Background Checks
According to PA state Law, and our child protection policy, all volunteers who have direct contact, care, supervision, guidance or control and routine interaction with children, are required to have background checks/certifications completed every 5 years.
Those certifications include:
- Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance (CY113)
- Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check (SP4-164)
- FBI Criminal Background Check (for those who have lived in PA for under 10 years)
- Mandated Reporter Training
- Volunteer Affirmation Form
If you have any of these documents through an employer or another organization and they are under 5 years old, please submit copies by email or drop them off at our office.
If you donโt have one or more of these documents, please follow the instructions below:
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Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance (CY113) Instructions
Please visit: http://www.compass.state.pa.us/CWIS and create an individual account.
Follow the instructions for filling out the online form and create a clearance application. Make sure you select the volunteer category: other (the clearance will be completed for free) with the agency name as West Valley Presbyterian Church.
Follow the instructions for filling out the online form and create a clearance application. Make sure you select the volunteer category: other (the clearance will be completed for free) with the agency name as West Valley Presbyterian Church.
Each application can be saved as you proceed. The application will take approximately 15 minutes start to finish, depending on the amount of information you include. It will ask you previous names/aliases, addresses, and who the applicant has lived with since 1975. There is no authorization code provided when it asks. When completing the form it will also ask if the results should be mailed or emailed.
West Valley is required to keep a copy for reference. Please provide the emailed or the mailed results.
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Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check (SP4-164)
This can be completed at https://epatch.pa.gov/home. Make sure to select "New Volunteer Record Check" (free to complete). It takes about 5 minutes total to complete.
On the initial page, please list the Organization Name as West Valley Presbyterian Church, PO Box 3741, Allentown PA 18106, then use your personal email address and phone number. When you receive a confirmation email, please forward that along to clearances@westvalleypres.org.
On the initial page, please list the Organization Name as West Valley Presbyterian Church, PO Box 3741, Allentown PA 18106, then use your personal email address and phone number. When you receive a confirmation email, please forward that along to clearances@westvalleypres.org.
West Valley is required to keep a copy for reference. Please provide the emailed or the mailed results.
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FBI Criminal Background Check
This check only needs to be completed if you have lived outside the state of Pennsylvania within the last 10 years. You will need to indicate this on the Background Check Authorization and Disclosure Form. To obtain this clearance as a volunteer, click here to make an appointment to get fingerprinted. There is a $22.60 charge and reimbursement is available on request. Just email your receipt to finance@westvalleypres.org.
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Mandated Reporter Training
According to pa.gov, teachers and volunteers, falls under the category of "individual[s] paid or unpaid, who, on the basis of the individual's role as an integral part of a regularly scheduled program, activity or service, is a person responsible for the child's welfare or has direct contact with children." They are required by law to report child abuse or neglect.
Online Mandated Reporter Training can be completed here: https://www.reportabusepa.pitt.edu/
This training is required every five years. A certificate to confirm you have completed this or other compliant training must be sent to clearances@westvalleypres.org.
Online Mandated Reporter Training can be completed here: https://www.reportabusepa.pitt.edu/
This training is required every five years. A certificate to confirm you have completed this or other compliant training must be sent to clearances@westvalleypres.org.
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Volunteer Affirmation Form
We also ask everyone seeking to work with children to complete the Volunteer Affirmation Form. To receive a link of this form to e-sign, email us for a link. You will need to provide your name, address, and signature to affirm you have not been convicted of any crimes related to child abuse. You must also agree to abide by our child protection policy. Printed copies of the policy and volunteer affirmation form are available from the church office on request.