4-H Group Begins Background Checks

The Ventura County 4-H program has begun requiring its approximately 350 adult volunteers to undergo criminal background checks, including fingerprinting, to ensure the safety of children involved in the program.

The checks are intended to root out people who may have been convicted of offenses ranging from child molestation to the possession of illegal substances.

But a Fillmore volunteer is objecting to the scrutiny, calling it a symptom of big government.

“It’s an invasion of privacy,” said Lori Harris, a 39-year-old mother of two. “The average 4-H family isn’t out to hide anything. . . . It’s just too much information for people who don’t need it.”

But officials with the program that is administered through the University of California Cooperative Extension say their volunteer Leader’s Council reluctantly voted to take the step last fall.

“It’s just a sad fact of life in the ‘90s,” said Larry Yee, county extension director. “Most major organizations do some sort of screening. . . . It’s not nationwide, it’s not everywhere, but we’re on the cutting edge of things to come.”

Mike Van Winkel, a spokesman for the California Department of Justice, which screens the fingerprints for organizations, said such measures are becoming increasingly common.

“We do close to 700,000 background checks of people who are applying for employment or voluntary positions every year,” he said. “Many organizations . . . take advantage of this opportunity to check into the background of volunteers.”

Meanwhile, Harris said she will comply with the screening request, but has contacted unspecified “watchdog agencies” in an attempt to make a case for what she sees as a violation of her rights.