Each region works with different school districts who have varying rules and regulations for volunteering with minors. Local staff and screeners must be aware of the procedures for region-specific background checks.
This article describes the New York City Go Pass fingerprinting process and the responsibilities of screening staff.
Go Pass and NYC Service
Go Pass is a partnership between the Department of Education and NYC Service that administers background checks for volunteers working with vulnerable populations. Go Pass background checks refresh indefinitely, meaning volunteers who were previously cleared can be made ineligible for service again if a new flag comes up on their background check.
All NYC mentors must be fingerprinted via the Go Pass system. Applicants will fill out an electronic background check release form that asks them to provide their Social Security number, past addresses, and other information required by Go Pass. This form is sent via Sign Now to the email the applicant used when completing their online Mentor Application.
Background Check Results
Once applicants have been fingerprinted (the applicant will inform the screener), the screener who owns the application will update their status on Salesforce to Fingerprinted.
After applicants clear the Go Pass background check, their status will be updated to “Background Check Approved” through the PETS status upload. This upload occurs every 2-3 business days (primarily Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings) and refreshes the Go Pass eligibility of all mentors in Salesforce. During the busy season, the upload is conducted daily
Pending Investigation and other Notifications
If a volunteer is under additional investigation, the NYC Senior Volunteer Screening Manager will be notified by Go Pass and will update the volunteer's status manually to Pending Investigation. The NYC Senior Volunteer Screening Manager checks on volunteers with no change in status every other day and will follow up with Go Pass on their status periodically. The school district or background check vendor does not share confidential background check-related information with iMentor staff. All communications regarding an applicant's investigation stay between the district and the volunteer, unless the volunteer chooses to share any details with iMentor or discloses it as asked for in the application. For more details on investigations, visit the Pending Investigation article.
If an applicant with prior DOE fingerprinting has not been screened specifically by Go Pass, they will still need to schedule a Go Pass fingerprinting appointment via Identogo (which are fingerprinting locations that operate all over the tri-state area and work with iMentor and Go Pass) . This includes employees of the DOE or its vendors (like iMentor) who have already gone through the employee fingerprinting process. This is because volunteers and employees are screened under different laws that require the fingerprints and volunteer data to be held in different databases. The NYC regional manager will reach out directly to Go Pass to verify the type of fingerprints the volunteer has completed.
District contacts:
Go Pass – DOE [email protected]
