Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services Law mandates that youth serving organizations require volunteers to provide background check clearances. This applies to anyone who helps with the boys including parents who drive a car pool on an outing. We count on all families to help out once in a while, so we request that at least one adult member from each Scout household provide these clearances. For volunteers who have lived in Pennsylvania for 10 years or more, these clearances are free and easy to obtain. Here’s how:

Step 1 – Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance: 

1. Create an individual account on the PA Child Welfare Portal. 
2. Fill out the Child Abuse History Clearance form. Choose ‘Volunteer having contact with children’, select ‘OTHER’ as your Volunteer Category, and enter “BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA” as your agency name. Note that once your request has been submitted it can take up to two weeks for it to be processed. When you receive an e-mail notification that your request has been processed, log back into the site and either print the certificate to a pdf file, or print a hard copy and scan it to a pdf file.

Step 2 – Pennsylvania State Police Criminal History Records Check: 

If you use this link for unpaid volunteers there will be no charge. Accept the terms at the bottom of the page, and follow the prompts. Either print the certificate to a pdf file, or print a hard copy and scan it to a pdf file.

Step 3 – FBI Criminal History Clearance

Depending on how long you have been a resident of Pennsylvania, you need to do one of the following:

• If you’ve lived in Pennsylvania for ten (10) years or more, print out and sign the Disclosure Statement Application. Once signed and witnessed, you will need to scan this document to a pdf file.
• If you have lived in Pennsylvania for less than ten (10) years you must Obtain an FBI fingerprint check. Although this sounds like a big deal, there are quite a few places to have fingerprinting done and the state has made it a pretty painless process. When you receive your results letter, scan it to a pdf file.

Step 4 – Upload Your Documents to the Cradle of Liberty Council

Once the three steps above are complete, you’ll need to upload your documents using the Council’s Volunteer Background Check Submission Tool. Complete the form with requested information. Our Unit # is 0542 and District is BADEN POWELL. You will be asked to attach the three .pdf files. You will receive an email back confirming that the Council has all of your paperwork. Please forward that email to clearances@Troop542.com. A roster of registered volunteers will be maintained, updated and consulted for each Troop 542 trip/event.