There have been an alarming number of stories in the news lately about registered sex offenders or people who have criminal records for crimes involving children who are found coaching little leagues.

I talked this over with a coworker. What consequences are in place to keep a registered sex offender from applying to be a coach? None. In the event that a sports organization actually runs a background check, discovers that a prospective employee has a criminal record (which was undisclosed on an application) and doesn’t hire the person, there is nothing stopping that person from just going down the road and applying for another coaching position, possibly in an organization which doesn’t perform background checks.

In most areas, it is illegal for a sex offender to live within a certain vicinity of a school or park, and it’s actually a felony. Sex offenders must also make sure they register in the state or area of residence, or they face legal consequences. So, how about imposing legal consequences on a registered sex offender who knowingly applies for a job involving children and does not disclose their past?

In Greensboro, North Carolina, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department recently adopted a formal background check process, but it’s only on randomly selected coaches. The organization cited the cost (about $14.00 per person) as the reason they cannot run background checks on all of their coaches. Sadly, all it will take is one coach who slips through the cracks and harms a child to make this organization realize that it’s worth the price to background check everyone. In the unfortunate event that something does go wrong, the Parks and Recreation Department will probably pay a lot more money than if they had conducted background checks on all of their employees.

However, placing legal consequences on sex offenders who knowingly apply for youth coaching jobs just might be part of the answer in helping protect our children.

What do you think?