The AP is reporting that a growing number of churches are now making it a habit to conduct routine background checks:
More churches and religious groups are conducting background checks and taking other steps to protect children against mistreatment in the wake of the sex abuse scandal that has plagued the Catholic Church for years.
Children’s advocates say not all background checks are equal, and warn religious groups they must be especially vigilant in screening clergy, volunteers and staff because their trusting communities are often targets for abusers.
Background checks should look into criminal databases at the local, state and federal levels and religious groups need other safety mechanisms in place, according to insurance companies. That’s because many pedophiles don’t have criminal records, either because they haven’t been caught or haven’t been prosecuted.
LifeWay Christian Resources, the Southern Baptist Convention’s publishing and research arm, launched a partnership with backgroundchecks.com in 2008 to offer background screenings to Lifeway customers at discounted prices.
There is a $10 basic-level background check option that includes a national criminal and sex offender search, said Jennie Taylor, a marketing coordinator at Lifeway. With nearly 16.2 million members, the Nashville-based SBC is the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.
More than 900 different churches or organizations have conducted 11,277 background checks through Lifeway with backgroundchecks.com since 2008, according to Lifeway. Of those, 40 percent returned a hit — which is any kind of incident, ranging from minor traffic violations to felony convictions.
About 21 percent — or 2,320 searches — returned records with misdemeanor or felony results. More than 600 of those 2,320 returned felony offenses, Lifeway reports. Background information is then reported to Lifeway customers using the backgroundchecks.com service, and customers decide whether to hire job candidates.
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