[KenWittlief]

the volunteers you are talking about that are at risk of being offended, are the very same people who are at risk of being sued or held accountable if something happens to a student.

and dont forget that the people making up this new policy, are also a part of FIRST for all the same reasons that you are.

This is one of those times in life where we wish the world was perfect and we wish we didnt have to deal with situations like this

but the world is not perfect, and the fact that background check organizations even exist at all is clear evidence of that. It would be much harder for each team to check the public records and conduct their own background checks on the mentors. This organization they are using appears to be well established, and is being used by other non-profit groups.

Like everything else, keeping abusive people off FIRST teams is a problem

a problem that needs to be solved throughout FIRST. They are taking the first steps, and Im sure the process will be refined over the years. I have to give them credit for one thing, as far as I know there has never been an incident involving abuse on a FIRST team, and Im glad to see they are taking this on before it happens

instead of being required to do so as the result of a legal settlement.