Requirements to Volunteer in Certified Childcare Programs in Pennsylvania
Hiring and retaining qualified childcare staff is incredibly difficult. Many childcare programs are more than happy to have regular volunteers spend time reading to or playing with children, rocking babies, sharing a special skill or knowledge, or helping with office, classroom, or playground projects. To find and contact a state-certified childcare family home, group home, or center near you, click here: https://www.compass.state.pa.us/compass.web/providersearch/Home#/BasicSearch
Volunteers must be at least 16 years old and are required to work in the immediate vicinity of a qualified permanent employee.
Volunteers are required to provide the following paperwork, and update it as needed:
HEALTH REPORT FORM WITH TB TEST - Click here for a blank form: https://www.dhs.pa.gov/docs/For-Providers/Documents/Child%20Care%20Forms/CD-322%20-%20Staff%20Health%20Assessment.pdf
MANDATED REPORTER TRAINING - how to recognize signs of potential child abuse and when and how to report it. The University of Pittsburgh offers a free online training here: https://www.reportabusepa.pitt.edu/
To learn more, click here: https://www.dhs.pa.gov/KeepKidsSafe/Pages/Trainings.aspx#:~:text=Act%20126%20requires%20that%20all,training%20to%20all%20employees%2C%20including
CLEARANCES - https://www.dhs.pa.gov/KeepKidsSafe/Clearances/Documents/KKS-VolunteerFAQ_2021.pdf
A volunteer is required to obtain and maintain updated clearances/verifications every 60 months:
Pennsylvania Child Abuse History clearance
PSP Criminal History clearance
FBI clearance required by DHS
NSOR Verification Certificate
Out of State clearances if they resided outside of Pennsylvania in the past five years
The volunteer must sign the “Disclosure Statement Application for Volunteers”
The fees for the Pennsylvania Child Abuse History and PSP clearances were waived for a volunteer. A volunteer may request the Pennsylvania Child Abuse History and PSP Criminal History clearances at no cost once every 57 months. There will be a charge incurred for the FBI clearance required by OHS. There is no fee for the NSOR Verification Certificate.