Volunteer Clearances
Thank you for volunteering and giving your time to the students, faculty, and staff of the Northgate School District. In October 2014, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed a bill, referred to as Act 153, requiring school volunteers to have clearances and background checks every 60 months. Volunteers are required to submit background check materials and clearances before acting as a volunteer in any Northgate School District building and will be kept on file at the District Administrative Center.
A easy-to-follow guide is available by clicking here, or you can find more detailed information below.
Please make sure you also keep a copy for yourself.
Act 34 – Criminal History
You can apply directly online at epatch.pa.gov/home. Choose "New Volunteer Record Check" Once your results are available, make sure you click on the Control # and then Certification form at the end in order to obtain your actual clearance results and print 2 copies – 1 for yourself and 1 for the District. If you prefer to apply by mail instead, you can use form SP4-164A .
Act 151 – Child Abuse History
You can apply directly online at www.compass.state.pa.us/CWIS. You can "Create an Individual Login" or if you already have one from a previous time, choose "individual login". When you are able to access the results, print 2 copies – 1 for yourself and 1 for the District. If you prefer to apply by mail instead, you can use form CY113. (Note: items to have ready in order to complete application: Addresses where you have lived since 1975 - partial addresses acceptable; names of individuals with whom you have lived since 1975, and any previous names that you have used or names that you have been known by)
Act 114 – Fingerprinting
All volunteers must have either an FBI Fingerprint Report or a signed Fingerprint Waiver Affidavit on file.
If the volunteer has lived within the state of Pennsylvania for 10 consecutive years or more, they may sign a Fingerprint Waiver Affidavit Form & have it notarized instead of getting their Fingerprint Report.
If you need to obtain your FBI Fingerprint Record please be aware that the Act 114 Clearance is a multiple step process.
Step One: Register online at www.uenroll.identogo.com or by calling 1-844-321-2101. Volunteer Code: 1KG6ZJ and pick DHS- Dept. of Human Services option
Step Two: Go to an approved fingerprint site to be fingerprinted. A complete list of approved locations can be found at www.uenroll.identogo.com. (Remember to take ID with you.)
Step Three: Once you have been fingerprinted, and your receive the results, print a copy for yourself and make a copy to provide to the district
Act 126 – PA Recognizing & Reporting Child Abuse
You must complete a mandated Act 126 Child Abuse Recognition Training, and submit the certificate. The course can be accessed for free at www.reportabusepa.pitt.edu. (When taking the course, they recommend using either a laptop or desktop, as it does not work well with a mobile device. Also, they recommend using Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox for the browser.)
Act 24/Act 82 – Arrest/Conviction Report and Certification Form
You must complete and submit the Act 24/Act 82 PDE-6004 Arrest/Conviction Report and Certification form. Click here to access Act 24/Act 82 PDE-6004 form.
Northgate Volunteer Cover Sheet
You must complete the Northgate Volunteer Cover Sheet and submit it along with your clearance documents. In addition, if you have any changes to this form at any time, please update and submit to the District. Click here to access the Cover Sheet.
If you have any questions, please first contact the secretary in the building which you are volunteering or contact Laureen Dowd via email at laureen.dowd@northgatesd.net or by calling 412-732-3300, ext. 2110.
Please keep a copy of all items for yourself in case you need them for other purposes. Please keep in mind that these items need updated every 5 years as long as you continue to volunteer.