| BALTIMORE – In its latest effort to improve youth lacrosse and ensure safe and positive experiences for young lacrosse players and parents everywhere, US Lacrosse – the national governing body of the sport – has strategically aligned with the National Center for Safety Initiatives (NCSI) to help make background checks more accessible and prevalent among youth lacrosse organizations. As a result of its strategic alliance, NCSI provides US Lacrosse-affiliated organizations with a special discount for its comprehensive background check service.
NCSI, www.ncsisafe.com, is a non-profit organization that has received the endorsement of the National Council of Youth Sports and provides services to the United States Olympic Committee, the national governing bodies of many other sports, and hundreds of youth programs throughout the country. NCSI also conducts criminal history background check for a number of national programs managed by US Lacrosse, including the US Lacrosse’s coaching education program.
"NCSI is proud to provide world-class background screening services to US Lacrosse membership," said Trish McGonnell, co-founder and president of NCSI. "We applaud US Lacrosse for its responsible actions in taking every step possible to create safe, healthy environments for all participants."
US Lacrosse strongly encourages all youth lacrosse programs to utilize a criminal history background check service. US Lacrosse also has adopted and recommends the criteria regarding national criminal history background checks established by the National Council of Youth Sports. This criteria is currently included in the PROTECT Act by the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Convictions for the five following crimes will prompt a determination that the applicant does not meet the criteria to serve a youth lacrosse organization:
• Any felony (any crime punishable by confinement of greater than one year)
• Any lesser crime involving force or threat of force against a person
• Any lesser crime in which sexual relations is an element, including "victimless" crimes of sexual nature (including pornography)
• Any lesser crimes involving controlled substances (not paraphernalia or alcohol)
• Any lesser crime involving cruelty to animals
"Two of the primary responsibilities of our organization have always been to thoughtfully introduce national standards for lacrosse and provide resources to help programs achieve those standards," said US Lacrosse President Steve Stenersen. "It’s essential for youth programs to endeavor to provide the best possible environment within which kids can learn this wonderful sport, and this is one of many important initiatives for which we are providing direction and support in that regard."
US Lacrosse has also released a document outlining confidentiality guidelines and recommended disqualifiers pertaining to background checks that can be found on US Lacrosse’s web site (in PDF format) at http://www.uslacrosse.org/safety/pdf/backgroundcheckpolicy.pdf.
US Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) corporation, is the national governing body for men’s and women’s lacrosse. US Lacrosse has more than 250,000 members around the country. To learn more about US Lacrosse, please visit www.uslacrosse.org.
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