Letter Detailing the Volunteer Clearance Policy
Click Here for Volunteer Application

What clearances are volunteers required to obtain and where do I get them?

All MaST Schools volunteers must obtain and submit the following clearances/completed forms:

  • Report of Criminal History from the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP)
    1. Required by all volunteers.
    2. Go HERE to complete your PA Criminal Record Check online.
    3. The report will be instantly available to you to print/save electronically.
    4. There is no fee for volunteers requesting this clearance, but you can only get one free report every 5 years.

  • Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance

    1. Required by all volunteers.
    2. Go HERE to complete your PA Child Abuse History Clearance online.
    3. The report will be mailed and emailed to you to print/save electronically. This is usually available within 48 hours of completing the request form, but it may take up to 14 days to process.
    4. There is no fee for volunteers requesting this clearance, but you can only get one free report every 5 years.

  • FBI Criminal History Record Check (fingerprinting) or MaST Schools Volunteer Affidavit

    1. One of these two items is required by all volunteers (exemptions from the FBI Federal Criminal History Record Check are possible and described in greater detail under bullet “4”).
    2. This is a 3-step process.
      • Step 1: Click HERE to register and schedule an appointment.  The service code to enter is “1KG6Q9” (do not enter the quotation marks).
      • Step 2: Go to a fingerprinting site (locations available on the website) to have your fingerprints submitted electronically.  You will receive a receipt that contains your UEID number. Save the receipt.
      • Step 3:  Submit a copy (or picture) of the receipt containing the UEID number as one of the required documents in the volunteer application.  The school will be able to generate the official report with the UEID number you provided.
    1. Applicant background checks cost approximately $25.
    2. Volunteers are exempt from needing to complete the FBI Federal Criminal History Record Check (fingerprinting) if they:
      1. Have resided within Pennsylvania consecutively for the past 10 years; AND
      2. Complete the MaST Schools Volunteer Affidavit found by clicking HERE.
    3. If you have not resided within Pennsylvania consecutively for the prior ten years or you do not (or cannot) swear and affirm in writing that you meet the criteria for volunteering in the MaST Schools Volunteer Affidavit, you must submit an FBI Criminal History Record Check.

  2. Arrest/Conviction Report and Certification Form

    1. Complete the Arrest/Conviction Report and Certification Form found by click HERE.

Other Important Questions:

If I intend to volunteer, where and when do I need to submit clearances to the school?

All MaST Schools prospective volunteers will need to complete a volunteer application.  As part of that application, prospective volunteers must submit the four completed clearances/certifications detailed above.  Once the application is completed and all four clearances are on-hand by the school, the prospective volunteer’s application will be reviewed by school staff and a determination will be made whether or not to approve the application.  If the application is approved, the applicant will receive an email notification that he/she has been approved. If the application is denied, a representative from the school will reach out to the applicant to notify him/her of the denial.  All staff members bringing in volunteers for whatever the reason are instructed to ensure that whoever they’re having come in to volunteer is on the school’s approved volunteer list at least 2 days in advance.  As such, if you do not have an approved application at least 2 days before the event, you will be unable to volunteer. Processing time to review all clearances in an application and approve it can take up to 3 days.  All told, between the 3 days processing time to review applications and the fact that staff can only permit people to volunteer if they’re on the approved list at least 2 days in advance of an event, prospective volunteers must ensure their completed application is submitted at least 5 days before the event.  The submittal of an application less than 5 days in advance may result in an inability to volunteer.  With that said, the earlier applications are completed, the better for both the school and the prospective volunteers.  Once an application is approved, that person will remain on the approved volunteer list (barring an infraction that merits removal from the list) until the clearances expire (more on this below) or if .  

 

How recent do the clearances that I submit need to be?

The clearances you submit need to be from within the last 60 months (5 years).  

 

How often must I update my clearances?

Clearances are valid for 60 months from the date listed on each clearance.  In situations where different clearances have different dates, a volunteer’s “approved” status expires when the oldest clearance expires.

 

Once I receive clearances, what do I do?

Complete the volunteer application and submit them accordingly in the application process as described above  Alternatively, clearances can be submitted at the front desk at the school in which you are looking to volunteer.

 

What happens if I am arrested for or convicted of an offense that would constitute grounds for denying further participation as a school volunteer after I submit my clearances?

If an approved volunteer is arrested for or convicted of an offense that would constitute grounds for denying participation in a program, activity or service, or is named as a perpetrator in a founded or indicated report, the volunteer must notify the school not later than 72 hours after the arrest, conviction or notification that the person has been listed as a perpetrator in the statewide database. Should this happen, the volunteer should email clearances@mastccs.org for MaST (1800 E. Byberry Road) or clearances@mast2.org for MaST II (6238 Rising Sun Avenue) to notify the school.

 

Do I have to apply for each event I want to volunteer at?

No.  Once you are an approved volunteer, you remain on the approved volunteer list until your application expires.

 

How do I know when my clearances and approved volunteer status expire?

You will receive an automatically generated email (sent to the email address you put in the application) 60 days prior to the expiration of your approved volunteer status.  A second and final email will be sent 15 days prior to the expiration. You will be able to re-submit a new application with new clearances 60 prior to the expiration of your original application.

 

If I have questions about volunteering or completing the volunteer application, who do I contact?

Please reach out to the front desk or email clearances@mastccs.org for MaST (1800 E. Byberry Road) or clearances@mast2.org for MaST II (6238 Rising Sun Avenue) with any questions you might have.