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State law regulating background checks does not include carnival workers

By Miles Layton jmlayton@heraldstandard.Com 4 min read

Mandatory background checks for people who work around children include volunteers and school employees, but the checks are not mandated for carnival workers who may interact with children during local fairs and similar events.

The more vigorous checks were enacted last year as part of the Legislature’s response to the child sex abuse case against former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and scandals involving church clergy.

Cathy Utz, deputy secretary for the state Department of Human Services for the children youth and families, said carnival workers are exempt because they do not necessarily have direct interaction with children at fairs. She said a child’s parent or guardian would be attending the fair to be present to protect the youngster.

Utz said a carnival worker — unlike someone such as a daycare worker — would not be in the same position to be responsible for the child’s welfare. She said carnival workers are not there to interact with children, but to operate rides.

Great American Midways has managed the rides and more for many years at the Fayette County Fair, which will take place between July 30 and Aug. 8 at the county fairgrounds.

According to the fair’s website, more than 100,000 people attend the annual fair that features rides and many carnival attractions.

“Safety is a big concern. We wouldn’t employ anyone who doesn’t pass a background check,” said Les Powers, owner and president of Great American Midways.

Powers said the company employs between 250 and 300 people all of whom must pass a drug test and a rigorous criminal background check that is conducted by the Peeler Group, a nationally recognized company that specializes in employee screening.

He said employees with misdemeanors or felonies wouldn’t be hired. Powers said anyone that has a “red flag” regarding child sex crimes wouldn’t even be considered for employment.

“We don’t think twice about that,” he said.

Recently, 23 pieces of state legislation were enacted, changing how Pennsylvania responds to child abuse.

These changes significantly impact the reporting, investigation, assessment, prosecution and judicial handling of child abuse and neglect cases, according to the DHS.

“My action today could not have been accomplished without the hard work of the General Assembly, who has participated in an ongoing bipartisan working group with the Administration in an effort to develop needed clarifications to the Child Protective Services Law,” said Gov. Tom Wolf.

“Through that process, the General Assembly expressed concerns of many members about the cost of background clearances, particularly for volunteers. I share those concerns, and that is why I am excited to announce these actions today.”

The mandatory checks have generated complaints about cost and the effort required to obtain them. The Wolf administration recently announced it had waived, for volunteers, the $10 cost of criminal background checks from the state police and the $10 child abuse clearance from the Department of Human Services.

The administration also cut the cost to $8 for others. The new policy did not affect the more costly FBI checks, which are required for people who work with children if they have not lived in Pennsylvania continuously for a decade.

According to the governor’s office, a comprehensive list of persons required to get clearances is as follows:

n Child care service employees;

n Foster parents and adult household members;

n Prospective adoptive parents and adult household members;

n Individuals 14 year of age or older applying for a paid position as an employee responsible for the welfare of a child or having direct contact with children;

n Any individual seeking or providing child-care services under contract with a child-care facility or program;

n School employees governed by public school code and those not governed by the public school code (colleges and universities).

From Jan 1, 2015 to April 30, 2015, there were 61,019 clearance applications received for volunteers. The projected total number of volunteer clearances for FY 2015-2016 is 296,836

New volunteers must have the checks completed by July 1. Existing volunteers have until July 1, 2016.

Utz said anyone with questions about clearances, should see the website: keepkidssafe.pa.gov

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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