[Wetzel]

Some problems I see.

My social security number is NOT an identification number, it is for my social security account. Unless they need to report information to the IRS, they have no need or right to my social security number.

A Team Mentor is defined as any adult, 18 or older, who works directly with youth on a FIRST Robotics Competition or FIRST LEGO League team.

FAQ

A Mentor is an adult (any individual eighteen ears of age or older) who is an active member of the team and works frequently with the students.

So students who are 18 are required to get a criminal background check as well, being legal adults.

FIRST has set up accounts with VolunteerSelect, from which FIRST teams can process a background screening on their volunteers for fees ranging from $3.50 to $8.00 per person

So how much will it cost? $3.50 a head or $8? If a team has 10 parents helping out, the difference between the two is $45, which is not insignificant. Add students who are 18, and the difference grows.


The 'Team Leader' must submit the information for the criminal background checks, and conduct 3 reference checks. If you have 10 mentors and 5 students who are 18, then they have 15 forms to input into a webform, $77.50 to $145 in fees, and 45 people to call and check the history of the mentor. This will be a hugely time consuming task for anyone to do, and FIRST stipulates that one person be the 'Team Leader' and conduct all the checks. Not only that, but they must document and keep on file the interaction. Add to this the fact that the mentor supplies the references, and that whole requirement becomes far more difficult then the results are worth.

Male and female leaders require separate sleeping facilities. Married couples may share the same quarters if appropriate facilities are available.

Why would FIRST tell adults that they can not share a room with the opposite sex? If you have 1 adult female, the cost for an additional hotel room could very easily be cause for her to not attend an event. The requirement for married couples is discriminatory to gay couples who do not have the option to marry in most states. I thought FIRST was to promote Science and Technology, not the traditional family. And for married couples, what are 'appropriate facilities'?

Adults who have already been screened by a public school system to work with youth are exempt from the background screening and reference check process. All other Team Mentors are required to complete the process to participate with a team. Individuals screened by private or parochial schools, institutions of higher learning, other organizations or companies are not exempt.

So teachers at a public highschool do not have to submit to a criminal background check, but a professor at Georgia Tech or Virginia Tech has to submit to a criminal background check.

FIRST does not list what is cause for a mentor to not be allowed to participate. Is a crime from the 60's, but nothing since cause for them to be asked to leave? What criteria are they using to determine if a mentor is 'safe'.


My opinion is this is a task that places a burden on teams that is not worth the questionable results.


Wetzel