CA AB506

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 key event volunteers

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
    - start process to get form and appointment: https://applicantservices.com/firstca
    - get fingerprinted at a Live Scan provider near you
  - DIY
    - Print form 8016 from FIRST website, go to any Live Scan provider near you. See more information to the right

From Local YPP State Requirements for California section on FIRST website…

Live Scan Background Check

Mandated Reporter Training
- Approx 2 hour online training on recognizing and reporting child abuse, as required by California law.
- No cost
- https://mandatedreporterca.com/training/volunteers – select FIRST [robot image]

Mandated Reporting Training
- Mandated Reporter Training website
- New Users – How to join FIRST?
- Existing Users – How to join FIRST?
- How to associate your certificate to FIRST?

Common Questions:

Livescan 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.
Livescan has several fees:
- Federal Fee ($15) + Rolling Fee (varies by provider)
- Some Livescan providers [location directory by CA county] charge a service fee in addition to the Rolling Fee
- All other government fingerprinting processing fees are either zero or not applicable [Youth Nonprofit Organization]
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 – instructions

All FIRST Volunteers still need to complete the background screening and Youth Protection Program training. Existing regular volunteers most likely have already completed this. FIRST background screening 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).
- More information regarding the Youth Protection background screening and clearance process and what to expect:
  - U.S. Screening Process Step by Step
  - Frequently Asked Questions
- More information regarding the Youth Protection Program including the requirements for all participants:
  - FIRST Youth Protection Program Guide