The Office of Youth Protection suggests a program budget for an average background check cost of $30 per background check.

If an individual has lived in additional counties in the past seven years based upon their residency history, additional county searches will cost $6 plus access fees (if applicable). Access fee costs vary from county to county and state to state.

Depending on what information is needed, additional fees may apply.  

Each program is responsible for its own background check costs. Please check with your program director for next steps on how to proceed.  

Background checks are typically processed in 2-3 business days through CoreScreening (the Office of Youth Protection's preferred vendor).  

With any vendor, delays can result if a county where court records need to be searched by hand are understaffed, if someone has lived in a variety of places/has a lengthy residency history or has lived internationally, or due to other delays outside of the control of the University or the background check vendor.

The Protection of Minors and Reporting Abuse Policy requires background checks to be completed at least 72 hours prior to the start of the program and programs should account for this time frame and potential processing delays when submitting their program staff list. 

If your program is conducting background checks through CoreScreening, you will receive an email with instructions to the email that was entered by your program director in the youth protection portal, 45 days out from the start date of the program to complete the background check. This 45-day window accommodates the variety of youth programs, some of which operate on a year-round schedule. For example, if the program starts on July 1, you will receive your background check application on or around May 17.  

The Protection of Minors and Reporting Abuse Policy outlines the time frame of twenty-four months for background check processing and expiration.  

Twenty-four months (two years) is a consistent industry standard for expiration cycles and updating background checks for individuals who have direct contact with youth. 

If your background check is being conducted through CoreScreening, then you will enter 111-11-1111 in the SSN field.  

Some programs will opt to conduct an international background check through CoreScreening. Please check with your program director on next steps. 

Yes, if approved by the Office of Youth Protection, a program can use a background check run through another vendor, including the University of Virginia HR background check vendor.

Please be aware of the following:

You will become the main point of contact with the vendor and/or University of Virginia HR for obtaining and uploading the relevant information.

The Office of Youth Protection will NOT have access to the background check system or the systems of other vendors.

• The program is solely responsible for obtaining cleared background checks within a time frame that meets the policy requirements (72 hours prior to the start of the program session).
• The Office of Youth Protection cannot guarantee that a background check run through another vendor will be completed within a certain timeframe.
• Pricing structures and payment methods/options vary vendor to vendor and programs are responsible for coordinating these details.
• If using UVA HR to conduct background checks:
  • The communication process between the program and HR to confirm information may add time to the front end of the process and may create delays in the program's initiation of background checks for individuals.
  • Not every UVA HR representative may have access to all information across the HR system. In the past, the Office of Youth Protection has requested information for temporary staff, regular staff, and student-employees, and has been told by UVA HR that they are unable to see the information because it is not within their area. You may need to work with multiple points of contact within HR depending upon the student or employee status of your covered program staff. 

1. Receive approval from the Office of Youth Protection to use a background check vendor other than the preferred vendor (CoreScreening).  
2. Contact your department/unit HR point of contact or [email protected].
3. Request the date of the most recent background check for the individual(s) in your program staff list.

Programs have found the language below helpful when requesting this information:

I’m looking to confirm if the individuals listed below have had a background check completed through UVA HR and the date the background check was completed.  

These individuals will be serving or working in a youth program and are required under the University's Protection of Minors and Reporting Abuse Policy to have a background check.

Please check each person by Social Security number (as found in the Workday record, if applicable), as searching by name does not always return results.

[List of program staff] 

When your HR point of contact responds, determine which category each person’s background check fits into and take the appropriate action.

Current Background Checks
The background check was completed within 24 months of the start date of your program session. Example: Program starts June 1, 2022. The background check must have been completed after June 1, 2020.  

This person does not need a new background check for this program session.

1. Add the date to the spreadsheet (attachment below and also available in the Youth Protection Portal).
2. Upload the spreadsheet to your Youth Protection Portal program registration.
3. The Office of Youth Protection receives a notification you have uploaded a spreadsheet and will connect the upload to your program.
4. Background check compliance will be reflected in your program's staff list. 

Expired Background Checks
Background check was completed more than 24 months from the start date of your program session. Example: Program starts June 1, 2022. An expired background check would have been completed before June 1, 2020.

This individual will need a new background check for this program session. 

1. Request the HR point of contact to order a background check for the individual.
2. HR point of contact reports back to you when the background check has been completed/cleared through their vendor. The program should maintain frequent contact with HR to follow up on the status of the background check.
3. Receive confirmation of a completed background check and the date it was completed/cleared.
4. Add the date to the spreadsheet (attachment below and also available in the Youth Protection Portal).
5. Upload the spreadsheet to your Youth Protection Portal program registration.
6. The Office of Youth Protection receives a notification that you have uploaded a spreadsheet and will connect the upload to your program.
7. Background check compliance will be reflected in your program's staff list. 
   . 

1. Receive approval from the Office of Youth Protection to use a background check vendor other than the preferred vendor (CoreScreening).  
2. Add the completion/clearance dates to the spreadsheet (attachment below and also available in the Youth Protection Portal).
3. Upload the spreadsheet to your Youth Protection Portal program registration.
4. The Office of Youth Protection receives a notification that you have uploaded a spreadsheet and will connect the upload to your program.
5. Background check compliance will be reflected in your program's staff list