Volunteer follow-up for youth sports and camps

Florida requires Level 2 screening for every coach, assistant, manager and referee who has direct contact with minors, whether paid or volunteer. A Level 2 check is a fingerprint search of state and national criminal history, run by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Leagues take part through the Volunteer and Employee Criminal History System (VECHS). A league must give written notice to a disqualified person within 7 business days. It must keep screening results and disqualification notices for at least five years. A league that complies is presumed by law not to have been negligent.

Florida summer camps must screen staff and volunteers at Level 2 under Department of Children and Families (DCF) rules. One exception covers volunteers who serve under 10 hours a month and stay in sight of screened staff. Camps screen through the DCF path, and a VECHS check does not satisfy DCF. Results and an Affidavit of Good Moral Character go in personnel files that DCF can inspect. Camps accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA) also screen everyone with access to campers each year, including a check of the National Sex Offender Public Website.

Hineni routes Level 2 screening, checks whether a volunteer can reuse an existing clearance before booking new fingerprints, reminds volunteers and coordinators before a clearance expires, and exports a dated record for an inspector. Clearance reuse applies where AHCA allows the organization to review existing clearances in the state clearinghouse.

Each role lists its screening needs. A locked role shows the volunteer the path to unlock it, and the volunteer sees a Pending clearance status and a guided task list.

Hineni keeps a clearance status, the date, the expiry and a record of each step, and it never stores criminal history. The record shows when consent was given, which vendor ran the check and when, the decision and who made it, and any notices sent. The screening results go to the organization's designated screener. Each organization decides whether it pays, the volunteer pays or the cost is split, and Hineni passes government and vendor fees through at cost.