Volunteer Screening
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Why Do I Have to be Screened?
I'm a volunteer. All I want to do is help. Why do I have to be screened?
The truth is that whether someone is a volunteer, a placement student, an employee, an Ontario Works participant, or is doing court-ordered community services is actually irrelevant to the issue of whether or not he or she shold be screened.
Screening is conducted on people not because of who they are and not because they are employees reather than volunteers or vice versa. Screening is conducted depending on what someone does, or wants to do, or an organization.
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But I'm just a volunteer. I understand the need to screen paid employees - but why me?
There is no such thing as "just" a volunteer. Volunteers do very important work for organizations: they are part of the staff.
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Related Links
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| In fact, in some organizations, volunteers are the primary staff members. The most important issue is what someone does for the organization, not the fact that he or she is an employee or a volunteer. |
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Okay, volunteers do important work, but I still don't understand why I have to be screened.
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| The organization you want to volunteer for has moral, ethical, and legal obligations to the clients, to staff, including you, and to the community. It must do everything reasonable to protect them from harm that might be done by people who owrk or porvide services for the organization. One way to do this is to thoroughly screen all of these people. |
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But I don't get paid...
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It doesn't matter. The organizations can be just as responsible for something a volunteer does as for something an employee does.
For example, suppose someone wants to be a volunteer driver. The organization must screen the person thoroughly, including checking out his or her driving record.
If the organiztion learns the person has a bad driving record, he or she should not be allowed to be a volunteer driver. If this is ignored, or isn't checked, and the volunteer causes an accident while doing work for the organization, both the organization and the volunteer might be held responsible.
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Are you saying that I could be held liable for things I
do as a volunteer?
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Yes, volunteers can be held liable if they hurt someone while doing their volunteer work. They are not always found to be liable, but they can be.
Organization have to be very careful about who they accept as members of their staff, and they have to go on being careful. Screening continues all the time the person is with an organization.
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Those interested in volunteering with New Path should contact:
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Donate Now
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Soon you will be able to donate to New Path online.
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