Background Check Policy

It is the intent of this policy to establish certain guidelines wherein Gold Crown Foundation Inc. (hereinafter referred to as “Gold Crown”) can seek to protect our children by investigating the background of individuals who will be coaching, officiating, or having any type of contact with children involved in Gold Crown athletic programs.

GENERAL

  • All teams that participate in Gold Crown athletic programs shall ensure that all participants 18 years of age or younger shall have at least one (1) approved coach or assistant coach (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Coach”) present at each athletic activity, including practices and games. A Coach becomes approved once the process described in this policy is completed.
  • Any person who has been found guilty, pled guilty; or pled no contest, regardless of adjudication, or has a pending charge pertaining to any of the disqualifying offenses listed in this policy will be immediately disqualified from coaching (either as a head coach or an assistant coach) in any Gold Crown athletic program. Gold Crown also reserves the right to disqualify a person for any crime that would be considered a potential risk to children, vulnerable populations, and/or the Gold Foundation itself. A Coach who fails to comply with this background screening policy shall be automatically disqualified.
  • This policy will apply to all youth sports coaches, both head and assistant, participating in sanctioned Gold Crown athletic programs. If there is any doubt as to which coaches should be screened, the general rule is anyone who would potentially have unsupervised access to children. Each Coach must complete the Gold Crown preferred background check once every 12 months for as long as he or she continues coaching.
  • This policy also applies to any individual seeking contracted employment as an official in Gold Crown athletic programs. Any officials assigned to Gold Crown events by a third party assignor are also subject to this policy and should contact their third party assignor to complete a background check.

SCREENING PROCESS

  1. Upon registration or assignment to a Gold Crown athletic program the Coach or Official must visit the appropriate page on the Gold Crown website to complete the online background screening process. It is the Coach or Officials responsibility to locate this page and complete the process prior to beginning practice or competition. Gold Crown will notify the Coach of Official if this process is not completed.
  2. Gold Crown will establish deadlines to complete the background screening process. As a rule, the Coach or Official should complete the background screening process before having any contact with the children. If a Coach or Official fails to complete the background screening process prior to the established deadline that team or Official will be removed from the event immediately.
  3. The third party contractor conducting the checks will provide all results to Gold Crown. A pass/fail grade will then be applied to each Coach or Official based on the list of disqualifying acts listed below. A “pass” grade will be applied to an individual that has zero disqualifying acts matches. A “fail” grade will be applied to an individual that has one or more disqualifying acts matches.
  4. Should there be any uncertainty on the part of Gold Crown athletic programs directors as to whether an individual should receive a “pass” or “fail” grade, the details of the background check results will be turned over to the Gold Crown Background Check Committee. The GCBCC will only have information on the crime and will not have any information about the Coach or Official that would allow for them to be identified. Should a ruling by the GCBCC be required, that ruling is final.
  5. If it is determined that a Coach or Official will receive a “fail” grade, Gold Crown will notify the individual and any program/team coordinators via telephone or first-class mail or both that the individual is disqualified. Upon request, the Coach or Official will receive a copy of the background check from the third party contractor.

CONFIDENTIALITY

The only information returned to Gold Crown by the third party contractor is information regarding the criminal history of the Coach or Official should there be such history. All other information including SSN, address, DOB, etc. will remain with the third party contractor and will remain secure and confidential. Any information provided to Gold Crown by the third party contractor will also remain secure and confidential. This information will only be accessible to Gold Crown administrators that are responsible for reviewing background checks. The third party contractor also has a confidentiality policy which can be obtained upon request.

 ACCOUNTABILITY

Feeder programs, team coordinators, and third party assignors play just as important a role in the screening program as does Gold Crown. It is important for the integrity of the background screening program that all feeder program, team coordinators, and third party assignors verify that only those persons who are screened, and not those who are disqualified, coach or officiate the young people participating in Gold Crown athletic programs.

 APPEALS PROCESS

If an individual’s background check includes a charge set forth on the list of disqualifiers below, Gold Crown shall immediately disqualify a person from coaching or officiating. If a Coach or Official wishes to dispute the content of the profile report, the individual may contact the third party responsible for conducting the background check. The Coach or Official is responsible for providing any or all documentation to support his or her claim.

If an individual would like to appeal the ruling they may do so in writing only. An appeal can only be made if the initial ruling was made by the program directors. All Gold Crown Background Check Committee rulings are final and cannot be appealed.

DISQUALIFYING ACTS

If a Coach or Official: (1) has been found guilty, pled guilty; or pled no contest, regardless of adjudication, to any of the following acts, (2) has a charge pending against him or her in which he or she has committed any of the following acts, or (3) has a record of a conviction of an equivalent offense in another state, the Coach or Official will be disqualified from volunteering for a coaching, assistant coaching, or officiating position within Gold Crown athletic programs.

  • All sex offenses
    • Examples include, but are not limited to: child molestation, rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, prostitution, solicitation, indecent exposure, etc.
  • All felony violence offenses
    • Examples include, but are not limited to: murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, kidnapping, robbery, aggravated burglary, etc.
  • All felony offenses other than violence or sex within the past (10) years
    • Examples include, but are not limited to: drug offenses, theft, embezzlement, fraud, child endangerment, etc.
  • All misdemeanor violence offenses within the past seven (7) years
    • Examples include, but are not limited to: simple assault, battery, domestic violence, hit and run, etc.
  • Two or more misdemeanor alcohol offenses within the past five (5) years
    • Examples include, but are not limited to: driving under the influence, drunk and disorderly, public intoxication, etc.
  • All misdemeanor drug offenses within the past five (5) years or multiple offenses in the past ten (10) years.
    • Examples include, but are not limited to: simple drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, etc.
  • Any other misdemeanor within the past five (5) years that would be considered a potential danger to children or is directly related to the functions of that coach.
    • Examples include, but are not limited to: contributing to the delinquency of a minor, providing alcohol to a minor, etc.

WHY THESE ACTS?

Gold Crown has reviewed several national youth sports associations including the National Alliance for Youth Sports, the National Council of Youth Sports, the National Recreation and Park Association, and the National Association of Professional Background Screeners to determine the disqualifying acts that should be a part of this policy. Based on the recommendations of these organizations Gold Crown has developed the guidelines and procedures outlined in this policy.