Checking coaches' records has high price

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published October 18, 2007

Before state Sen. Jeremy Ring subjects volunteer youth-league coaches to the force of state law, he and his colleagues need to examine the repercussions.

Ring, D-Margate, has an appropriate objective. He wants to protect children from potential adult predators who might volunteer to be their coach. But his prescribed cure, which is to subject every volunteer coach in every youth league to a full Florida Department of Law Enforcement criminal background search, represents a seismic shift for which he has yet to account.

"There's no fiscal impact on the state," Ring told the Tallahassee Democrat. "It's just good fiscal policy to protect our children."

Notice how Ring added the words "on the state" to his assessment of "no" fiscal impact. In fact, the cost could be significant for cities and counties and nonprofit sports groups that pinch pennies to provide sports opportunities for children. Each full background check is about $80, and Ring wants to includes assistants and chaperones as well. The tab for each team could reach hundreds of dollars.

Given the precarious finances of youth sports, Ring's mandate could put entire leagues out of business. For many of the children involved, the result would be fewer opportunities to learn discipline and teamwork and more to get into trouble.

The people who are in charge of children in sports environments do need to be held to account. But a state law that requires leagues to provide background checks also puts league volunteers in jeopardy for potentially innocent lapses in oversight.

Some leagues, to their credit, are already beginning to require criminal background checks in response to the concerns of parents. Their efforts show how ticklish the issues can be. Should assistants, managers and chaperones be fingerprinted? Who should pay? What types of crimes should bar the adult from participation? What if the adult is a parent of a player?

As the push for criminal background checks moves to volunteer groups, the Legislature needs to proceed with caution.

[Last modified October 17, 2007, 21:34:12]