Jewish Youth Library of Ottawa
Volunteer and Staff Screening Policy
Purpose:
The Jewish Youth Library (JYL) is committed to protecting our employees, volunteers, members and visitors in the work place. The purpose of this policy is to identify the process for screening employees and volunteers of the JYL.
Context:
The JYL understands that each volunteer and staff position holds varying risk levels and thus associated screening levels are required. In general, the risk level increases as the staff or volunteer assumes tasks that require specific qualification and/or interactions with the vulnerable persons.
As the risk level increases, the JYL will require staff or volunteers to complete checks to ensure:
- the safety and security of employees/volunteers within the organization and provide a safe work environment for current and prospective employees/volunteers
- the safety and security of members and participants served by the organization
Information Collection:
Information collected as part of the background check can include but is not limited to:
- Previous Employment Verification
- Reference Verification
- Police Record Check for Vulnerable Persons
Background information can be collected through but is not limited to:
- Completed Application
- Resume
- In-person Interview with the Executive Director, if an in-person interview is unable to take place because the applicant lives in another city then a Skype interview will take place
- Reference Check with a minimum of two references
Procedures:
Employment/volunteering with the JYL will be conditional upon pre-employment/volunteer screening. All pre-employment/volunteer background checks will be conducted in accordance with applicable federal and provincial legislation.
All candidate who will be working with vulnerable persons will be required to undergo a Police Record Check for Vulnerable Persons. According to the Ottawa Police Services, 'vulnerable persons' refers to:
"... a class of persons who, because of their age, a disability or other circumstances, whether temporary or permanent are in a position of dependence on others or are otherwise at a greater risk than the general population of being harmed by persons in a position of authority of trust relative to them (e.g. children, disabled or elderly)."1
Pre-employment/volunteer screening results will not be used as a basis for denying any candidate employment/volunteer unless the denial is determined to be due to job-related issues or workplace safety and security. However, if an applicant attempts to withhold information or falsify information the applicant will be disqualified from further employment/volunteer consideration in any position due to falsification of an application.
The JYL guarantees that all information attained from references, background check and the police record check process will only be used as part of the employment process and kept strictly confidential. The Executive Director will maintain a log that will include the position applied for, name, and the date of the background check.
1 Ottawa Police Service, "Who are vulnerable persons?", http://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/contact-us/Request-a-Background-Check-or-Police-Report.asp, Accessed Jan 27, 2015