Young Eagles and Background Security Checks

[krw920]

Would logic indicate that, given the large number of children on the grounds at AirVenture, similar background checks should be required for all volunteers there? KidVenture jumps out as one of the most obvious venues. Just sayin'......Jim

Was thinking the exact same thing, Jim. Slippery slope indeed.

[CraigCantwell]

After reading the policy information, it appears that this is going to include ANY EAA event that a kid may attend, including regular meetings. Guess that means a 17 year old that is a Chapter member will now have to have a signed permission slip to attend a meeting and there will have to be multiple trained and vetted members there for them to be allowed to attend. This is looking to be much worse than it started out to be. I am afraid that if this is implemented as it stands, we are going to kill off any youth involvement in the EAA.

[martymayes]

I am afraid that if this is implemented as it stands, we are going to kill off any youth involvement in the EAA.

There are numerous other youth enrichment programs in this country that now require volunteers to be vetted and those seem to be moving forward despite the various required background checks for those that volunteer and/or participate. If the same thing is going to "kill off any youth involvement" in the EAA, what does that say about it's volunteers????

[nesincg]

what does that say about it's volunteers????

It says we are old enough not to put up with this stupid crap.

[DanH]

That they are not sheep who accept "security theater"?

[vaflier]

There are numerous other youth enrichment programs in this country that now require volunteers to be vetted and those seem to be moving forward despite the various required background checks for those that volunteer and/or participate. If the same thing is going to "kill off any youth involvement" in the EAA, what does that say about it's volunteers????

It says that they are tired of all of the politically correct BS !

[combahee]

According to this policy we will have to cancel our ground school classes for teens. Cancel our YE rally's, definitely no single child plane rides.
As for the background checks, since they require your SSN, this allows the personnel at the checking agency to gather all kinds of financial information, which they can then use in other databases. Who's watching AmericaCheck? What safeguards? The chapter presidents and coordinators will be able to see vetted members this allows them into the secure servers, does it not? How long before they get hacked, after all we all know pilots are a bunch of rich guys.
The requirements on volunteers is ridiculous.
The record keeping is not only ridiculous it would be an invasion of the parents privacy. Who keeps these records, how are they kept, where are they kept? Too many questions.
If EAA wants to do a background check sans the SSN, go for it.
If the EAA requires a vetted member to supervise fine. I have no problems with that. But to require all volunteers and even parents? No way.
BTW our chapter flew over 120 youngsters last year alone. Many of which came in school groups such as the ROTC and aviation clubs. We also flew kids in a university sponsored day camp. We also fly many "at risk" kids who may never get a chance again. So sad, we really liked doing what we were doing but under these guidelines it is impossible.

[CraigCantwell]

There are numerous other youth enrichment programs in this country that now require volunteers to be vetted and those seem to be moving forward despite the various required background checks for those that volunteer and/or participate. If the same thing is going to "kill off any youth involvement" in the EAA, what does that say about it's volunteers????

Please read the policy as it has been put forth. It is not limited to just anything YE. It includes Chapter meetings. We have a couple of teenagers that attend our meetings and are heavily involved in the Chapter. By this policy, we will now have to have multiple members go thru this process, and make sure that enough of them are at every meeting so that if one of the teenagers comes and does not have his parent with him at the meeting, he can attend. Do we bar a Chapter member, whom happens to be a teenager, because his parent isn't there and we don't have the minimum number of vetted YE people there? How does that look to any visitors that we might have, How is that going to affect that teenager, that just proved to the feds that he is qualified as a pilot, but because we have changed our policy, he can't come to the meetings of an organization that had been mentoring and encouraging him, that he also is a member of?

I can understand part of the new policy, but I think it has not been thought out very well and will induce some unintended consequences that are going to do more harm than good.

[martymayes]

Please read the policy as it has been put forth.

I have.

I can understand part of the new policy, but I think it has not been thought out very well and will induce some unintended consequences that are going to do more harm than good.

You are no doubt right about that because there is always a learning curve. But you can bet it's not going away.

[martymayes]

It says we are old enough not to put up with this stupid crap.

That they are not sheep who accept "security theater"?

It says that they are tired of all of the politically correct BS !

let me know how that works out for ya......