Baseball background checks mandated

Baseball background checks mandated

The American Legion relies heavily upon dedicated Legionnaires and Legion family members to support and donate countless hours to the success of one of its premier youth programs: American Legion Baseball. So in an effort to first and foremost strengthen the protection of children and youth, as well as continue to enhance the Legion Baseball program and meet insurance requirements, the Legion’s National Executive Committee adopted Resolution 16 during the 2012 Fall Meetings. The resolution mandates a background check screening for coaches, managers and volunteer staff of junior and senior American Legion Baseball teams.

This policy goes into effect Jan. 1, 2013, and requires background checks each season prior to any meetings, events, practices or games that involve youth participants. During the annual online baseball registration process, each coach, manager and volunteer staff of an American Legion Baseball team will have to have been verified as passing the mandated background check screening requirements for the upcoming season.

The Legion has teamed up with Protect Youth Sports, Inc., to exclusively conduct background screenings of staff and volunteers for the Legion’s national programs, including baseball.