[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 199 (Monday, October 17, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 60257-60259]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20652]


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CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

45 CFR Chapter XXV


AmeriCorps State and National, Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve

AGENCY: Corporation for National and Community Service.

ACTION: Notice inviting preliminary informal public input in advance of 
rulemaking on criminal background checks for AmeriCorps State/National, 
Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve America grant programs.

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[[Page 60258]]

SUMMARY: The Corporation for National and Community Service (the 
Corporation) invites public input regarding a Corporation requirement 
that grantees conduct and document criminal background checks on grant-
funded employees and participants who, on a recurring basis, have 
access to children and other vulnerable populations, including the 
elderly and individuals with disabilities. In addition, the Corporation 
seeks input concerning whether any category of individuals should, on 
the basis of their criminal histories, be disqualified from working or 
participating in a Corporation-funded project in which they have such 
access.
    We will consider input submitted in writing, as described below, or 
orally in one of two conference calls we will hold on the dates listed 
below. The Corporation will not respond formally to this input, but 
will consider it in drafting any Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The 
public will have a separate opportunity to provide formal comment on 
any proposed rule the Corporation publishes for comment in 2005 or 
thereafter.

DATES: Please submit written input to the Corporation as soon as 
possible. In addition, the Corporation will hold conference calls on 
this topic on October 21, 2005 and October 28, 2005. See Supplementary 
Information for conference call information.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written input to the Corporation by any of 
the following methods:
    (1) Electronically through the Corporation's e-mail address system 
to [email protected].
    (2) By fax to 202-606-3467, Attention Tom Bryant, Associate General 
Counsel.
    (3) By mail sent to: Corporation for National and Community 
Service, Attn: Tom Bryant, Associate General Counsel, 1201 New York 
Avenue NW., Suite 10600, Washington, DC 20525.
    (4) By hand delivery or by courier to the Corporation's mailroom at 
Room 8410 at the mail address given in paragraph (3) above, between 9 
a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Due to continued delays in the Corporation's receipt of mail, we 
strongly encourage responses via e-mail or fax. You may request this 
notice in an alternative format for the visually impaired.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about the 
substance of this notice, or for information about the conference 
calls, contact Tom Bryant at (202) 606-6678 ([email protected]). The TDD/
TTY number is (800) 833-3722.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Many national and community service programs 
are dedicated to helping children learn to read, giving at-risk 
children better opportunities to thrive, helping the elderly maintain 
their independence, and otherwise serving vulnerable individuals. With 
that commitment comes the responsibility to safeguard the well-being of 
program beneficiaries, including thorough effective screening of staff, 
participants, and volunteers in each program. Several years ago, a 
Corporation-sponsored technical assistance provider published the Staff 
Screening Tool Kit, 2nd Edition with helpful information designed to 
strengthen an organization's screening process. You may download the 
Tool Kit at http://www.nationalservice.gov/screeningtoolkit.
    Currently, only the AmeriCorps State and National grant program has 
a criminal background check requirement in its grant provisions. For 
the 2005-2006 program year, it states as follows:
    Criminal Background Checks. Programs with members (18 and over) or 
grant-funded employees who, on a recurring basis, have access to 
children (usually defined under state or local law as un-emancipated 
minors under the age of 18) or to individuals considered vulnerable by 
the program (i.e. the elderly or individuals who are either physically 
or mentally disabled), shall, to the extent permitted by state and 
local law, conduct criminal background checks on these members or 
employees as part of the overall screening process.
    The grantee must ensure, to the extent permitted by state or local 
law, that it maintains background check documentation for members and 
employees covered by this provision in the member or employee's file or 
other appropriate file. The documentation must demonstrate that, in 
selecting or placing an individual, the grantee or the grantee's 
designee (such as a site sponsor) reviewed and considered the 
background check's results.
    The Corporation intends to codify a requirement for AmeriCorps 
through the formal rulemaking process and seeks input on whether the 
current provision should be maintained or amended.
    Senior Corps is comprised of three separate programs: (1) The 
Foster Grandparent Program (FGP); (2) the Senior Companion Program 
(SCP); and (3) the Retired Senior Volunteer Program. We intend to 
codify a requirement for each program through the formal rulemaking 
process.
    The Learn and Serve Program consists of (1) School-Based K-12 
Programs; (2) Higher Education Programs, and (3) Community-Based 
Programs. Given the fact that participants in Learn and Serve programs 
are generally not individually attributable to a Corporation grant, we 
are considering whether and to what extent we should codify 
requirements relating to the screening of staff and participants in 
Learn and Serve America programs.
    The Corporation intends to strengthen its internal procedures for 
its two Federally-conducted programs, AmeriCorps National Civilian 
Community Corps and AmeriCorps VISTA, outside the scope of this 
rulemaking process.
    To inform the rulemaking process, the Corporation invites 
preliminary informal input from the public addressing a criminal 
background check requirement for grantees. The Corporation specifically 
invites input on the following questions:
    (1) What are the most effective screening practices used by 
organizations that serve children and other vulnerable populations?
    (2) Is recurring access to children and other vulnerable 
populations (i.e. the elderly or individuals who are either physically 
or mentally disabled) the most appropriate way to describe the 
predicate for the background check requirement?
    (3) What are the costs associated with conducting criminal 
background checks?
    (4) What are the types and levels of background checks that are 
available to grantees?
    (5) Should the Corporation require grantees to obtain a background 
check from a specific data base (e.g. state registry or the Department 
of Justice's National Sex Offender Public Registry at http://www.nsopr.gov)?
    (6) Should the Corporation codify a per se disqualification for 
program participants or staff based upon a particular background check 
finding?
    (7) How should the Corporation balance the goal of including at-
risk participants in national and community service programs with the 
need to ensure appropriate protection for vulnerable populations?
    (8) What are efficient and effective ways to document background 
checks and how should a program document that it considered such a 
finding of criminal history in selecting or placing an individual?
    (9) Are grantees in a particular program category already required 
by State or local law to have safeguards in

