Youth Protection Policy

[deej]

The organization vetted a variety of vendors before making the decision to go with AmericanChecked. I do not see this changing as we are following guidelines and best practices that have already been established by other organizations like the Boy Scouts of America.

Speaking for myself, and not the organization, I imagine there are considerations beyond just executing the check on a website, as it becomes a question of data retention, security, potential of additional staff costs, etc. Having a trusted partner that understands the process, legalities, and governance involved shouldn't be understated.

Hi Dennis,
I think you missed the crux of the suggestion, so I will try to clarify. EAA already has our names and mailing addresses, which is all the information needed to do a check on the National Sex Offenders Registry (https://www.nsopw.gov/en). Please go check out this website if you have not done so already. You simply type in a name, it does the query, and if there are matches, presents a list with the corresponding mailing address.

This is somewhat of an oversimplification, but the changes at EAA National would involve adding the checkbox on the member renewal web page, modifying the already existing database to add fields related to the sex offender query, and slightly redesigning the membership cards to print the results of the query. Fairly simple given the resources that EAA has available.

There is no need for an external vendor, and this check provides an equivalent to the paid-for background check in terms of limiting exposure of youth to sex offenders.

It also addresses the major concerns of most of our membership.

I would kindly ask that this be brought up to senior management and taken under serious consideration. It protects the kids and is a reasonable process for our members. What's not to like? :-)

-Dj

[Bret Steffen]

Dj,

Your idea is a good one, and one that we talked about for a long time at the beginning of the process. Unfortunately the background check we do goes beyond the sex offender registry to other criminal convictions that EAA is not equipped to handle by ourselves. Obviously the first thing that comes to mind with youth protection is sex offenses, but there are other criminal behaviors that are also inappropriate to expose youth to beyond sex offences. We do appreciate the thougts.

I hope you consider flying Young Eagles someday DJ, as many out there can tell you, it is a wonderful experience!

Bret

[deej]

I hope you consider flying Young Eagles someday DJ, as many out there can tell you, it is a wonderful experience!

I don't fly YE personally, but there is a lot more work to be done than just the flying, as I'm sure you know. I have worked as ground crew for every single YE event we've had since I joined the chapter several years ago, and I spend many hours in the months beforehand organizing our annual fly in (of which a part is also a YE rally).

Assuming we can get enough participants after the new policy is in effect, I will continue to do so. Unfortunately at present it looks like we will not have enough pilots to continue our YE rallies. :-(

This makes me quite sad as there are some very clear and easy modifications to the policy that would prevent this, hence, my participation here trying to convince the "powers that be" that they've messed up badly, and hope we can make the changes before we lose membership critical mass.

Sadly, it looks like our pleas are for naught.

-Dj

[vaflier]

[QUOTE=Bret Steffen;54416
Unfortunately the background check we do goes beyond the sex offender registry to other criminal convictions that EAA is not equipped to handle by ourselves. Obviously the first thing that comes to mind with youth protection is sex offenses, but there are other criminal behaviors that are also inappropriate to expose youth to beyond sex offences. We do appreciate the thougts.

Bret[/QUOTE]

So please explan what exactly the background checks are searching for and what info are you digging into.
financial, criminal, marital, physcological, medical, sex offender, driving records, Or other ?????????.
Just how deep does this go ???? Property ownership perhaps , How much of our privacy are we really giving away ??????

Randy

[Jkan]

So please explan what exactly the background checks are searching for and what info are you digging into.
financial, criminal, marital, physcological, medical, sex offender, driving records, Or other ?????????.
Just how deep does this go ???? Property ownership perhaps , How much of our privacy are we really giving away ??????

Randy

If you take into consideration the wording for the "Authorization" for the background check, you must assume that what they are collecting is ALL of the above and as often as they want!

[rwanttaja]

Unfortunately the background check we do goes beyond the sex offender registry to other criminal convictions that EAA is not equipped to handle by ourselves. Obviously the first thing that comes to mind with youth protection is sex offenses, but there are other criminal behaviors that are also inappropriate to expose youth to beyond sex offences. We do appreciate the thougts.

So please explan what exactly the background checks are searching for and what info are you digging into.
financial, criminal, marital, physcological, medical, sex offender, driving records, Or other ?????????.
Just how deep does this go ???? Property ownership perhaps , How much of our privacy are we really giving away ??????

Randy

I gotta admit, I'm curious, too. This was billed as a "Protect the children from predators" action, but you're collecting other data NOT RELATED TO CHILD PREDATION???? Who is making the decision as to what is sufficient to ban someone from YE?

What does EAA get from the background check agency? I had assumed it was a go/no go as to child predation history. But sounds as if EAA receives a full dossier on each individual. Who at headquarters has access to this data? What specific criteria is used for elimination of someone from Young Eagles?

Y'know what's scary about this? Imagine the chapter Young Eagles coordinator contacts a pilot, and asks him to participate. The pilot, never having abused a child in his life, agrees and enters his name. But, 30 years ago as a teen, he shoplifted and got caught. An arrest record? EAA rejects him.

