The Pennsylvania General Assembly amended the Child Protective Services Law (the CPSL) several times. The most recent changes were through Act 153 to require all school employees, contractors and volunteers having direct contact with children to obtain new clearances (child abuse history clearance and state and federal criminal history checks) every 60 months.
VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS
- New volunteers must have clearances, dated within the past 60 months (5 years), to be approved for their position.
- What types of volunteers require clearances & which ones do not? Click here for details.
VOLUNTEER FBI BACKGROUND CHECK
All school volunteers must now obtain a volunteer Service Code from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS). This change is in response to a bulletin issued by DHS that indicates all individuals governed by the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL) must obtain clearances through DHS. This change includes all public, private, and nonpublic school volunteers. To obtain a volunteer Service Code, individuals must contact DHS directly at 1-877-371-5422 or
[email protected].