Spring 2008 Update: CORI Procedures: Please read entire page for important information.
The MACUCC and the Mass. CHSB (Criminal History Systems Board) STRONGLY suggest that ALL churches in the MACUCC become certified. WHY? To practice safe church practices and to satisfy insurance coverage and liability issues. Certified agencies have a greater scope of access than publicly available CORI.
How does a church become certified and how do you process CORI’s at the local church?
- All of the information to guide you in the process of conducting a CORI is available at the Criminal History System Board’s website; www.mass.gov/chsb.Your first step should be to visit this website to review the regulations and steps involved.
- Basically, the steps begin with selecting a person (s) within the congregation who will be responsible for and have authorization to accessing CORI information. The recommendation is that this person (s) not be staff. Each church probably has a person who is already familiar with the procedure because he or she is a nursery school Director, a school employee, lawyer, social worker, elder care agent or other professional who is involved in the CORI process. Once you have decided to become CORI certified:
- Individuals applying for authorization to conduct and review CORI’s will also be CORI’d. You will only be notified if you are determined inappropriate to access CORI. Additionally the church must have a locked file cabinet available to store the CORI’s. The room where the file cabinet is located must also be locked. Review the CORI MODEL POLICY: http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/chsb/cori_model_policy.pdf
- The certified individual will then need to provide individuals who are to be CORI’d with an authorization form that gives the certified person (administrator) permission to seek a CORI. This form is issued by the CHSB at the time of certification.
- This form must be signed by the certified individual and must appear on church letterhead. Identification of the individual who is being CORI’d must be verified by reviewing a driver’s license or other form of acceptable photographic identification. A copy of this identification must be kept on file with the CORI applicant form.
- Attend a CORI training session. www.mass.gov/chsb. (Mandatory for certification and renewal.)
CORI’s can be mailed to the Criminal History Systems Board or churches can request CORI web access. To be set up for the online process, you must contact the Criminal History Systems Board.
Churches are non profits so they should not need to pay the fee for requesting a CORI. To have the fees waived, you must request a waiver from the Criminal History Systems Board. To request a waiver, submit a letter on church letterhead stating that your church should be allowed free access to CORI’s because it serves the public interest.
The Criminal History Systems Board has determined that a fee exemption shall serve the
public interest only where:
- the agency or entity requesting the fee exemption provides services to the elderly, children, victims of crime, medically infirm persons, or the physically or mentally challenged; and
- more than 50% of the staff of the agency or entity are uncompensated volunteers; and
- the agency or entity requesting the fee exemption charges no fee for its services or charges a nominal fee that may be waived.
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Who should be CORI’d?
- It is strongly advised that all adults who will be spending overnights with children/youth submit to a CORI. In addition, church staff that spends unaccountable time with children/youth should also be CORI’d. This could include the pastor, sexton, CE Director, youth leaders and church musicians. Youth leaders who will be attending overnight events sponsored by the Massachusetts Conference are required to be CORI’d and it will be the responsibility of each church to provide the necessary information to perform a CORI. CHURCHES THAT APPLY FOR CERTIFICATION SHOULD NOTE THAT THE CRIMINAL HISTORY SYSTEMS BOARD HAS AUTHORIZED A GENERAL GRANT OF ACCESS UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF MASS. GENERAL LAWS, chapter 6, paragraph 172: “Programs operated by religious organizations may receive CORI pertaining to conviction and pending criminal case data for the purpose of screening current and otherwise-qualified prospective staff that have the POTENTIAL for UNMONITORED access to children.” This "general grant of access" only means that you do not have to go before the CHSB board to apply for certification. You still must apply on-line or via the mail. You are not required by law to conduct CORI’s on every Sunday school teacher and volunteer. A CORI report is not a guarantee of child’s safety, but the MACUCC and the CHSB recommend that Safe Church policies are practiced and routinely updated. A model guideline for establishing Safe Church policies is available at http://www.ucc.org/ministries/safe/.
- A person cannot be CORI’d prior to consideration for employment or serving as a volunteer. A CORI can only be conducted after a decision has been made that the candidate is qualified for the position.
Effective June 30, 2005 the Criminal History Systems Board implemented new regulations for processing Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) requests. Due to the new procedures, we regret that the Massachusetts Conference is no longer be able to perform CORI’s for local churches UNLESS the MACUCC is sponsoring an event involving youth. Examples include Confirmation Retreats and Mission Trips. In that case, ALL leaders must be CORI’d or provide a CORI report that is less than 2 years old from the date of the event.
An individual is entitled to access his/her CORI by submitting a request form; http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/chsb/cori_request_personal.pdf. The cost is $25.00 and the church may pay the fee if so desired.
These procedures may sound somewhat complicated, however once you maneuver your way through the system, the process of obtaining CORI’s is quite simple and can be conducted on a regular basis. Feel free to contact Cindy Bolton (CORI Administrator) if you have additional questions (508-875-5233, or boltonc@macucc.org) To schedule a Safe Church Workshop contact Susan Dickerman (508-875-5233 or dickermans@macucc.org)
Most importantly,
A SAFE CHURCH IS EVERYONE’S RESPONSBILITY
Go to Safe Church Page
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