Dear ASA Members,

With the ever-evolving youth sports landscape, ASA prides itself on leading the way and being proactive not reactive in the marketplace. With this, the National standard for background checks, which is guided by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), has been updated for this upcoming year(s). The new standard will be a minimum 5-year County search which is significantly more in-depth then the current 2-year National search.

Breaking down the difference between the current National check and new County searches.

In the current National check, counties are not required to report any information to the national database, thus if a county does not report information nationally something could be missed or not reported on a background check. However, with the new County search, it requires in depth searches that include both counties national searches which will be utilized back at least 5 years. This will provide an additional level of security for ASA and its families.

When reviewing this update to best serve membership we used the rationale below to determine best practices for ASA members.

Why should AZ Soccer make an update to a county-level background check?:

• Doing a proper background check is imperative to the safety of the youth athletes and is also important to the sustainability of your club or association.
• Doing a proper background check verification ensures you are making a reasonable effort to keep the wrong people out of your soccer organization and/or interacting with your young athletes.
• The current standard level of care in the youth sports space is to do a county-level search. A county-level check is important because that is where the convictions occur.
• Not all counties report up to the national database, which means a basic national database check may not display all conviction records and potentially leave gaps in reported criminal history.
• Committing to athlete safety will continue to be a priority for AZ Soccer now and into the future.

You can also see attached for further FAQ’s.

How does this effect your organization?:

With the knowledge of the new National standard and ensuring prioritizing, family, player and staff safety ASA will be implementing the new five-year County background checks starting July 1, 2024.  The new cost will be $14.50 per background check for members, with these reports running through Players Health via JDP.  We understand that for those clubs that choose to pay for their member background checks, this cost increase can affect your 24-25 budget, therefore we wanted to alert you as soon as a decision was made.  Thank you for your understanding and most importantly putting participant safety at the forefront.   

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,  

Jonathan Berzins

CEO
2320 W Peoria Ave C-123, Phoenix, AZ 85029

Office: 602-433-9202 Ext: 202

Cell: 480-688-4341

azsoccerassociation.org
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