Who Checks the Background Check?
How One Simple Omission Puts the Entire System at Risk
I am generally reticent to give specific risk management advice online. Every club is different and there is no one size fits all solution. People ask for forms, but forms don’t address your specifics. A risk management consultant can start with a template, but it is their expertise that let’s them customize the program to fit the specific needs of your association. Risk management requires an investment of capital and human resources. A program for a 1000 player club may not be feasible for a 200 player club. This is what your consultant understands, and it is the reason that I hesitate to give blanket advice online or in my presentations.
After my last three presentations, though, I am going to make one exception, and I will make it because I think it proves two points. First, it proves that whatever benefits criminal background checks yield, and there are some, there is an equal or greater risk of complacency that comes with the knowledge that those checks are being performed. The second point is just as significant. It proves that there is a reason clubs should rely on risk management professionals, instead of trying a “do it yourself” approach to risk management. We have had background checks in Texas for ten years. The advice I am about to give it so simple, the usual response I get is open mouths or gasps because people realize they have borne this risk for years and years. If this simple procedure hasn’t been implemented in ten years, is it really feasible to think that you can create a functional risk management program by web surfing and forming a committee?