[[Page 60259]]

this area that obviate or mitigate the need for a separate grant 
condition?
    (10) Does the current language in the AmeriCorps grant provisions 
appropriately define the scope of the requirement and documentation of 
compliance?
    (11) What safeguards are necessary to protect the privacy of 
program participants or staff?
    (12) What are the best practices to monitor and enforce compliance 
with requirements relating to the screening of participants?
    (13) Where grantees are involved in a variety of programmatic 
activities, as in the case of RSVP, how should the Corporation identify 
those programs where volunteers and staff have access to children or 
other vulnerable individuals on a recurring basis?
    (14) To what extent do state and local laws constrain the 
Corporation from requiring grantees to conduct criminal background 
checks on national service participants or employees, who, on a 
recurring basis, have access to children or other vulnerable 
populations?
    (15) How often should a criminal background check be conducted for 
a national service participant who serves for two or more years?
    (16) Are there categories of grantees (e.g. local school districts) 
for whom a separate Corporation requirement for criminal background 
checks might not be necessary because the grantee is already 
independently required to have appropriate applicant screening 
safeguards in place?

For more information on the Corporation, please visit our Web site at: 
http://www.nationalservice.gov.

Conference Calls and Public Input

    The Corporation is planning two conference calls in October, 2005. 
The first will be conducted on October 21, 2005, at 3 p.m., e.s.t. and 
the second on October 28, 2005, also at 3 p.m. e.s.t.
    The USA Toll Free Number is 1-888-790-1769. The passcode is 
7282715. Each conference call will last approximately 1 hour. Please 
check our Web site at http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/newsroom/releases_detail.asp?tbl_pr_id=196 for additional or updated 
information regarding these conference calls, or contact Tom Bryant at 
[email protected].

    Dated: October 11, 2005.
Frank R. Trinity,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 05-20652 Filed 10-14-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6050-$$-P