<p>In the United States, as I understand it, it is common&nbsp;to have anyone in an organization that is in direct contact with children to be screened for&nbsp;history of certain kinds of criminal activity — particularly involving children, violence, and so on. This process is known in the U.S. as&nbsp;a criminal-background check.</p>

<p>The&nbsp;criminal background checks are done by professional services. I think that it's almost all done online but sometimes there is fingerprinting, (and that obviously needs to be done in person). The services look through various databases in search of matches to your volunteer or employee's information to flag specific types of criminal history. The organization generally pays for this service.</p>

<p>The U.S. is a litigious place, and the common practice for larger organizations and companies to be risk-averse, (sometimes to a seemingly ridiculous degree).</p>

<p>I'd be interested in hearing to what degree organizations use a practice like this, and what factors compel them to do so.</p>
