Young Eagles and Background Security Checks

[fidot]

(edit: Cub Builder ^^^ above said it much better than I have below)

Young Eagles as a program that demands that:

"Staff and volunteers may not initiate meetings or interactions, or extend their relationship with any Youth to other activities (except for supervision in other sponsored and organized Youth activities)."
" If possible, the staff member or volunteer should encourage the parent to be present and acknowledge that the touching might occur. " (speaking of buckling them in)
"Staff and volunteers are strictly prohibited from taking photographs of Youth participating in EAA-related programs and events for personal use and from posting photographs depicting such Youth on social media or websites."

to me seems as not what it was ('let's all have fun and fly kids and introduce them to aviating'), but turning into something with rigid structure mandated by Lawyers. If so, yes, it deserves to die.

Stopping flying kids to get them hooked onto aviation? Absolutely not! I don't think that any of us who are considering bailing will stop flying kids altogether thinking that "oh, well, now I am no longer covered / have EAA behind my activity... I guess this is too dangerous now, I will no longer do it 'cause I might get sued". I think that most of folks bailing due to these checks and new policy don't tend to think this way at all.

[fidot]

eHotline just out, http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/eaa-news-a...V1t6UKWA%3D%3D

The company working with EAA in this process, AmericanChecked, is among the leaders in the industry and works with many colleges, school districts, and governmental agencies. A top priority of the exhaustive process to select the right company to work with EAA and its volunteers was the safety and security of any data collected. More information on that is available on the FAQ webpage, and we welcome questions and suggestions at any time at feedback@eaa.org.

[ssmdive]

Do you suppose some people are refusing to undergo the background check because the DO have something to hide? Hmmmmmm?

Uh, my information was stolen from the Office of Personnel Management…. You know the Federal Govt. No way am I going to trust some little heard of company with my personal data. I have SEVERAL background checks run on me a year from my employer (Airline), the ATF…ETC.

My wife had her ID stolen… This was 8 years ago and we are STILL dealing with the fallout from it.

I had planned on trying to hook up with the YE program… Not anymore.
I have nothing to hide except my personal data from hackers and people looking to sell it.

[Mark van Wyk]

to me seems as not what it was ('let's all have fun and fly kids and introduce them to aviating'), but turning into something with rigid structure mandated by Lawyers. If so, yes, it deserves to die.

Stopping flying kids to get them hooked onto aviation? Absolutely not! I don't think that any of us who are considering bailing will stop flying kids altogether thinking that "oh, well, now I am no longer covered / have EAA behind my activity... I guess this is too dangerous now, I will no longer do it 'cause I might get sued". I think that most of folks bailing due to these checks and new policy don't tend to think this way at all.

My guess is that most of those saying they will "still give rides to kids" won't give rides to kids. My experience with Young Eagles is that they have an organized event at such local events as my home base airport Open House. Free rides are advertised, and literally hundreds of kids from the community and their parents show up line up for a ride. That's what's going to die if YE dies. But, to each their own.

[combahee]

It's not the background check by itself. read the whole policy. It is more restrictive than what the Boy Scouts do and they have had problems! It is the requirement for ALL the volunteers to undergo this "training" and background check. It is the accusatory attitude of the EAA even to the point of helping a kid put on a seat belt. Our chapter works with another very well thought of organization that sponsors scholarships for kids. Imagine me telling them they have to undergo the checks and take the course? Or the school teacher of the aviation club they have to do it? Or the dean of the local college that sponsors an aviation day camp? Or even my wife who sits behind a table and handles paperwork and prints certificates?
Myself, I have nothing to hide, but won't give out my SSN. My info was hacked when some hackers hacked the State's system! Do I trust the EAA or this background company...no. As for the other provisions of the policy, they are unworkable, impractical.
Will I continue to fly kids? Yep, just not with the EAA. Too bad hundreds if not thousands of kids just lost their rides.... so much for promoting aviation. EAA, you screwed up... bad.
One thing I do find ironic. The EAA is going on and on about the 3rd class medical, to get the FAA off the backs of the pilots etc. etc. then they do this.
Almost 2 million kids flown, how many cases of molestation at a YE rally, flight or directly attributed to the YE program?

[CarlOrton]

I agree with just about everyone's said so far. But another aspect we haven't addressed is of the Chapter officers & board members themselves. We're protected by the EAA insurance, but if something happened and it was determined that the individual and/or chapter governance were not trained, whoooboy.

Makes me really wonder about my board position. And, yes, I'm another one with very high clearances hacked while at the OPM.

[Mark van Wyk]

How many of you file your income taxes using TurboTax? Do you file your return over the internet? Gee, as I recall, your tax return contains your name, address, DoB, and SSN. Of course, nothing can go wrong with TurboTax or the IRS. Perfectly trustworthy.

But go ahead, trash the YE progam

[ssmdive]

One guy says he's bailing, and the mob joins in. Over a SSN? Can't we look for a solution instead of watching the destruction of YE?

You clearly have not ever had your ID stolen. A woman in CA had my wife's info, she had bought a car, rented a house, taken out scores of credit cards, a line of credit at several stores.

The police? No help at all. My wife and I tracked the woman down. We then had to call the local police and hassle them till they arrested her. We had to send a copy of the police report to them, our local police would not be bothered… After all it was "just ID theft".

We had to contact lender after lender and go through the same BS every time. First they accused us of just trying to get out of "our" debts. They would call and harass us at our house. When we told them what happened, they ignored us and one told my wife she should "Quit being a deadbeat and pay her fu(king bills"…. We had to send copies of the police report, copies of the woman's arrest record… Over and over and over. 7 years later we STILL get some contact over this.

When we tried to buy a house? Yep, her credit was damaged over all this and we had to go through pages and pages of data and add weeks to the process. Did you know how important a good credit rating is? Well, our house loan was going to be at a higher rate until we went through all the process of fighting each and every creditor that claimed we owed them money. And you know your car insurance looks at your credit rating? My wife HAS to disclose her financial information for work. We had to jump through hoops there as well…. You going to use a financial planner that has credit problems?

I had my data stolen because the Govt granted me a clearance. THE GOVERNMENT. I had to give them my data… And they lost it.

So the chance I am going to give my data to anyone over some BS… NIL.

[Mark van Wyk]

FOLKS, LET'S STOP OVER REACTING. None of this is that unusual or unheard of. Yes, we used to live in more innocent times, when pilots flew around in open cockpits with leather caps, goggles, and scarfs flying in the wind.


Times have changed. Here are some other recent examples of organizations that require checks of adults in contact with kids.


http://www.scouting.org/BSAYouthProt...wtheFacts.aspx
http://www.girlscoutsosw.org/content...d_Check_QA.pdf


Here's a government publication on the matter.
http://www.cdc.gov/violencepreventio...ualAbuse-a.pdf

[Auburntsts]

I have no problem with a background check. I do have a problem providing PII data to an anonymous site. In any event, these new rules aren't a panacea because they only uncover past evidence of an actual conviction. It does nothing to prove future intent nor uncover a nefarious past if a monster has never been caught. So I see a lot of risk for the participants but little in the way actually providing the security they are trying to achieve. I have a high level security clearance so count me out until they eliminate the SSN requirement.