FIRST® – WCPA

Youth Protection

FIRST Western & Central Pennsylvania strives to provide a safe environment for students at our events. As part of this effort, volunteers and adults affiliated with a team are required to follow FIRST’s policies and Pennsylvania Child Protection Services laws.

The FIRST Youth Protection Program

The FIRST Youth Protection Program (FIRST YPP) is an important part of the protection of our youth. It sets minimum standards recommended for all FIRST activities. You may find more information about the FIRST YPP program guide, the screening process, and frequently asked questions at the FIRST Youth Protection Program webpage.

Pennsylvania Child Protection Services Laws

In 2014 and 2015 the Pennsylvania legislature updated the Child Protection Services Law changing how Pennsylvania responds to child abuse. These changes significantly affect the reporting, investigation, assessment, prosecution and judicial handling of child abuse and neglect cases. Beginning August 25, 2015, many adult volunteers are required to obtain background checks, including the Criminal History Record Check, issued by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Child Abuse History Clearance, issued by the Department of Human Services.

More information may be found on the Pennsylvania Keep Kids Safe website.
The state of Pennsylvania requires that a person suspecting child abuse must make an immediate and direct report of suspected child abuse to Child Line either electronically at Child Welfare Portal or by calling 1-800-932-0313.

Although the overall goals of the Pennsylvania Child Protection Services Law and the FIRST Youth Protection Program may be similar, the background checks required by each are different and both sets are required.

Event Volunteers

Volunteers applying for a FIRST Robotics Event in Western & Central PA through the firstinspires.org dashboard will receive notification and further instructions by our Volunteer Coordinators.

You must notify FIRST Western & Central PA (FIRSTwcpavolunteers@gmail.com) and FIRST (safety@firstinspires.org) if you are convicted of an offense that would constitute grounds for denying participation in the program, activity or service, or are named as a perpetrator in a founded or indicated report. You must provide to FIRST Western & Central PA a written notice no later than 72 hours after the arrest, conviction or notification, that you have been listed as a perpetrator in the statewide database.

If you have been listed as a perpetrator or are otherwise in violation of the youth protection laws, you will not be able to volunteer.

Instructions for Event Volunteers

Information on the Pennsylvania requirements can be found below. When asked for a Volunteer Organization on these forms, you may enter FIRST.

Click the items below to find the instructions that apply to you.

 

I am an event volunteer (or lead coach/mentor) that’s resided in Pennsylvania for less than 10 years

You will need to complete the following steps:

Note: Steps 1 and 2 should take less than an hour. Step 3 will take a few days depending on when you schedule the fingerprinting. Get this done soon!

  1. Complete the PA State Police Request for Criminal Record Check (No cost)
    • Issued by the Pennsylvania State Police
    • Browse to Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History
    • Select: “New Volunteer Record Check”
    • Fill out the information requested and submit form
    • Save your Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check result form.
    • The form should have a control number and say “no record”.
    • If a criminal record is found, send the report to safety@firstinspires.org .
    • If you have questions regarding your PA State Police Criminal Record Check, please call: Toll Free at 1-888-783-7972, or (717) 783-9973.
  2. Complete the PA Child Abuse History Clearance (No cost)
    • Issued by the Department of Human Services
    • Create an Individual Account on the Child Welfare Portal
    • Select: “Create Individual Account”
    • Once your Keystone ID is created, go back to URL above and select INDIVIDUAL LOGIN
    • Fill out the information requested and submit form
    • You will be notified by email when your Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance report is ready. Save your PA Child Abuse History Clearance result form.
    • Note: The report may be ready well in advance of when you are notified. Please check your account periodically if you are waiting for a report.
  3. Complete the FBI Fingerprint Based Record Check (small cost)
    • See Keep Kids Safe FBI Criminal History Clearance for information
    • You will need the volunteer code: 1KG6ZJ1
    • You will need to locate a facility on their site to travel to to get fingerprinted
    • You will be charged about $23.85 at the facility to get fingerprinted
    • Note: The FBI fingerprint based record check should come back within a couple of days if you are cleared, or up to two weeks by mail if you aren’t.
  4. Please gather the three documents needed to volunteer with FIRST. Verify the documents are accurate, legible, and not expired.
  5. Save all the documents as PDFs and in a standard format (like “PA_Criminal_Record_Check_JaneDoe.pdf”).
  6. Submit the forms using this link: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/225f62e442bb48b0899d9a92b4ffe77b
    Fill out the information and upload your documents.
  7. FIRST will review within a few days and should update your account.
  8. You can check your status at the bottom of your YPP status page:  https://my.firstinspires.org/Profile/wizard/MyProfile/5

Once you obtain the document necessary for the PA Background Checks, they are yours to copy and keep and use for any time you volunteer with youth in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The documents expire five years from the date of issue.

