You asked for background information on the requirement for background checks on Little League coaches and others dealing with league players and why the State Police are charging for the checks.

SUMMARY

Little League regulations for the 2003 season (1) require Little League volunteers and employees to undergo annual background checks and (2) prohibit people convicted of any crime against or involving minors from participating as volunteers or employees in Little League programs. Volunteers and employees must complete a league application consenting to the check, and the league must complete the check before they assume any duties. Until the 2003 session, background checks were optional.

At a minimum, the new regulations require local leagues to check the sexual offender registry in the state where an applicant lives. In many states, including Connecticut, registry checks are free. If a registry is unavailable, the leagues must conduct a state or provincial criminal background check, unless prohibited by law. Leagues may exceed the minimum requirement in regulations by conducting a more extensive check, including a national criminal history records check. (Connecticut’s sex offender registry is available on line at http: //www. sor. state. ct. us/pls/sor/wsor$ offender. startup?Z_CHK=0.

Applicants who do not submit the required application and undergo annual background checks cannot participate in league programs, and leagues that do not comply with the regulations may lose their charter, tournament privileges, or both.

By law, the fee for conducting state criminal background checks, which are conducted by the State Police, is $ 25 (CGS § 29-11(c). But under federal law, the maximum that states or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) may charge for fingerprint-based checks on volunteers is $ 18. The federal law does not set a fee for searches based on name and date of birth. Connecticut charges league volunteers and employees $ 18 for both types of search, plus the fingerprinting fee, which by law is set at $ 5 when taken by the State Police. By law, the State Police must waive the criminal background check and fingerprinting fees for state, local, and federal agencies (CGS § 29-11(c)). Local departments set their own fingerprinting fee policies. Some waive the fee for volunteers.

In 2003, four bills that would have exempted volunteers, including league volunteers, from state criminal record check fees died in the Public Safety Committee. A fifth bill that included the same waiver provision died in the Children’s Committee. The committees did not hold a public hearing on any of the bills. (Copies of the bills—SB 162, SB 255, SB588, HB 5648, HB 5653—are attached

LITTLE LEAGUE CHILD PROTECTION PROGRAM AMENDMENTS

Beginning in the 2003 season, local Little League programs must conduct annual background checks on managers, coaches, board directors, and other volunteers or workers who provide regular service to the leagues or have “repetitive access to, or contact with, players or teams” (Regulation I(b)).

As a prerequisite to the mandatory checks, applicants must submit to the local league president an official league application, including a list of references and prior convictions and giving consent to a background check.

As part of the background checks, local leagues must conduct a search of applicable government statewide sex offender registries. If a registry is unavailable, the league must conduct a statewide or province wide criminal background check, unless prohibited by law. According to the national league, local leagues may conduct a more extensive criminal background check than the new regulations require (e. g. , a national FBI check).

A local league may exclude applicants it deems unfit to work with minors; it must exclude applicants convicted for crimes against or involving a minor. Also, it must dismiss immediately anyone who refuses or fails to submit the required application. Local leagues that fail to comply with the regulations may have their charter, tournament privileges, or both revoked or suspended (Little League Regulations 1(c) 8 and 9).

COST OF BACKGROUND CHECKS

Sex Offender Registry Checks

According to the National Little League, more than 40 states, including Connecticut, do not charge a fee (or waive fees for nonprofit entities) to access their sex offender registries.

Criminal History Background Checks

Criminal history background checks may be done using a person’s name and date of birth or fingerprints. DPS conducts both types of checks. FBI checks are fingerprint-based. Non-fingerprint-based searches have a greater potential for errors, that may result from mispelled names and wrong birthdates, for example. Also, this type of check does not pick up aliases.

The federal Volunteer for Children’s Act requires states to access and review state and criminal records through the national background check system and make reasonable efforts to respond to requests for a nationwide background check within 15 business days. Under the act,

states and the FBI may charge no more than $ 18 for fingerprint-based criminal history record checks of people who volunteer with qualified entities (42 USC § 5119a(e)). Under current practice, the FBI charges $ 18 for national checks of league volunteers, and DPS charges $ 18 for state checks, whether fingerprint- or name-based.

More information on the regulations is available at the Little League website at www. littleleague. org/common/childprotect/regulation. asp.

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