Camper Safety

Camper Safety Guide

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Background Check

Background checks for attending churches
Falls Creek Youth Camp requires that each church perform background checks on all participants 18 years of age or older attending with their group. Falls Creek honors background checks for 18 months from the date of the check.

Background check reports must include:

  • National criminal background check that includes…
  • A check of the National Registry of Sex Offenders and…
  • A county or state criminal court search…
  • Social Security trace/verification.

Below is a list of REQUIRED SERVICE PROVIDERS for these checks. Churches must use one of these providers. (NOTE: All background checks must be completed through these providers by summer of 2025.) Any new checks for 2024 must be completed through a required provider. Contact the Falls Creek Youth Camp program office with any questions.

These providers all charge a fee for their services; check with each service provider for pricing.

SHIELD SCREENING (Falls Creek Package)
www.shieldscreening.com
800-260-3738

MINISTRY SAFE (Falls Creek Package)
www.ministrysafe.com
833-737-7233

PROTECT MY MINISTRY (BASIC PLUS PACKAGE)
www.protectmyministry.com
800-319-5581

CHECKR

www.checkr.com

TRAK-1 CHECKS
www.Trak-1.com
800-600-8999

FLAGGING BACKGROUND CHECKS
Each church is responsible to review the background checks that are run on their leaders and sponsors and make determinations regarding each person’s fitfulness for service. In order to help you as a church to make these determinations, we are providing you with a list of RED FLAG and YELLOW FLAG offenses. These lists are thorough, but not exhaustive.

RED FLAG OFFENSES
If any of the following offenses are reported on a potential sponsor’s background check, you should not use that person as a sponsor at camp.

  • Providing alcohol/tobacco/drugs/pornography to a minor
  • Voyeurism (peeping Tom)
  • Contributing to the delinquency of a minor
  • Criminal solicitation of a minor
  • Public Indecency
  • Exhibitionism (flashing)
  • Assault
  • Sexual Assault (or any crime that is sexual in nature)
  • Homicide
  • False Imprisonment
  • Kidnapping
  • Injury to a child/elderly individual/disabled individual
  • Abandoning or endangering a child
  • Leaving a child in a vehicle
  • Matters related to interference with child custody
  • Failure to stop or report the aggravated sexual assault of a child


YELLOW FLAG OFFENSES
If any of the following offenses are reported on a potential sponsor’s background check, you will need a written document from your church, signed by the senior pastor, that states the church is aware of the offense(s) listed on the background check report form, is taking full responsibility for the individual as a sponsor, and has determined the person is suitable to serve as a sponsor for the church at Falls Creek. You may use the YELLOW FLAG OFFENSE form found on our RESOURCES page for this required documentation.

 YFOs will include any of the following felony or misdemeanor offenses within the last 10 years: 

  • Driving under the influence
  • Possession of a controlled substance
  • Making a firearm accessible to a child
  • Theft, including identity theft

BACKGROUND CHECK COMPLIANCE PRE-SCREENING

You may pre-screen your background check report forms to save time at onsite registration! Once you have secured your background check reports, take the following steps:

Step 1: Complete Online Orientation.

Step 2: Upload background checks in your camp session registration for each appropriate camper (adults and students). Pre-screening verification is not guaranteed within 2 weeks of your camp week.  

Step 3: Once uploaded the program office will verify your background checks and will notify you of needed changes. NOTE: Churches that do not complete pre-screening will undergo compliance check at on-site registration.

Please note our office hours, Monday – Thursday, 7:30am – 5:30pm, and Wednesday, 7:30am – 5:00pm. Pre-screening will take place during those hours.

BACKGROUND CHECKS AND ON-SITE REGISTRATION

Background checks are completed by service providers on behalf of the churches. The church will be responsible for the information contained in the reports and will maintain the privacy of those reports. At on-site registration, churches will be asked to produce the documents listed below. Registration officials will verify all required documents.

Falls Creek requires that you bring the following to on-site registration:

  • Completed Student Background Check Compliance Form, along with a folder containing a copy of the *report forms for all students who have had background checks run on them.
  • Completed Adult Leader Background Check Compliance Form, along with a folder containing a copy of the *report forms for all adult leaders who have had background checks run on them

*The report form is the page of the background check that has the subject’s name and any offenses listed.

NOTE: If background checks have been prescreened physical report forms are not required at on-site registration

BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR VISITING OVERNIGHT GUESTS

Anyone, age 18 or over, planning on staying overnight must be registered with their church group in attendance that week and have a completed background check on file BEFORE arriving at camp. Guests arriving without a completed background check should not expect to stay overnight on grounds until the background check requirement is met. It is NOT possible to run background checks on Sunday.

 

 

Falls Creek Youth Camp Student Pick-Up

Falls Creek Conference Center operates according to the following procedure to allow for the safest student pick-up while at Falls Creek Youth Camp.

 

Parent Arrival

  • Parent arrives at gate.
  • Parent informs gate attendant of child pick up and provides the:
    • Student’s name
    • Name of the church with which they are attending
    • Cabin name or number, in which the church is staying
  • Parent is then assigned a parking space just outside the gate at a numbered station.
    • There will be five parking spots along the fence of our Main Gate area, numbered 1-5.

Courtesy Staff Action

  • The gate attendant will then call for a Courtesy Team member, who will go to the cabin and alert the lead sponsor/available sponsor of the parent’s location outside the gate.
    • After delivering the message, the Courtesy Team member will leave the cabin and will not be responsible to transport the student to the pick-up location.

Church Responsibility

  • The church is responsible to verify the student is present and that the parent requesting the pick-up has custody rights to the student.
  • The church is responsible to transport the student to the pick-up location outside of the main gate to see the student off.

FAQ:

How long does it take to receive a background check?
Typically, it only takes a few hours for reports to be available.  Since there are exceptions to every rule, most service providers set their “guarantee” at 24-48 hours.

How often do I need to run a background check?
Falls Creek will honor adequate background checks for 18 months, starting from the date the background check was completed. This means, for example, if a church completes background checks on required individuals a month before camp, they will not need to complete those checks again the next year on those same people.  However, any NEW participants that are 18 years old or older in the following year would require background checks at that time.

Can I use a company other than the companies that are listed here?
No. You must use a required provider.

When is the best time to run a background check?
We recommend running the background checks at least a month before camp.  This allows you to solidify your adult leader list, receive your reports back, have time to deal with offenses that may show up on those reports, replace any sponsors if need be, and ensure your background checks will mee the “18-month acceptance window”.

One of my adult leaders is attending an additional week with a different church. Can I verify that we have already run a check on them, or should they run another?
If an adult leader is attending with a different church, that church will need to run a check on them also.  A background check on an individual is the information intended to be held in confidence by the institution requesting the check.

What constitutes an adult leader and do we only run checks on them?
Adult Leaders are individuals at least 18 years of age and at least one year removed from high school. NOTE: Cooks will be registered as adult leaders in the registration system. If anyone serves as a cook who is not at least 18 years of age and one year removed from high school, they will be registered as a student. However, please remember, you must run background checks on all persons 18 years of age or older, including students.

Will my background check from another organization substitute?
No. Falls Creek Youth Camp will not accept background checks completed by an organization that is not the church the individual is registered with. A background check on an individual is the information intended to be held in confidence by the institution requesting the check. If your place of employment has completed a background check on you, that check belongs to them, and cannot be transferred to your church. Every church is required to complete its own background checks on each person attending that is 18 years of age or older.