How and Why To Get Clearances

At ECS, volunteering is a vital part of our school day. Volunteers help us to achieve our innovative approach to education by assisting in our project-based learning and aiding in our fieldwork. It is also equally important that our children are safe in every way. To ensure the safety of our students we must request that our volunteers have the appropriate clearances to interact with the children. That's why anyone who works with students must have two clearances on file from the state of Pennsylvania - the PA State Police Criminal Record Check and the Child Abuse Clearance. Getting the clearances is easy, costs $20.00, and takes 2 to 6 weeks. Your clearances must be less than 1 year old when you send them in, and must be updated every 5 years.

Here are some examples of activities for which you would need clearance:

Chaperoning Field Trips
Home Room Parents
Working with a small group of students or with an individual student.
Driving a team/group to an activity.
Chaperoning a student-only event.
Helping in a classroom.
Any time you work directly with the students.

You would not need clearances for:

Attending a classroom presentation or party.
Attending a school-sponsored event.
Any time you are not working directly with students.

What will the processed clearances look like?

The Child Abuse Clearance response is a certificate from the PA Department of Welfare showing your name, address, date of clearance and social security number.

The Response for the PA Police Criminal Record Check can take one of two forms:

If you file online and have no record, a single sheet of paper shows your name, date of birth, date of request, gender, race, and instructions for verifying the clearance.

If you mail in the form, you get the form back with an official stamp. It will state that you have no record or it will have information about your record. Even if you have a record, you may be able to volunteer.

Here's how to get clearances:

Download the forms

Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance form

Pennsylvania Request for Criminal Record Check form

For the PA State Police Request for Criminal Record Check Form, you could fill it out online for an instant response.

Visit   https://epatch.state.pa.us/

Submit Forms -- in separate envelopes to the addresses printed on the forms:

Include a certified check or money order for $10.00 with each form.

Pay by credit card for the online Criminal Record Check, and print the response immediately.

File your responses:

Keep the originals with your personal files.

Send copies to ECS.

Put copies in an envelope labeled "Volunteer Clearance Forms" and send them ECS. If you don't want your social security number on file, you may submit copies with the social security number covered, but you need to show the original to our office staff to prove the copy is authentic.