Standard E5 Explained

Why is it essential to establish appropriate screening processes for volunteers? The primary purpose of volunteer screening is to ensure a safe environment for your organization’s clients, staff, and volunteers.¹ Organizations working with vulnerable populations in particular have a moral and legal obligation to screen volunteers, as stated in the concept of “Duty of Care,” which requires organizations to enact reasonable measures to ensure the safety of their beneficiaries.¹

Screening is essential to manage the risks associated with your organization’s volunteer program. However, it also accomplishes other goals such as helping to match volunteers with appropriate volunteer opportunities.¹

What does an effective screening process involve? Screening should be an ongoing process for all volunteers, and procedures must apply equally to all individuals within a particular role. Appropriate screening processes should be developed based on the level of risk associated with each volunteer role.² For instance, a volunteer who will be supervising children will require a different screening process than a volunteer who will be collecting tickets at the registration table of a fundraising event.²

Depending on the position, screening may involve an application form, interviews, reference checks and / or a police records check, orientation to a new position, and supervision and evaluation.³

From "Accreditation Preparation Workbook Section E: Volunteer Involvement,"  Katharine Zywert, Social Prosperity Wood Buffalo at the University of Waterloo, 2013.

1. “Screening,” Volunteer Canada.
2. “The Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement: Values, Guiding Principles, and Standards of Practice,” Volunteer Canada, 2012.
3. “Best Practice Guidelines for Screening Volunteers,” Public Safety Canada, Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2008.