NEWINGTON, CT, Nov 10, 2006 -- The American Red Cross (ARC) has
attempted to clarify its policy to require background checks of its
employees and volunteers, at least as far as the policy applies to
possible credit checks. After the ARC announced the policy in July
through regional and local chapters, Amateur Radio Emergency Service
(ARES) members who support Red Cross disaster relief and recovery
efforts began expressing concerns to ARRL. In some past incidents --
most notably the 2001 World Trade Center terror attacks and the 2005
Hurricane Katrina response -- ARES volunteers have had to badge in as
Red Cross volunteers. In a statement to the ARRL November 9, Laura
Howe, the ARC's director of response communication and marketing,
stressed that, while background check applicants must give permission
to conduct a credit check, the ARC has no intention of conducting them
across the board.

"The Red Cross realizes some volunteers may have concerns about
authorizing a credit check. Those concerns are understandable," Howe
said. "But please rest assured that credit checks are only run in rare
instances and are not a part of the routine minimum basic check the Red
Cross performs on employees or volunteers."

Howe told the League that the 2005 hurricane season exposed her
organization's weakness in the area of background checks, "as evidenced
by publicized examples of fraud and waste." The "standard minimum
check," she said, verifies the applicant's Social Security number and a
search of the National Criminal File for the past seven years.

"While the Red Cross will never run a credit check on the vast majority
of its employees and volunteers," she asserted, "it is important that
this standard language is included in the consent form to protect our
clients, volunteers and employees." Volunteers with questions about
whether a chapter might need to delve further into an applicant's
background should check with the unit administrator, she said.

The ARC has contracted with MyBackgroundCheck.com LLC (MBC) in
Anderson, California, to handle the on-line background checks.
Prospective volunteers visit a secure Web site, click on the ARC logo
and submit name, address, Social Security number (or other acceptable
government ID), telephone number, and date of birth. MBC notifies the
applicant's local Red Cross chapter whether or not the individual
passed the background check, but it does not share any personal data.

In a statement October 24, ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, urged
ARES and other ham radio volunteers to tread cautiously and read very
carefully what they are giving MBC permission to collect on behalf of
the Red Cross, especially given the wide net being cast. Howe
acknowledged that by signing the consent form, applicants do give MBC
permission to "conduct a credit check or other investigation into an
individual's background." ARES members are not obliged to submit to a
background check, however; the choice to do so is a personal one.

Several ARES leaders maintain that they and their volunteers represent
ARES when supporting the ARC as a served agency. "Our issue is not the
background checking, but the fact ARC considers ARES members ARC
volunteers," one ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator told ARRL
Headquarters. An ARES District Emergency Coordinator suggested the ARC
policy is too arbitrary. "The unfortunate thing is that if a member
decides not to submit to this check, then that will hamper our ability
to serve the Red Cross in an emergency," he said.

ARRL Field and Educational Services Manager Dave Patton, NN1N -- whose
department supports and oversees the ARRL Field Organization --
believes the Red Cross stands to lose a fair number of volunteers
because of the requirement -- and not necessarily just ARES volunteers.
One national Red Cross official who asked not to be identified said the
organization fears it's seeing "the beginning of a hemorrhage of hams"
from supporting ARC operations.

The Statement of Understanding (SoU) between the ARC and the ARRL does
not address the issue of background checks. It also is ambiguous on the
subject of whether ARES volunteers automatically become ARC volunteers
when supporting Red Cross operations and subject to a background check.
The bottom line: The requirement extends to whomever the Red Cross says
it does. While some Red Cross chapters will allow ARES member
participation without requiring that they register as Red Cross
volunteers, others will not. One West Coast Red Cross chapter official
said the ARC considers ARES members as "non-registered volunteers" and,
as such, they were not required to submit to background checks. In
other locales, the same volunteers staff ARES and Red Cross
organizations. The ARRL-ARC SoU is up for review in 2007.

The ARC's new policy "is a positive action," Howe told ARRL, and aimed
at raising public confidence and trust in the organization's volunteers
and workers. "The Red Cross certainly values its employees and
volunteers, and our background check process is not intended to be a
burden to those who play a vital role in our relief efforts," she said.
"We believe that in order to maintain the trust of the American people
and provide them with the best quality service, all Red Cross employees
and volunteers must undergo background checks according to standards
being implemented across the entire organization."