Background check for coaches on way
Thursday, November 08, 2007

BILL McDONALD

MILFORD - A new policy requiring volunteer coaches in the Recreation Department to undergo criminal background checks will likely be submitted to the city attorney for review by the end of next month, officials said.

The announcement came as the Park, Beach and Recreation Commission on Wednesday once again discussed the issue of revamping the application process for coaches with tougher standards. 
"We hope whatever we give to City Attorney Marilyn Lipton is airtight," commission Chairman Daniel Worroll said. "We're also thinking of asking umpires to go through background checks, as well as volunteers in concession stands since they come in contact with kids."

Worroll said the matter has been discussed by the board for the past two years, but was brought to a head after Robert Dulin, 49, a summer league basketball coach, was sentenced Sept. 14 to 18 months in prison for sexually assaulting a teenage player. The sentence imposed by Judge John J. Cronan, however, did not ban Dulin from coaching after his release from prison.

"Since the Dulin verdict, there have been questions from parents, so we figured we should take care of this," Worroll said.

Worroll said he gave Recreation Director William McCarthy copies of a court case in which a job applicant sued after learning he had been denied a job because of inaccurate information supplied in a background check. McCarthy also has applications from other towns and proposals from companies conducting background checks.

"We want to protect children, but we want to make sure the information is as reliable as we can get," Worroll said. "We're looking for sexual offenders or those who have committed felonies."

McCarthy said another question was whether the city or applicant should pay for a background check. Background checks range in price, from $15 and up.

"We have to make sure we're not infringing on anyone's right. We're looking for the best combination the city needs to protect kids and itself," McCarthy said.

McCarthy produced an application from the town of Mansfield that asks applicants if they have pleaded guilty or been convicted in the last five years of a sexual offense, criminal felony, domestic violence and misdemeanor drug offense as well as any misdemeanor considered dangerous to children.

"We also don't want to discourage anyone volunteering for the Recreation Department," McCarthy said. 

April Hunt, a volunteer recreation girls basketball coach, praised the commission's apparent progress. 

"I think they're moving in the right direction to have tougher checks on youth coaches. I hope they'll be able to show something soon," she said.