How well do you screen volunteers?
Expert says criminal checks may be needed
Long gone are the days when a hospice director knows each person who wants to volunteer, or at least knows someone in the volunteer’s family. You probably have no reason to suspect the motives or intentions of any potential volunteer, yet one expert says it may be time to find out more, possibly even through background checks.
"I think hospices should check the background on volunteers as much as for employees, because anyone can be recruited as a volunteer," says Susan L. Humbert, business development manager of Background America in Hampstead, MD. Background America is based in Nashville, TN, and has offices in Maryland and Florida.
"Often, volunteers spend a lot of time in the patient’s home, and the family begins to trust them. Volunteers may even have access to checking accounts and credit cards," Humbert adds.
Humbert previously served as administrator for Carroll Hospice in Westminster, MD. She recently spoke about conducting pre-employment checks at the National Hospice Organization’s (NHO) conference in Dallas.
Some screening tips
The NHO in Arlington, VA, recommends that hospices be aware of all state laws that might pertain to background checks for volunteers.
"We also encourage hospice programs to do the best they can in terms of finding volunteers or hiring employees," says Joan Richardson, LCSW, a NHO national council of hospice professionals section manager.
Medicare doesn’t specify how hospices should screen volunteers, but there should be some evaluation process, Richardson says. Volunteer screening should include ensuring hospice directors understand a volunteer’s motive for volunteering, and suitability for a particular task, she adds.
"If you have volunteers who wants to impose their own values on a family or patient, that’s not really appropriate," Richardson explains. "You want to make sure volunteers will be available to do the job they are applying for, and to make sure they seem appropriate in their manner and approach to clients."
The cost of checking
Hospices should have a policy about what types of criminal records would prevent the organization from using a volunteer.
For example, a hospice might decide not to rule out someone who at one time was arrested for a misdemeanor drug possession charge, but the hospice would automatically rule out anyone who has a history of assault or theft. "Each hospice should decide what’s OK and what’s not," Humbert says.
Humbert suggests hospices conduct thorough reference checks and criminal background checks for volunteers and employees.
"Hospices don’t always check the references for volunteers. And a lot of times, a hospice doesn’t have the money to spend to do criminal background checks," she says.
Humbert recommends hospices obtain a seven-year criminal history of each person. If someone has a record, the history will list their addresses for the past seven years. Some states may require that volunteers are fingerprinted. Criminal background checks range from $8 to $20 per county or state, she adds.
The seven-year check
Checking references, however, only requires a little staff time. Hospices should ask volunteers to list professional references or a minister instead of friends or neighbors.
"Maybe they could list a place where they worked or a professional person in the community," Humbert says. "We don’t recommend checking friends or neighbors because most of the time they’d only give out who they like anyway."
Even if a hospice does not conduct a criminal background check, it’s always a good idea to ask volunteers to list their addresses for the past seven years.
Other steps a hospice could take include:
• Give the volunteer a thorough interview.
• Look carefully at the application and check dates listed for employment to see if there are any inconsistencies.
• Make sure the application is filled out completely, including an answer listed to the question: "Have you ever been convicted of a crime or felony?"
Humbert does not recommend drug testing of volunteers because it’s expensive, and volunteers do not have the same sort of access to hospice drugs as staff.
Once a hospice decides to conduct background checks on volunteers, how does the volunteer coordinator explain it to new recruits?
"Usually the volunteer coordinator would say, It’s part of our policy and everybody has to go through this,’ and It’s for your protection, so you will know who you are working with,’" Humbert advises.
Most hospices handle background checks in a matter-of-fact way. They simply tell potential volunteers that they must fill out an application form, provide two references, and the hospice conducts a criminal background check. "If anybody has a problem with it, then it’s usually the person who has a record," Humbert says.
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