Saud Anwar

Senator Anwar Leads Final Approval of Bill Requiring Background Checks for Youth Camp Employees

Early this morning, State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor) led the Senate in its final approval of legislation that would require prospective employees of youth camps to submit to comprehensive background checks if they are applying for positions providing care or involving unsupervised access to children at the camp. Certain municipalities, businesses and nonprofit organizations operating youth athletic activities will additionally require prospective employees or volunteers seeking to become coaches, instructors or athletic trainers to submit to background checks as well.

This bill is designed to provide additional protections for children and protect them from potential abuse or harm; Sen. Anwar, as Senate Chair of the Children’s Committee, played a significant role in the bill’s creation.

“By passing this bill, we provide children and their families with additional security in their safety,” said Sen. Anwar. “The legislation is designed to ensure the individuals we trust to take care of our children, teach them and support them are dedicated to those goals. By requiring background checks upon potential hire, we can allow families to rest easy knowing their children are with trusted guardians.”

House Bill 6417, “An Act Concerning Background Checks for Certain Employees of Youth Camps,” would require summer camps licensed by the Office of Early Childhood to utilize background checks for employees over the age of 18. Background checks must include criminal history records checks by the State Police Bureau or Identification or searching the Judicial Department’s website; checking the state child abuse registry; checking the state sex offender registry; and searching the National Sex Offender Registry public website. Alternatively, a background check may be done by a third party provider of criminal history checks.

Youth athletic activity prospective employees or volunteers seeking to become coaches, instructors or athletic trainers must submit to a comprehensive background check including the same search criteria as above.

Prospective employees and volunteers in camps and athletics may work on a provisional basis while their background check is pending if they are supervised by employees or volunteers who previously passed background checks. Background checks must continue to be conducted on individuals every five years.

This bill passed out of the Children’s Committee 12-1 and has bipartisan co-sponsor support. It passed the House on May 18 by a vote of 146-2. It now proceeds to Governor Lamont’s desk for signing into law.