CHURCH BOARD GUIDE TO A CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE PREVENTION POLICY


criminal records check


national check of all or most state sex offender registries


advantages


• most state registries are avail- able online and can be checked quickly and for free


• provides greater protection than checking one state’s registry


national check of all or most state criminal records


• greater geographical coverage


• not limited to sex crimes


disadvantages


• of limited value because only convic- tions for certain sex crimes committed after a specified date are listed


• most churches do not have the time to con- duct these searches (a private company must be used on a fee basis)


• not as accurate as county checks


• errors are common (especially if fin- gerprints are not checked)


• not accessible by churches in all states


• may require fingerprints


• most churches do not have the time to con- duct these searches (a private company must be used on a fee basis)


• requires consent of applicant


• may take weeks or months to receive results


national check of FBI database


• greater geographical coverage


• not limited to sex crimes


• not as accurate as county checks


• errors are common (because states often do not transmit com- plete information)


• not directly accessible by churches


• requires fingerprints • requires consent of applicant


• may take weeks or months to receive results


many experts view this as a very effective crimi- nal records check


many experts view this as the most effective criminal records check currently available


comments


• limited value, but easy and cheap


• checking dozens of state registries for several persons is time-consuming


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