Child Protective Clearances
August 29, 2020
Re: TEACH Volunteers and the Child Protective Services Law
Please feel free to click here to print the CPS letter and here for the ACT 153 Affidavit
To the families who wish to be a member of TEACH and current members,
TEACH is a non-profit corporation recognized by the Pennsylvania Department of State. As such, we are subject to tax and other laws which govern non-profit organizations. We also must operate in accordance with our written by-laws in terms of record-keeping, meetings, finances, a board of directors and its officers, etc.
The reason TEACH exists is to support and assist Christian families in home-educating their children. We do this by providing cooperative opportunities in the areas of classroom instruction (co-op), sports teams, drama programs, and other related activities. All of these endeavors involve lots of planning, administration, and implementation by volunteers at various levels.
TEACH works best when every participating family volunteers to serve others somewhere within the program. In fact, TEACH requires that all families which participate in a TEACH co-op must provide some level of volunteer service. For this reason, however, we must also require that all families/volunteers provide the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL) volunteer clearances upon signing up for TEACH co-op and be renewed every 5 years.
Here’s what you must provide in order to participate in a TEACH co-op:
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Report of Criminal History from PA State Police: https://epatch.state.pa.us/Home.jsp
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Child Abuse History Certification from the PA Department of Human Services: https://www.compass.state.pa.us/CWIS
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FBI Criminal Background Check OR Act 153 Volunteer Affidavit, as follows:
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If you have not been a continuous resident of PA for the past 10 years - FBI Criminal Background Check: http://www.keepkidssafe.pa.gov/resources/clearances/fbifinger/index.htm
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If you have been a continuous resident of PA for the past 10 years – Affidavit: ACT 153 Volunteer Affidavit
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Once you have obtained all of these items, please print hard paper copies and mail them to:
TEACH attn: Clearances Liaison
P.O. Box 296
Adamstown, PA 19501
prior to the start of the co-op. If you are renewing and TEACH co-op classes are still in session, you may give your clearance paperwork to our Clearance Liaison. If you have obtained these clearances for your church or another volunteer activity, you may provide copies of these clearances to TEACH. Please contact your church administration to ask how to obtain these documents from them.
If you chose not to provide the required clearances but still request to participate in a TEACH co-op, there may be limited volunteer positions that can be filled and which do not involve direct contact with children (i.e. do not require the CPSL clearances). However, this decision will be made on a case-by-case basis by the co-op leader.
On behalf of the TEACH Board of Directors, thank you for your cooperation in this effort.
We hope that we can continue to provide opportunities which you find meaningful in your effort to
home-school your children.