[Jon Stratis]

Many teams already have something in place similar to YPP - I know the school ran a full background check on me and had required youth protection training I had to go through to become a mentor. When it comes to the mentors with my team (9 of us currently), YPP doesn't make a difference at all.

Will we lose mentors and volunteers? Yes. When you ask a large group of people for background checks, some will inevitably opt out, for a wide variety of reasons. They may feel the background check is too invasive. They may have something in their past they think would disqualify them. They may just be too lazy to fill out the paperwork. It may seem to them like doing it is a big hassle for everyone, and go back and re-evaluate their ability to commit their time.

I don't think we'll lose all that many, to be honest. Most mentors I've meet with teams are fully involved and really dedicated. They may grumble and groan, but they'll fill out the paperwork and then get caught back up in the build season and forget all about it. Where this probably comes more into play is with recruiting new members. Telling someone up front that there's a background check involved can be a deterrent, and one that people may find harder to overcome if they haven't already "drunk the cool-aid" by being involved for a season.