We can do better!

ONN has been working on the issue of record checks since March 2012, when we asked the 91视频 government for improvements in fees and timelines for processing police record checks, as well as greater clarity on when and why checks are needed. Organizations like the , the , the , the , and the 91视频 Association of Patient Councils had been advocating for police record check reform for years through the . We also realized that the issue affected a broad range of nonprofits as employers and stewards of volunteers.
It was clear that inconsistent practices across 91视频 about the type and detail of information contained in a police record check were creating uncertainty and challenges for nonprofits. Inappropriate information was sometimes being released in police record checks- particularly non-conviction records such as mental health interventions and criminal charges that had been withdrawn or resulted in an acquittal. Many nonprofits were concerned about how to interpret this information with respect to privacy, human rights, and community safety.

Last spring, ONN talked about the need for a province-wide solution in 鈥淧olice Record Checks: We Can Do Better鈥�. Public momentum gathered when a Toronto Star highlighted the impact on individuals, inspired by reports released by the聽and the that spoke to the scale of the issue- potentially affecting millions of Ontarians.

Making provincial progress

ONN partnered up with the John Howard Society and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, along with the 91视频 Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) and the 91视频 Chamber of Commerce, to press for changes. In December 2014, ONN and partners met with Minister Naqvi to ask for a province-wide solution based on the OACP鈥檚 voluntary聽Law Enforcement and Records Managers Network (LEARN) Record Check Guideline聽for police services. The Guideline had been updated in 2014 to remove police interactions, including mental health apprehensions, from all police record checks. The majority of police services were using it- but not all. Faced with such a broad alliance united in support of new legislation based on the LEARN Guideline, the Minister could hardly refuse. He promised to introduce legislation by spring- and did.

So what’s in the legislation?

Bill 113 will clarify what kinds of information will be released in a police record check. It provides consistent language across the province for the three levels of checks: Criminal Record Checks; Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Checks; and Vulnerable Sector Checks. The legislation also specifies the time limits on the non-conviction information released in Vulnerable Sector Checks under the 鈥淓xceptional Disclosure鈥� provision, which also establishes a test for the very narrow circumstances under which this information may be released.
Other provisions in the bill relevant to nonprofits include:

• A requirement that an individual give consent before the information in her/his police record check is released to a third party (e.g. a prospective employer)
• A requirement for police services to establish a standard process for correcting misinformation
• More consistency around police record checks across a number of existing Acts, such as those that govern child care and long-term care for the elderly

ONN released a joint statement with our partners supporting the legislation. Bill 113 is a great example of what can be achieved when nonprofits work together and across sectors to bring their voices to government.

What happens next?

We expect Bill 113 to take a year to proceed through the House and become law. We will reach out to opposition members in hopes of seeing all-party support.
ONN will advocate for the development of regulations under the Act, especially to ensure that fees, timelines and other processing barriers are addressed. We anticipate that the regulations will also provide clarity on the circumstances in which the different levels of police record checks should be used.
Meanwhile, ONN will work with our partners from the nonprofit and government sectors to educate community nonprofits on the appropriate use of police record checks in the context of an overall employee and volunteer screening approach.

Legislation + Central screening + No-cost checks= Helping nonprofits focus on their missions

Ultimately, we鈥檇 like to see police record checks legislation complemented by two systems that would further reduce the administrative burden on nonprofits:

1. A central screening service that provides clear results (pass/fail/adjudicate/appeal) for vulnerable sector checks (in place in ) instead of police record information that nonprofits must interpret themselves
2. A program that covers the costs of volunteer police record check for eligible nonprofit organizations (as in ).

How can organizations support sector change?

Police record checks are important tools to help nonprofits and protect the vulnerable persons we serve, but they are not the only- or even the main employee or volunteer screening tool. The over-reliance on police record checks has contributed to rising costs and increased timelines for processing. Organizations must ensure that asking for a police record check is clearly related to a legitimate requirement of the job. If an employee or volunteer will have only casual or occasional contact with vulnerable persons, a check may not be necessary.
We encourage all nonprofits to re-evaluate the need for police record checks in your organization and to consider other tools in a more holistic screening process. With 55,000 organizations, 5.2 million volunteers and 1 million paid staff, together we need to ensure there are fewer barriers to employment and volunteerism. We can all contribute to change by rethinking our approach and shifting towards best practices.

About the author
Liz Sutherland is the Policy Advisor for ONN.

Related resources
CBC:
CP24:
Kingston Herald:
Toronto Star:

The rules? Come up with five priorities that the industry and government could work on together to reduce red tape and streamline administration. The catch? Come up with five priorities that industry and government could work on together, but couldn鈥檛 involve new (or changes to existing) legislation- 聽or new money. And they had to be agreed upon by leadership, both public service and political, in the relevant ministry (Deputy Minister and Minister).