Everyone in the chapter will believe he was rejected as a sexual predator...because THAT'S what EAA claims the program is supposed to detect.

OK, time for some answers, EAA staffers:

1. What are the specific criteria used to reject someone as a Young Eagles pilot?

2. SPECIFICALLY, what information about each applicant does EAA receive from the background-investigation company?

3. Who at headquarters has access to this data?

4. What protections are in place to prevent other employees from accessing this data?

5. What are EAA's PII Protection policies? Do they specifically address this data?

6. What procedures are in place for EAA members to review their Dossier, and correct faulty information?

Ron Wanttaja

[Copapilot]

I gotta admit, I'm curious, too. This was billed as a "Protect the children from predators" action, but you're collecting other data NOT RELATED TO CHILD PREDATION???? Who is making the decision as to what is sufficient to ban someone from YE?

What does EAA get from the background check agency? I had assumed it was a go/no go as to child predation history. But sounds as if EAA receives a full dossier on each individual. Who at headquarters has access to this data? What specific criteria is used for elimination of someone from Young Eagles?

Y'know what's scary about this? Imagine the chapter Young Eagles coordinator contacts a pilot, and asks him to participate. The pilot, never having abused a child in his life, agrees and enters his name. But, 30 years ago as a teen, he shoplifted and got caught. An arrest record? EAA rejects him.

Everyone in the chapter will believe he was rejected as a sexual predator...because THAT'S what EAA claims the program is supposed to detect. (emphasis added)

OK, time for some answers, EAA staffers:

1. What are the specific criteria used to reject someone as a Young Eagles pilot?

2. SPECIFICALLY, what information about each applicant does EAA receive from the background-investigation company?

3. Who at headquarters has access to this data?

4. What protections are in place to prevent other employees from accessing this data?

5. What are EAA's PII Protection policies? Do they specifically address this data?

6. What procedures are in place for EAA members to review their Dossier, and correct faulty information?

Ron Wanttaja

NOW you're beginning to see exactly how deep this rabbit-hole goes...(apologies to Morpheus)

[Bret Steffen]

Ron, all of your questions are covered in the policy. eaa.org/youthprotection Simply stated above is the fact that sexual molestation is not the only bad thing to happen to kids, so we are looking for things like felony battery charges in addition to sexual molestation. That kind of information would not show up on the sexual predator list, you need to do a criminal history check.

I understand some folks are still unhappy that the world has come to this. I understand that the initial roll out was poorly executed. And I understand that there are a few out there who would like this to go away. I sincerely wish this was not something necessary for our youth programs, but it is. Please understand that all of the staff at EAA are working hard to serve our fellow members, and that we bleed blue too, even on a Friday night at the start of my vacation. We come on the forums to help you understand, not to get into fights. We try to stay away from the forums because it is for you to talk with each other. I will pm you to talk more about your questions offline as well.

[Jkan]

Ron, all of your questions are covered in the policy. eaa.org/youthprotection Simply stated above is the fact that sexual molestation is not the only bad thing to happen to kids, so we are looking for things like felony battery charges in addition to sexual molestation. That kind of information would not show up on the sexual predator list, you need to do a criminal history check.

I understand some folks are still unhappy that the world has come to this. I understand that the initial roll out was poorly executed. And I understand that there are a few out there who would like this to go away. I sincerely wish this was not something necessary for our youth programs, but it is. Please understand that all of the staff at EAA are working hard to serve our fellow members, and that we bleed blue too, even on a Friday night at the start of my vacation. We come on the forums to help you understand, not to get into fights. We try to stay away from the forums because it is for you to talk with each other. I will pm you to talk more about your questions offline as well.

I must remind you also that it is not so much that some folks are upset with the way the world is today, but rather the way this program is worded. I do wish you a very happy vacation, I'm sure you need it, and I can not wait to see what can be done about the insanely worded "Authorization" statement on the background page, we talked about. We well not forget.

[vaflier]

Ron, all of your questions are covered in the policy. eaa.org/youthprotection Simply stated above is the fact that sexual molestation is not the only bad thing to happen to kids, so we are looking for things like felony battery charges in addition to sexual molestation. That kind of information would not show up on the sexual predator list, you need to do a criminal history check.

I understand some folks are still unhappy that the world has come to this. I understand that the initial roll out was poorly executed. And I understand that there are a few out there who would like this to go away. I sincerely wish this was not something necessary for our youth programs, but it is. Please understand that all of the staff at EAA are working hard to serve our fellow members, and that we bleed blue too, even on a Friday night at the start of my vacation. We come on the forums to help you understand, not to get into fights. We try to stay away from the forums because it is for you to talk with each other. I will pm you to talk more about your questions offline as well.

Bret, I think the rest of us would like to have answers to those same questions as well. It would be nice to see a response posted here on the forums replying directly to each of the qustions that Ron posted.

Thank you for your efforts to be responsive to our concerns and I hope you have a fantastic vacation.