The concerns of volunteer-based organizations and employers have reached the ears of state legislators. On July 1, 2015, the Pennsylvania legislature passed Act 15. Act 15 amends the Child Protective Services Law (the “Law”) to clarify the changes made to the Law by Act 153, a statute enacted in 2014 that imposed new requirements on certain employees and volunteers to obtain state and federal criminal background checks and child abuse clearances (collectively, the “clearances”). As a result of Act 153, employees and volunteers whose clearances reveal misconduct prohibited by the Law become disqualified from employment or volunteer service. The potential for disqualification makes these requirements a significant issue for entities across Pennsylvania.

Act 153 contained broad, sweeping language that created confusion around the specific employees and volunteers who must obtain the clearances. In particular, Act 153 did not clearly explain the amount of contact an individual must have with children for the clearance requirements to apply. Entities struggled to determine whether to require all of their volunteers or employees to obtain the required clearances – even those who virtually never come in contact with children.

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