News

Pa. Governor Waives Background Check Fee for EMS Volunteers

Luke Nozicka

06/10/2015

June 10--Gov. Tom Wolf announced today that fees for child abuse clearances and criminal background checks will be waived for volunteers working with children, saving them $20 in clearance fees.

Beginning July 1, the checks are required under a state law enacted late last year.

Also, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Department of Human Services will reduce the cost of the criminal history record and the child abuse background check from $10 to $8 each. The change takes effect June 25.

In October, the Child Protective Services bill was signed into law by former Gov. Tom Corbett and requires people, paid or unpaid, who work with children to obtain and renew specific clearances every 36 months.

The law states Pennsylvania residents who have lived in the state for at least 10 years must obtain the State Police Criminal Record Check and the Child Abuse History Clearance. It also requires newer Pennsylvanians to clear the FBI's Criminal Background Check, which costs more than $27 and requires the applicant to be fingerprinted.

This announcement comes after several politicians created legislation to help alleviate the costs associated with the clearances.

Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Montgomery, introduced a House bill on Monday that would give volunteers a free clearance from the state police check and another from the Department of Human Services every three years.

Late last month, state Rep. Dom Costa, D-Stanton Heights, announced a bill that would waive these fees for volunteer firefighters and emergency medical service responders.

He said while the law is needed to protect children, it should not charge volunteers who risk their lives each day.

"They provide billions of dollars of relief to this commonwealth for the service they provide," Mr. Costa said. "This is going to go further from here because this is the start -- the firefighters, EMS. But we have many volunteers -- schools, cafeterias... If you want to go on a field trip with your child, you need a background check. That's not fair."