Helping maintain a safe environment for its players, the Burbank (Ill.) Titans Youth Football & Cheerleading Association is employing USA Football's background screening subsidy program for its 48 adult volunteers. The program serves 250 total youngsters from the Burbank, Bridgeview, Justice, Bedford Park, Hickory Hills, and Chicago areas. USA Football, the sport's national governing body on youth and amateur levels, offers volunteer background check subsidies for every youth football league in America.
Background checks for all Burbank Titans volunteers will be performed by the National Center for Safety Initiatives (NCSI), the official check screening company of the United States Olympic Committee. NCSI performs searches in two national criminal databases as well as all state sex offender registries and county records. USA Football's subsidy program offers youth football leagues a $25 screening check for its volunteers at only $15. NCSI checks every volunteer for two full seasons for the subsidized $15 rate.
A report will be compiled for each volunteer, which will then be compared to guidelines provided by the league. Volunteers are then tagged with a green light (OK) or a red light (not OK). Red lights are issued for crimes such as sexual assault, child abuse, drug possession, and others. In 2008, roughly four percent of the checks conducted by NCSI through USA Football's program resulted in individuals being eliminated from the coaching pool.
A 2007 study showed that 83 percent of parents say background checks on youth sports head coaches are important, and 69 percent said they were more likely to enroll their kids into a league that conducts background checks on its volunteers.
"I especially like the ease that comes with processing the volunteers," said MARK MELLENTHIN, Burbank resident and President of the Burbank Titans Youth Football & Cheerleading Association. "The program alerts you when someone has filled out their application as well as when a background check falls into question."
"The issue of child predators is a societal one and youth sports are not immune from it," said USA Football Executive Director SCOTT HALLENBECK. "We join Mark and the Burbank Titans in caring about who's coaching our kids and we encourage all youth sports organizations to join us in this effort to help protect our children."
About USA Football
USA Football, the sport's national governing body on youth and amateur levels, hosts more than 100 football training events annually offering education for coaches and game officials, skill development for players and resources for youth football league commissioners. The independent non-profit manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competitions and provides $1 million annually in equipment grants and youth league volunteer background check subsidies. USA Football was started by the NFL and NFLPA in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund and is chaired by former U.S. Congressman and professional quarterback Jack Kemp.
