[jee7s]

I'm going to join the cynic choir here:

The FIRST YPP is a largely redundant program designed to protect FIRST from lawsuits, as others have said. Most of the organizations that sponsor teams (schools, 4H, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc) have these programs and safety mechanisms already in place. YPP covers FIRST for things that may (but hopefully never will) happen at events and establishes those same guidelines for teams that don't have sponsoring organizations that already implement those practices.

I do agree the opt-out mechanism is really out of line. When I've needed a background check for employment or other legitimate reasons, every form I've signed includes some language like "the information you provide here will only be used to verify your background for the purposes of the offer of employment." I didn't have to check a box to tell them to not use it for other purposes. And until I had to fill out the W-4 and I-9, I didn't hand over my social security number either.

Practically speaking, YPP can't be doing nearly as thorough a job as the individual sponsoring organizations can do. If I had to guess, it's a cursory criminal and arrest record check. Organizations I have dealt with in the past both as an employee and volunteer had me verify addresses going back to my 18th birthday, and called up every job and educational institution I had attended to make sure I had actually been there. That's the value in the background check: Verify the person's story, and if it doesn't align ask more questions. The cost to do that at a FIRST-wide level would be huge.

So FIRST, please cover yourself legally. But don't pitch it to us like there's any benefit in it for mentors and volunteers.