STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS BACKGROUND SCREENING
GENERAL INFORMATION:
US Club Soccer CEO Kevin Payne recently announced two Player Health and Safety initiatives for registered staff members as part of the Players First platform. One of those initiatives is the substantial enhancement of US Club Soccer’s background screening standard, which is being implemented as of the 2016-17 registration year.
Beyond a variety of national sources, US Club Soccer’s background screening now includes a direct county/state of residence criminal record search for all counties in which an individual has lived within the past seven years, regardless of whether any “hits” appear on the national database searches. Additionally, US Club Soccer will be notified of changes to an individual’s national criminal history during the time between full background screenings.
This is a responsible step in facilitating a safe sports experience, and US Club Soccer aims to lead by example.
WHO MUST COMPLETE BACKGROUND SCREENING:
US Club Soccer background screening is required to be completed by any staff/volunteer member registering with Olympic Atlanta SC, which includes any staff member assigned to a team or working with or managing players age U-17 and below, regardless of whether they are volunteers or paid staff, or registered with another member organization.
WHEN BACKGROUND SCREENING MUST BE COMPLETED:
Competitive staff must complete background screening based upon the Staff Passcard Issue/Expiration Date Matrix [.pdf]. Rec staff must complete and pass a background screening every other registration year.
COST / PAYMENT OPTIONS:
Remitted from Olympic Atlanta SC :
BILLED TO CLUB: Background screening applicants will not be charged upon check out. Rather, the applicant’s club will be invoiced directly by Sport Ngin on a monthly basis for the total number of checks processed during the previous month.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
You must complete the background screening application yourself. Your registrar cannot do this for you. Any individual who completes an application on behalf of another individual is also subject to suspension or other discipline, and in addition may be subject to criminal or civil liability.
US Club Soccer’s background screening is conducted by NAPBS-accredited screening vendors via Sport Ngin’s Verify platform. You may be contacted directly by the screening vendor if there are any questions or additional information is needed.
Passing US Club Soccer’s background screening alone does not mean you are registered with US Club Soccer. Registration is not complete, nor is insurance valid, until a staff passcard or rec registration request is received, paid for, and subsequently approved by US Club Soccer. You may not participate with youth players until these steps are completed.
Additional information regarding the required Pennsylvania-specific clearances is available via the background screening application.
The international background screening application will soon be available is available for those individuals who do not have a Social Security Number (SSN) or Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). A passport is required. The cost of the background screening varies greatly as it is determined based upon your residence history. As such, you must pay for it directly as part of completing the application. There is no club billing option for this international application.
The background screening turnaround time will increase to an average of 2-3 days, with the specific timeframe varying depending upon certain counties and states. As such, please complete these steps early and allow several days for passcards to be processed during the busy summer registration period.
The application only needs to be completed once even if you are part of multiple clubs/organizations. You will be able to select multiple clubs as part of the background screening application.
For more information on US Club Soccer’s background screening program, please contact your respective regional administrator.