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RESOLUTION NO. 2007-07 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MOSCOW, A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF THE STATE OF IDAHO, ESTABLISHING A POLICY FOR BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR VOLUNTEERS WHO WORK CLOSELY WITH MINORS IN CITY-RUN OR SPONSORED PROGRAMS; PROVIDING THIS RESOLUTION TO BE EFFECTIVE UPON ITS PASSAGE AND APPROVAL. WHEREAS, children are a valuable gift and resource to this community; and WHEREAS, the City desires to establish, maintain and sponsor and affiliate with people and programs who promote safety, health and happiness; and WHEREAS, Council desires to preserve and enhance the safety of children in City-run and sponsored programs by inquiring into the background of volunteers who work closely with minors; and WHEREAS, such screening may lead to the discovery of information which would allow the City to protect children from unnecessary risk of harm; and WHEREAS, the Council believes that such a background check should be entirely voluntary, or unduly invasive of personal privacy; and WHEREAS, the background check should be made a prerequisite to the participation by adults in City-run and/or sponsored events which attract minors to them; and WHEREAS, the City wishes to allow a person determined to be disqualified to appeal such a decision and has, within this Resolution, defined the structure of such appeal; and WHEREAS, Council believes that the current checks and balances within this Resolution are fair, will provide security and safety to participants in City-run and/or City-sponsored events, and will preserve the privacy of volunteers for such events; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and City Council of the City of Moscow as follows: 1. Every volunteer who works directly with minors in a City-run or City-sponsored event shall submit themselves to a background check. 2. As part of the background check, the City will search for convictions for the following: RESOLUTION- 2007-07 BACKGROUND CHECKF VOLUNTEERS ONLY PAGE I 0F3 ---PAGE BREAK--- a. any crime involving neglect or any physical violence or injury to, or other abuse of, any person, including any sex crime, rape, murder, voluntary manslaughter, kidnapping, assault, battery, and domestic battery; b. child-related crimes including, but not limited to, selling or bartering a child, disseminating obscene material to minors; c. drug convictions including, but not limited to, any violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, Chapter 27, Title 37, Idaho Code, and/or similar provisions in any other jurisdiction; and d. other serious crimes including, but not limited to, arson, poisoning, mayhem, and/or any felony. 3. a. Any volunteer identified as having been convicted of a misdemeanor for simple assault; simple battery; domestic battery; or a violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, Chapter 27, Title 37, Idaho Code; more than ten (10) years prior to completion of the background check may discuss such a conviction and the circumstances surrounding it with the Director of Parks and Recreation to determine whether, in spite of such misdemeanor conviction, such person should be allowed to participate in a City-run and/or City sponsored program. b. Any volunteer who disagrees with a determination of disqualification by the Director of Parks and Recreation may give notice of an appeal to the Council of such determination to the City Clerk within ten ( 1 0) calendar days from the date of receipt of the notice of disqualification. There shall be no appeal of disqualification for convictions other than those listed in Subsection 3.a. of this Resolution. c. Staff shall then set a time and a place for consideration of the facts and circumstances surrounding the determination of disqualification by the Council and the Clerk shall inform the volunteer of the hearing date in writing by mail at least ten (1 0) calendar days prior to such consideration. d. The Council may direct the Director of Parks and Recreation to allow the participation of the volunteer upon finding of good cause based upon materials and testimony submitted at the consideration. e. Failure by the volunteer to appear before the Council at the time scheduled to consider the matter shall result in the automatic denial of such appeal. 4. All background checks pursuant to this Resolution shall be conducted prior to participation in any City-run and/or sponsored program or event, and annually thereafter during the continuance of such participation. A background check shall not be required for a volunteer at a particular event where, in the discretion of the Director of the responsible City department, a sufficient number of City staff members are in attendance at such an event or where, in the discretion of the Director of the responsible City department, a sufficient number of volunteers in attendance at such an event have successfully completed a background check (such as Hullabaloo, Breakfast with Santa, the City Easter Egg Hunt, Rendezvous for Kids, etc.). RESOLUTIONG 2007F07 BACKGROUND CHECKH VOLUNTEERS ONLY PAGE20F3 ---PAGE BREAK--- 5. Volunteers for programs and/or events sponsored by the following City departments required to submit to background checks shall include: a. Parks and Recreation Department; and b. Moscow Arts Department. 6. This Resolution shall become effective as of May 7, 2007. PASSED AND APPROVED by the Mayor of the City of Moscow, Idaho, this ih day of May, 2007. \ RESOLUTION- 2007-0J 8ACKGROCND CHECK- VOLUNTEERS ONLY PAGE} 0F3