Church Adopts Background Check Procedures

With registered sex offenders living and working among us in Meridian, Northcrest Baptist Church says none of those offenders will work or volunteer at their church.

Last month, Northcrest implemented a policy that requires all new personnel working with youth to undergo two types of background checks.

MSU defends screening move

News-Leader.com | Local News: "Missouri State University officials insist that a new criminal background check policy had nothing to do with the recent revelation that a faculty member was a registered sex offender.

But it now appears that when Michael Hendrix's name showed up on Greene County's sex offender list four years ago, it triggered a series of changes in the faculty applicant-screening process - culminating with a policy approved Thursday that requires screening all faculty job finalists."

Prospective teachers face scrutiny, but is it enough?

Pantagraph.com | News | Prospective teachers face scrutiny, but is it enough?: "For many students, the bond they have with a teacher is second only to the relationship they have with their parents.

When that bond is shattered because a teacher is accused of sexual abuse, the consequences can be devastating for educators, the children and their families — and no school district is immune.

In a 2002 U.S. Department of Education report, Carol Shakeshaft, a Hofstra University professor and the report’s author, estimated 15 percent of all students will be sexually abused during their school career. The nationally recognized expert on educator sexual misconduct said the statistics point to a troubling conclusion: Sexual abuse by teachers is not a rare occurrence."