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CA AB506 – Overall California YPP Clearance Status

To keep our youth participants safe and meet California state law, adults have two new registration steps to complete—in addition to your standard FIRST background check and Youth Protection training.

 

You may have already seen the blog post from FIRST about AB 506, a California law that requires youth-serving organizations to take extra safety steps for volunteers who work closely with minors.

 

AB 506 became law as Section 18975 within Chapter 2.9 Youth Service Organizations, which falls under Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code. Many youth service organizations operate with the assistance of volunteers. AB 506 requirements apply to “regular volunteers” in addition to administrators and employees of youth services organizations.

Under AB 506, a Regular Volunteer is defined as someone over 18 years old who volunteers with a youth-serving organization: 
  • 16-hours or more per month, or
  • 32-hours or more per year

REGULAR VOLUNTEERS

includes all FIRST team coaches/mentors, and most event volunteers

  1. Live Scan Background Check

    • Fingerprinting done through a Live Scan service provider
    • Must be done through a California-approved Live Scan provider. Cost is generally between $20 – $40.
    • Two Options available:
      • Biometrics4All
      • DIY
        • Print form 8016 from FIRST website, go to any Live Scan provider near you.  See Helpful Links below for more information
    • If it’s been more than 5 business days and your Dashboard hasn’t updated, feel free to reach out to FIRST by submitting a support ticket via https://help.firstinspires.org/s/contactsupport?language=en_US and select Type: Youth Protection Program

  1. Mandated Reporter Training

    • Approx 2 hour online training on recognizing and reporting child abuse, as required by California law.
    • FREE!   No cost
    • Go to https://mandatedreporterca.com/training/volunteers   – select FIRST   [robot image]   – may not show well on mobile/tablet device. 
      • RECOMMENDATION – do training on laptop or similar device with a larger screen
      • Once training is completed (or shared), FIRST verifies and matches the data on a regular basis.  This is a manual process based on matching email addresses and can take a few days.
      • If you follow this process  (going in through the FIRST section as directed above), you do NOT have to separately share the certificate with FIRST – that part is already done.  You only have to share the certificate as directed below if you had previously completed the training with a different organization.
    • If it’s been more than 5 business days and your Dashboard hasn’t updated, feel free to reach out to FIRST by submitting a support ticket via https://help.firstinspires.org/s/contactsupport?language=en_US and select Type: Youth Protection Program
    • Did you complete this specific training already for a different youth serving organization?   Here is how to Share Your Certificate with FIRST :
      • Go to https://invite.mandatedreportertraining.com/FIRST
      • Select FIRST Volunteers under the Group field
      • Log in using the same email you used when taking the training not necessarily the email address in your FIRST Dashboard.
      • Accept the invite to associate with FIRST
      • Then,  Go to “My Certificates”, click on your certificate number, and select “Share with FIRST”
        • This last step is critical for FIRST to receive and match your training completion to your volunteer record. No need to email certificates directly. FIRST can match your certificate to your FIRST account as long as the training record is associated to FIRST correctly.
        • It might be helpful to add a 2nd email to your  FIRST account if the training was completed with a different email but this should not be necessary

Common Questions:

  • AB506 applies based on where the volunteer service occurs, not where the person resides. Any adult volunteer in California must meet the Live Scan and Mandated Reporter requirements   (if they meet the 16 hrs/month or 32 hrs/year threshold).
  • All adult FIRST Volunteers are required to complete the background screening through Sterling Volunteers and the Youth Protection Program training that FIRST provides. Existing regular volunteers most likely have already completed this.
    • FIRST background screening through Sterling Volunteers is valid for 4 years and does not require any fee (optional) nor are you required to submit your SSN (but the background screening processing time could take a bit longer).
    • The Youth Protection Program training is done annually through the FIRST training website.

Questions related to Livescans

  • Livescan fingerprinting results are NOT transferable from another organization, so you need to perform this process for each applicable organization you volunteer with or work for, but the good news is that this is a one-time requirement.
    • Live Scan results are not transferrable across agencies, even if both are authorized entities. This is due to the way the California DOJ handles criminal offender record information (CORI) under strict privacy and data-sharing laws (Cal. Penal Code § 11142). Each requesting agency must have its own ORI (Originating Requester Identifier) number, and DOJ policy requires a new Live Scan submission with that agency’s specific ORI.
    • The ATI number alone is not sufficient to retrieve an individual’s record without a new Live Scan tied to the specific agency’s ORI and the defined purpose (e.g., working with youth). Even if someone previously submitted fingerprints for a teaching credential or other role, those results legally cannot be shared with a different organization like FIRST unless DOJ has explicitly authorized it through a formal subsequent arrest notification agreement.
  • Livescan has several fees:

Questions related to the Mandated Reporter Training:

  • Mandated Reporter Training is a one-time requirement and is offered free (no fees). If you’ve already completed this specific training for another organization, you do not need to retake it. You can simply associate your existing certificate with our FIRST account – see above for step by step instructions.
    • Mandated Reporter Training certificate displays a 2-year expiration date because that is the default setting by the State of California’s provider, Simple Learning Solutions. However, AB506 does not require renewal for volunteers in youth serving organizations. It simply requires that the training be completed. FIRST has opted to treat this as a one-time requirement, aligning with the approach used for Live Scan.

More information available on the Local YPP State Requirements for California section on FIRST website…  If you need help, you can also call the FIRST Customer Support line:   📞 (603) 666-3906   or (preferred) by submitting a support ticket via https://help.firstinspires.org/s/contactsupport?language=en_US and select Type: Youth Protection Program

How to Check Your Status on the FIRST Dashboard:

You can access your status by logging into your FIRST dashboard account and then clicking on the down arrow next to your name on the top right of the page.

FIRST dashboard profile settingsSelect Youth Protection Screening

This is what it will look like on your FIRST dashboard

FIRST Youth Protection Program dashboard view

To complete the overall California YPP Clearance, follow the instructions on this page.