I am an event volunteer (or lead coach/mentor) that’s resided in Pennsylvania for 10 years or more

You will need to complete the following steps:

Note: For people who have lived in Pennsylvania for the past 10 years, this process generally takes less than an hour.

  1. Complete the PA State Police Request for Criminal Record Check
    • Issued by issued by the Pennsylvania State Police
    • Browse to Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History
    • Select: “New Volunteer Record Check”
    • Fill out the information requested and submit form
    • Save your Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check result form.
    • The form should have a control number and say “no record”.
    • If a criminal record is found, send the report to safety@firstinspires.org .
    • If you have questions regarding your PA State Police Criminal Record Check, please call: Toll Free at 1-888-783-7972, or (717) 783-9973.
  2. Complete the PA Child Abuse History Clearance
    • Issued by the Department of Human Services
    • Create an Individual Account on the Child Welfare Portal
    • Select: “Create Individual Account”
    • Once your Keystone ID is created, go back to URL above and select INDIVIDUAL LOGIN
    • Fill out the information requested and submit form
    • You will be notified by email when your Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance report is ready. Save your PA Child Abuse History Clearance result form.
    • Note: The report may be ready well in advance of when you are notified. Please check your account periodically if you are waiting for a report.
  3. Complete the Disclosure Statement for Volunteers
  4. Please gather the three documents needed to volunteer with FIRST. Verify the documents are accurate, legible, and not expired.
  5. Save all the documents as PDFs and in a standard format (like “PA_Criminal_Record_Check_JaneDoe.pdf”).
  6. Submit the forms using this link: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/225f62e442bb48b0899d9a92b4ffe77b
    Fill out the information and upload your documents.
  7. FIRST will review within a few days and should update your account.
  8. You can check your status at the bottom of your YPP status page: https://my.firstinspires.org/Profile/wizard/MyProfile/5

Once you obtain the documents necessary for the PA Background Checks, they are yours to copy keep and use for any time you volunteer with youth in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The documents expire five years from the date of issue.

I am an event volunteer (or lead coach/mentor) that resides outside of Pennsylvania, volunteering for 30 days or less in PA

You will need to complete the following steps:

  1. Complete all screenings in accordance with the Child Protection laws of your state
  2. Complete, sign, and have witness sign the Non-Resident Attestation Form
  3. Save the document as a PDF and in a standard format (like “PA_Non_Resident_Attestation_Form_Check_JaneDoe.pdf”).
  4. Submit the form using this link: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/225f62e442bb48b0899d9a92b4ffe77b
    Fill out the information and upload your document.
  5. FIRST will review within a few days and should update your account.
  6. You can check your status at the bottom of your YPP status page: https://my.firstinspires.org/Profile/wizard/MyProfile/5

Keep this form for your records as you can use it for any time you volunteer with youth in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The document expire five years from the date of signing.

I am an event volunteer (or lead coach/mentor) that resides outside of Pennsylvania, volunteering for over 30 days

If you do not reside in Pennsylvania, and you plan to volunteer for over 30 days within Pennsylvania, you need to follow the full directions for Pennsylvania residents living less than 10 years (above).

I am not an event volunteer but a coach, mentor, or other adult affiliated with a team competing in Pennsylvania

All coaches, mentors and other adults, regardless of state of residency or location of the team, are required to be in compliance with the:

  1. FIRST Youth Protection Program
  2. Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law

Compliance with the Pennsylvania Child Protection Services Law, including tracking clearances of adults, is the responsibility of each individual team and their School or Organization.

Starting in 2026-2027 season, all coaches will need to upload their Pennsylvania Child Protection Services documents to FIRST in order to be able to be listed with the team.