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Volunteer/Coach

COACH/VOLUNTEER BACKGROUND SCREENING

PURPOSE: The City of Hollywood values the safety of individuals who use our parks and facilities and we take pride in our programs and commitment to the community. Consistent with this commitment, the City of Hollywood has established measures to protect children participating in organized recreational activities sponsored by the City of Hollywood and/or its youth sports organizations to include instituting a mandatory annual criminal background check for all persons who volunteer and interact with our children. It is the objective of this policy to provide a safe environment for our children by prohibiting individuals with records of particular criminal conduct from volunteering in our youth programs.

Background Check Criteria:

Applicants with criminal arrest records may be deemed automatically disqualified to serve as a volunteer for any youth program or organization affiliated with the City of Hollywood.

Category I Automatic Disqualifying Offenses

Arrest resulting in a plea of guilty, plea of no contest or conviction for any criminal offense specified in Chapter 794, Florida Statutes, titled “Sexual Battery”, Chapter 827, Florida Statutes, titled “Abuse of Children” or Chapter 847, Florida Statutes, titled “Obscenity”, or, in the event the offense occurred in a jurisdiction other than Florida, any similar statutes.

Arrest resulting in a plea of guilty, plea of no contest or conviction for any felony offense involving an act of violence, or a civil judgment or settlement of a civil claim involving an act of intentional violence.

Category II Offenses (Subject to Committee Review)

Arrest resulting in a plea of guilty, plea of no contest or conviction for any felony offense of moral turpitude.

Any other felony arrest resulting in a plea of guilty, plea of no contest or conviction may be considered for eligibility after five (5) years from the date of conviction.

Category III Offenses (Subject to Committee Review)

Any misdemeanor arrest resulting in a plea of guilty, plea of no contest or conviction may be considered for eligibility following committee review.

Section III. Review Process for Category II and Category III Applicants:

A Review Committee is appointed by the City Manager to be comprised of the Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts Director or designee, Police Chief or designee, and Office of Human Resources and Risk Management Director or designee. The Committee shall be authorized to review applications, interview the applicant, for Category II and Category III applicants, and to determine the eligibility or disqualification of said applicants. The Committee’s decision of eligibility or disqualification shall be binding. The Review Committee shall notify the affiliated president of the youth organization or independent contractor of the decision  of  eligibility  or  disqualification.

Code of Conduct:

The City of Hollywood is dedicated to raising the standards of service to youth participating in sports programs. A Code of Conduct allows the City of Hollywood to define the expectations for those individuals serving as coaches in youth sports.

Every coach is required to sign, pledge and adhere to the following Coaches’ Code of Conduct.

Identification Cards:

Upon satisfactory completion of the Youth Program Background Check process, participating individuals will be issued and required to wear a City photo identification card. The card will be obtained from the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department. Appointments will be required for photos. Identification cards are required to be prominently displayed at all times during practices, games, clinics, classes, camps, tournaments and all other affiliated events and activities. The cost for a replacement identification card will be $5.00

Note: Background color changes annually