her observations, or I wouldn't post them.

She also offered a suggestion that since most of us seem to have already undergone intrusive background checks, why can't we just provide evidence of that compliance, rather then incurring additional exposure and cost? (I am not altogether on board with that, since it would justify that such background checks are useful and then be used to require checks of EAA members who have not undergone such screening. You can't agree on everything.)

Again and again: Training YES. Reasonable precautions, YES. Unnecessary exposure of PII and other history, NO. Spending time, cash, and other resources on a program with little or no evidence of effectiveness, NO.

[Mark van Wyk]

...snip...-- She points outs that background checks almost never catch a potential perpetrator...snip...

Are you certain that these YP programs (CAP, BSA, schools, etc.) "almost never" detect a potential abuser? Do you have statistics to back that? Are there cases where the background check does detect an abuser, or an ex-felon, or some other person that should not be flying kids?

...snip...-- The DOJ already maintains a sex abuse registry. Once arrested, the person is listed there. To address a concern about offender participation, one solution which costs nothing but a little time, is to require the YE Program Coordinator to run the names of the YE pilots and staff through that registry....

What if the YE coordinator didn't follow through? EAA says they are paying $5 per background check. That seems to me to be a lot more thorough than leaving it up to a YE coordinator.
One of the biggest benefits of flying Young Eagles rather than offering rides independently is that EAA provides extra insurance for each YE pilot, plus all of the other paperwork (certificates, etc.). I think it's a good program, and I look forward to participating at the San Martin Airport Open House, Saturday, May 14, 2016. I hope enough pilots comply so that we get a good turnout.

[martymayes]

-- The DOJ already maintains a sex abuse registry. Once arrested, the person is listed there. To address a concern about offender participation, one solution which costs nothing but a little time, is to require the YE Program Coordinator to run the names of the YE pilots and staff through that registry.
-- This leads to her conclusion: Since the background checks do not catch potential perps, and the DOJ already maintains a public access website for known offenders, why is EAA spending the funds of the Association (i.e., of its members) for a private commercial organization to run an intrusive and largely ineffectual program?

How do you know the contractor providing background checks is not using the SOR?

[combahee]

One of the biggest benefits of flying Young Eagles rather than offering rides independently is that EAA provides extra insurance for each YE pilot, plus all of the other paperwork (certificates, etc.). I think it's a good program, and I look forward to participating at the San Martin Airport Open House, Saturday, May 14, 2016. I hope enough pilots comply so that we get a good turnout.

First of all, all convicted sex offenders are under strict rules about contact with kids. Do you really think any would risk going back to jail for a YE flight? The guy everyone mention earlier did not participate in YE flights. He was risking going direct to jail. The other example had never been arrested for a sex offense. Just being a convicted offended is self limiting in contact with kids.

The additional insurance is liability. It would not cover a pilot if there was an accusation. The waiver, insurance etc. is all designed to protect the EAA not the pilot.
Since you brought it up, why not ask EAA how many offenders did the checks catch so far?
Today many, many of us are concerned about our personal privacy and handing over any information to someone, particularly a third party vendor. It is also a matter of trust and understanding. No one is against the YPP, many of us are against the mandatory background check, the requirements on volunteers and the unreasonable requirements on the volunteers, pilots and chapters.
We would love to work with EAA in fixing it, but to my knowledge they have not reached out to any of us.
My Chapter president was a CAP officer. They instituted a similar program. Background checks etc. Then later they changed the rules, making things more difficult, then did it again, always pushing. Finally he and others had enough and quit. The volunteer parents would not submit to all the rules and regs. They quit, today the Squadron is no more.
If you look at the number of kids in the CAP and even the BSA compared with a few years ago, the number of units, the number of volunteers, they have all dropped, significantly. I don't think it was all due to video games.
There is an easy solution to all this, EAA work with your pilots and Chapter coordinators and Presidents. Don't stonewall us.
Mark don't worry about your San Martin Airport Open House, Saturday, May 14, 2016. You should do just fine. The YE program will survive. It just won't be the same nor as strong and robust, and many of us simply won't participate.

[Bob H]

I fly an experimental with 4-point belts for passenger and pilot. When buckling in Young Eagles, I kneel on the low right wing and reach in to bring shoulder straps over kid's chest and cross the lap belt across their waist to engage the shoulder straps. Then I normally pull the straps to snug up the slack from one kid size to another. In doing this for each kid I fly for a YE event, I could easily touch some part of a kid's body without noticing it, in order to safely buckle them in. Have never had any kid comment about the procedure but all this talk has me rethinking the whole situation. Suppose a kid made a complaint that I touched him/her? Would I now be accused of being a molester? Where is protection for the pilot flying YE from false accusations? It appears to me that pilots carry all the risk just trying to give kids a safe ride. It's just not worth it.

[vaflier]

I cannott help but wonder how much more likely a pilot is to be accused as a result of EAA instituting this program in this way. After all it will unfortunately stain all of us with some people always being willing to assume the worst. In addition there are those who would see this as a means to a fast payday, simply by making an unfounded accusation in the hope of an insurance payout to make it go away. Also known as hush money. How many times have you seen accusations of sexual harrasment or racial misdeeds immediately after so called awareness training. I am concerned.

[Byron J. Covey]

I cannott help but wonder how much more likely a pilot is to be accused as a result of EAA instituting this program in this way. After all it will unfortunately stain all of us with some people always being willing to assume the worst. In addition there are those who would see this as a means to a fast payday, simply by making an unfounded accusation in the hope of an insurance payout to make it go away. Also known as hush money. How many times have you seen accusations of sexual harrasment or racial misdeeds immediately after so called awareness training. I am concerned.

Another valid reason for pilot volunteers to withdraw from the YE program. (After all, everyone knows that anyone who owns an airplane has lots of money to be had via a law suit.)


BJC

[Mayhemxpc]

How do you know the contractor providing background checks is not using the SOR?

Maybe they are, in which case EAA is paying $5 each for a free service. Also, all the SOR needs is your name, not PII.

Also so for Mark, I was just relaying what I was told. Information that was also in at least one of the othe YPT I have been through. Nonetheless it should be easy enough to confirm or deny. The proof is required for the other side, however. When a person wants to impose a new requirement, the burden is to prove that this new requirement is more effective than possible alternatives available to meet the agreed purpose.