Do you have to pay for the background check? How are you going to do background checks on actors when you don't even know who the actors will be? Or are you going to have to do background checks on all actors in future productions? Would actors have to be cast contingent on passing a background check? Sheesh, in a small market it can be hard enough as it is to find actors and volunteers without scaring people off with background checks.  

Originally posted by suzecue1  We haven't gone as far as to require the background checks yet, but I think it may happen in the future.

I guess that's the way things are going with everything.  The unfortunate thing is we're talking about theater and you're going to have a higher percentage of eccentric and erratic personalities than other endeavors. (My perception. Feel free to disagree) I'm curious what specifically are they looking for in these background checks. What would exclude you from participating? I mean child molestation is a no-brainer, but what about getting busted for pot in 1986? Or hospitalization for a mental disorder? Drunk driving? Bankruptcy?  What if someone had been in jail for imbezzlement years ago and had turned his life around? 

Maybe a felon as treasurer might not be such a bad idea.  He might be able to get his hands on more money than we have coming in now!

We have what is called a Police Clearance here, which employers & organisations may require to be obtained by the applicant for a job or membership.
As yet it is not a requirement by any Insurance companies generally, but I would imagine it may be for certain jobs.
However this clearance can be very subjective as it is at the police discretion how the information is reviewed, wether or not a clearance is given.
I have been involved with a number of applicants who were knocked back, on the grounds of a previous police charge having been made against them.
In these cases the charge was withdrawn, falsely accused & found not guilty.
Each were considered by the police as initial charge was made, the applicant must be guilty, thus precluded them from obtaining a clearance,
In each of these cases the information was removed from the police records, only after a demands that the information be destroyed.
Being a Justice I advised each applicant to have this done before a Justice, therefore proof of same being provided to each applicant & a clearance be obtained.
The problem seemed to be in each situation the clearance policy was defined as having been previously charge, not the out come of the charge, being dismissed or with drawn. Even in the instance of the Magistrate finding the defendant was proved not guilty.
The employee of the police department concluded that the charge must have been only  dismissed because of a lack of evidence, therefore assumed the person must have been guilty, because a not guilty verdict had not been recorded in the computer.
However in each case it took an investigation to reveal & rectify the situation, before a clearance could be rightfully obtained.
The clearance policy & guide lines have been modified since these & other cases were brought to light.
So in a lot of situations the reasons & circumstances should be checked out first before your organisation accepts anything untoward in a persons background.
Inversely the same with more desirable applicant information that may be needed.

Isn't it unfortunate that it's come to this?  However, a few precautionary measures in today's world can most likely save a lot of woe down the road. 

My kneejerk reaction is to find another new insurance company, but you might just run into more of the same.  You need to get back to your previous insurer and ask why they dropped you.  Go back to them not so much to try to get them back, but to get  feedback that could be really valuable in understanding what your theatre might have to do to become more insurable.  If other insurance companies know you were dropped, they might ask you to do impossible tasks, like getting background checks on EVERYBODY, in order to avoid your business.  Your theatre is going to have to address whatever the issue was that led to being dropped.

Next, I would contact several insurance reps (maybe you already have someone involved with your organization) and discuss the nature and structure of community theatre.  Ultimately, you are looking for a community theatre friendly insurer, so don't think of this as a background check issue, think of this as finding a business partner that's going to help with all your insurance needs.  You might end up paying a little more, but there's no end of good a great and understanding business partner can be.

You will further need to understand that background checks may become a way of life for your theatre - another item in the "cost of doing business".  So decide who you believe in your theatre management and production processes should get background checks and start getting them done.  Then you can use this as a "negotiation" point with any insurer.  The more pro-active you become as an organization, the more respect you'll gain from potential business partners - not to mention judges and juries if the worst case scenario becomes a reality and your theatre is sued and hauled into court. 

You should also decide how you're going to deal with any individual who does have a track record as a sex offender -- no matter how long ago the offense took place.  You may want to be more forgiving than the courts, insurers, and even the general public (talk about a p.r. nightmare!), but you need to protect your participants and your theatre.  Here are three things that could be done:  (1) nothing; (2) require that the offender always be accompanied in the theatre by a "responsible" individual (an adult who has a clean record); or (3) ban the offender from your organization.  There may be other alternatives.

Good luck with all this and stay in touch to let everyone know what comes of it.  Insurance is an issue everyone has to deal with and if there is a new trend coming up, we all need to be aware of it!

Be safe. Be healthy.

Kibitzer