From the in-the-trenches perspective of PHLY ’ s Risk Management Vice President Andrew Shockey , background checks should be considered a standard of care in today ’ s churches . And it already seems to be , for some positions — for clergy members with access to the church ’ s funds , or for volunteers who will work with children , for example . Encouragingly , this even appears to be the case for volunteers who might only serve
Andy Shockey in the children ’ s ministry for a short while . Case in point : vacation Bible school . “ So , yes , there are churches doing background checks right and well ,” Shockey acknowledges . “ Overall , I see the Church moving in that direction . We ’ re just looking to speak to a good many that need to do a little bit better .” Michael Nester , PHLY ’ s Underwriting Human Services Product Manager , agrees . “ Some churches list it on the applications we receive ,” he points out . “ In fact , I like to Mike Nester think that maybe more churches are doing it . “ At any rate , the practice of screening volunteers who work with children definitely needs to happen ,” he adds . “ It ’ s something that we hope to see even more of .”
BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION To understand how church leaders can elevate their background check process , it ’ s important to first understand where and why they ’ re falling short . As Shockey explains , it comes down to a handful of common factors .
COST Not surprisingly , the expense of background checks can be a hindrance for many churches . In fact , it appears to be the primary barrier to their regular , consistent implementation . “ The Church is still under tremendous financial pressure from COVID ,” Shockey says . “ It ’ s still recovering from that .”
TOO MUCH TRUST “ In talking to churches around the country , I still hear that they ’ re not conducting background checks at the level they ought to be because , ‘ We ’ ve known these people forever ’ or ‘ We grew up together ,’” Shockey says . While he acknowledges that this mindset is understandable , he also emphasizes that it shouldn ’ t be the end of the conversation : “ This kind of thinking comes from a good place , but churches need to understand the risk and do background checks , anyway .”
TIME , ENERGY , EXPERTISE Obviously , a background check needs to be read and processed when it comes back . But who should be doing that work ? What does it entail ? And if a red flag does pop up , what ’ s next ? “ When the results don ’ t say ‘ Clear ’, it requires time and resources ,” Shockey points out . “ Unfortunately , both are so limited in a church of any size .”
GLOSSING OVER THE FINE PRINT As Shockey and Nester have made clear , simply conducting a background check isn ’ t enough , despite the best intentions . When working with any third-party background checks provider , it ’ s also important to read the contract .
[ W ] e ’ re just trying to help churches know what ’ s actually law before they find out the hard way . I can ’ t think of a state that ’ s really ‘ stuck ’ — they all seem to have a forward motion to their legislative environment on this topic , for all the right reasons . Protecting innocent children is typically a bipartisan issue , thank goodness . — Andrew Shockey
“ What they charge is indicative of the effort they ’ re going to exert to locate records ,” Shockey advises . “ The fine print answers the question : What am I asking them to do in exchange for my payment ? Usually , the more effort , the higher the cost .” For instance , conducting a background check on a senior or executive pastor should involve multiple sources — perhaps including a credit check since he or she will be involved in financial decisions at the church . This might be more expensive than a background check done for a week-long VBS volunteer .
ELUSIVE DATA Unfortunately , even if a background check is done correctly , offenders can move from state to state — and the data that might show up in one state might not show up in another . “ In the Church , there have been many painful examples of something like this ,” Shockey says , citing Ban the Box legislation as a driver . Simply put , after a certain number of years , a state might require that a certain offense be eliminated from a background check . “ Though it ’ s a sensitive issue for people on both sides of the argument , the concept — that someone can integrate into society once they ’ ve paid their debt — is grounded in a lot of very good reasons ,” Shockey says . “ While I think it ’ s well-intentioned , I ’ m also saying that the criminal element always looks to exploit areas of trust . And those are certainly prevalent in churches .” “ Whereas all are welcome into the Church , who ’ s allowed to serve as a youth leader or parent volunteers , is a very different question ,” he adds . “ The point is this : even when a church has obtained a ‘ clear ’ background check on an individual , it doesn ’ t necessarily mean nothing of concern has ever happened ,” Shockey concludes . “ While I don ’ t want to cause alarm for church leaders — as there are reasonable solutions — a background check is a minimum standard of care and must be conducted .” But it ’ s far from the only thing that needs to be done .
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