Background Checks & MVRs

Do you need Volunteers to complete either Background Checks (BGC) or Motor Vehicle Record checks (MVR) in order to participate in your Opportunities? Hands On Atlanta Check System is an innovative combination of secure, complete and easy-to-use.

(***NOTE: US ONLY!!!**)

What do the checks cover?

Background Checks search and verify...

• National Criminal Records Check
• County Criminal Records Check
• Federal Criminal Records Check
• State Criminal Records Check
• Global Watch list Search
• Sex Offender Registry Searches

Motor Vehicle Records checks can tell you...

• If their license is currently suspended or expired
• What types and classes of vehicles they are licensed to drive
• Recent violations or restrictions
• Issue and expiration dates for various license types

How it Works

• Every organization on Hands On Atlanta now has the ability to require Volunteers to complete a Background Check and/or a Motor Vehicle Record check in order to register for specific Volunteer Opportunities.

Note: Volunteers can also screen themselves via their Profile in the Hands On Atlanta Volunteer Portal. These checks will be applied to any requirements that your organization has.

When creating or editing an Opportunity, the "Extras" page lists an option to require BGCs and/or MVRs from your volunteers.

When registering for your Opportunity, the volunteer(s) will be prompted to perform the check(s) that you require (each one takes less than 30 seconds to fill out and results come back in under 5 minutes).

Volunteers using the Volunteer Portal may be prompted to log in or claim their accounts in order to proceed:

What does it cost?

Volunteers cover the cost of the check ($20 for BGC, $25 for MVR) themselves, and it is valid for one year and can be used for any Hands On Atlanta Opportunity. There is no charge to your organization in order to require volunteers to perform the checks.

Starting May 1, 2022, your organization will have the option to cover the cost of the checks on behalf of your volunteers.

Managing your Volunteers' Checks

We will notify you if:

• A volunteer tries to register and does not complete the check
• A volunteer has issues with their background check

We will NOT notify you when:

• A volunteer completes the check successfully

A volunteer who fails a background check is immediately suspended from the Hands On Atlanta system as a whole until the issues can be resolved (if possible). These volunteers will not appear on your Opportunity's registration page (picture below) nor will they receive location/address information for your Opportunity.

Volunteers are issued a report and receipt upon completion of the check. While we cannot provide that information directly to you that they may be working with, but you can request that the volunteer brings this information with them. Your Dashboard will confirm that Volunteers have successfully completed their checks.

If the screening requirement is enabled AFTER volunteers have already registered, and they have not had a screening ran before, a "Not Yet" indicator will appear in these columns. To get these Volunteers to run their checks, you will either need to have the volunteers conduct this manually, or you will need to cancel their registration and have them sign-up again so that they are prompted to run a screening.

More Details

Background checks will require the following from volunteers:

• Date of Birth
• Social Security Number
• Zip/Postal Code
• Phone Number
• Email

Motor View Record checks will require:

• Driver's License number/state
• Date of Birth
• Email

Towards the end, volunteers will be asked to upload a copy of their photo ID and a payment method for the screening. Accepted IDs are:

• Driver's license
• State ID
• Passport

FAQs:

"How long is a background check good for?"

Answer: Good for one year. Our background check is only $20 and our motor vehicle records check is only $25. We'll remind you to renew next year.

"Can I cover the cost of a screening for a volunteer?"

Answer: Starting May 1, 2022, - YES! Click here for more info.

"Can I see the specific details for a volunteer in the Dashboard"

Answer: No, we will only show the status indicators. Volunteers are given a copy with specifics that you may ask the volunteers, directly, to obtain.

"Do I need to be on a paid-plan to be able to require a screening?"

Answer: No, this option is available for all users and poses no cost to the Organizer.

"Will the background check statuses show in my Hands On Atlanta-integrated CRM?"

 Answer: Yes! If the CRM that you integrated with has a field for this, then the information will flow into the CRM.

If a volunteer has completed a background check to serve with another organization, do they need to complete another one to serve with my organization?

Answer: No! A cleared and active background check status will be attributed to a volunteer and recognized by the system, across Organizations and Opportunities. They simply need to register for your project, and you'll be able to see the results of their screening (pass/fail).

What happens if a volunteer fails a check? Can I work with them to see if I still want them to volunteer?

You'll be notified if a volunteer fails a check, and you can reach out to them directly to see if their specific results disqualify them from your program. Our Support Team can work with you to appropriately update any relevant records.

What outside systems do you work with? What if I already use a Background Check or Motor Vehicle Record check provider?

Hands On Atlanta works with Checkr to process its checks. If you are interested in integrating with a different provider, contact [email protected] (note: there may be cost and timing implication included in any new integration).

What security procedures do you use?

All data in Hands On Atlanta is encrypted in transit and at rest. Hands On Atlanta itself does not store SSNs, payment information, or other sensitive information related to the Checks.