Required Clearances and Training for Volunteers Interacting with Minors

Clearance Requirement

Volunteers should obtain the three publicly available clearances prior to interaction with youth and renew the clearances every five years:

1. Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Background Check (SP-164)
2. Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance Form (CY-113)
3. And one of the following:

• Federal (FBI) Fingerprint Criminal Background Check (Criminal History Report)- if the volunteer has not lived in the state of Pennsylvania continuously for the past 10 years

-OR-

• Volunteer Exemption from FBI Affirmation Form- if the volunteer has lived in the state of Pennsylvania continuously for the past 10 years.

Instructions for obtaining clearances can be located on the Penn State Human Resources website.

For further policy information, please visit Policy AD39:Minors Involved in University-Sponsored Programs.

Volunteers interacting with minors are required to complete the Building a Safe Penn State: Reporting Child Abuse training prior to their interaction with minors and annually thereafter. Training is provided via the Learning Resource Network. For further policy information please visit Policy AD72: Reporting Suspected Child Abuse.

Retention and Tracking Requirement

Volunteer clearances and training are to be retained/tracked by the program for which they are participating. Individuals in charge of those programs are responsible for viewing the original clearances and signing off on copies as verification that they viewed the originals. Originals are to be returned to the volunteer. The signed copies are to be stored by the program in a locked filing cabinet for auditing and record-keeping purposes. Note: Any clearances containing a record should be sent, along with rap sheet, to Ag HR at University Park for prior approval.

The University-created tracking spreadsheet should be utilized and can be located on the Penn State Human Resources website.