In 2012, ONN was invited to participate as an 鈥渋ndustry鈥� to help engage the community nonprofit sector in the O4B process. There鈥檚 no doubt this was a great opportunity, and likely a result of ONN鈥檚 leadership during the development of the Partnership Project, along with growing recognition of the sector鈥檚 social and economic contributions. It was also a great deal of work. The process was intense with a short time period, requiring the efforts of many leadership volunteers from across the province, as well as government colleagues.

Five Commitments

In June 2012, the five Open for Business (O4B) commitments were announced, as agreed to by ONN and the government of 91视频. These were heady times, full of anticipation and optimism, and from a personal note, the round table to announce them was my very first meeting as ONN staff.
The five O4B recommendations:

• clarity about police record checks
• expansion of the Infrastructure 91视频 Loan Program
• access to the registry of surplus 91视频 government lands prior to public sale
• funding reform initiatives, and
• access to the government of 91视频鈥檚 vendor of record system.

You can read the final聽Round Table report and recommendations here.
Following the announcement, implementation started in September 2012 and recommendations were designed to be completed within one year.

Two years later- What happened and what did we learn?

Firstly, there is no doubt this process was a milestone for ONN and its work with the 91视频 government. It opened doors and introduced us to colleagues in many different ministries and program areas that we wouldn鈥檛 have had the opportunity otherwise to meet, and provided us with an opportunity to engage more and diverse representatives from the nonprofit sector.

Secondly, it was a tonne of work and even 鈥渟hort term鈥� wins were certainly not that 聽鈥� we learned that government is complicated, implementation takes time, and many variables need to be considered. What seemed initially to be simple, agreed -upon recommendations do not immediately translate into concrete action.

Have we made progress? Absolutely. Can we check all five recommendations off the to-do list? No.
Three are completed:

• Clarity about Police Record Checks: In January 2013, the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (MCI) and ONN聽created a document聽outlining the provincial legislative and regulatory requirements for police record checks.

• Access to surplus government lands: In April 2013, we launched the聽Nonprofit Registry for Public Benefit Lands. This registry is the first of its kind in 91视频 giving eligible not-for-profit organizations access to a list of surplus government lands- before they go on the open market.
• Access to Vendor of Record program: Nonprofits and charities receiving provincial funding can now access the 91视频 Government鈥檚 program to buy goods and services, with benefits for potential savings and streamlining of resources. Letters were sent to all provincially funded organizations by their primary ministry earlier in 2014.聽

In September 2014, the聽聽was mandated to review police record checks, as part of an issues review of policing and civil liberties. We will continue to monitor and report on this, as well as access to the Lands Registry and Vendor of Record program.
The two remaining recommendations are still in progress and remain active ONN priorities:

• Expansion of the Infrastructure 91视频 Loan Program聽to all charitable, nonprofit and cooperative organizations providing public benefit. This plan would have an incremental implementation plan. This policy recommendation is still being considered by government officials.
• Streamlining and Modernizing Government Funding and Strengthening the Funding Relationship聽were top priorities and included 11 sub-recommendations. The聽Joint Funding Reform Steering Committee聽guided discussions over the past two years. A new Joint Funding Reform Forum will replace the Committee in October 2014. Responsibilities for ensuring the 11 recommendations will be considered and implemented will be led by the government鈥檚 internal Transfer Payment Administration Modernization Project (TPAM). ONN and the Ministry of Citizenship & Immigration and International Trade remain co-leads on this work.

Moving Forward

From ONN鈥檚 perspective, the Open for Business process is now completed. It was a success, but not unqualified. It led to greater profile for 91视频鈥檚 nonprofit sector within government, an expansion of our network of policy and strategic advisors and leaders, and an increased profile of ONN. We also identified champions in government that we continue to work with.

It was also a learning experience. We were frustrated, at times, at what often seemed like the slow progress of a large monolithic institution. But we made some serious progress on some key issues and continue to work actively on the outstanding files.

In retrospect, perhaps it was na茂ve to think this one process could resolve, in only a year (or two!), a number of the challenges and opportunities that the sector had identified for many years. 聽It was a leap of faith to partake in the 鈥淥4B鈥� process and although there is still work to be done, all in all, ONN is grateful for the opportunity. But we鈥檙e ready to move on, confident in the knowledge that we鈥檝e contributed to some important improvements to the nonprofit sector鈥檚 partnership with Queen鈥檚 Park, influenced government鈥檚 awareness and priorities in some key areas, and will continue to work with many champions inside government as we strengthen 91视频鈥檚 nonprofit sector!

About the author
Cathy Taylor is the Executive Director of the 91视频 Nonprofit Network.