❖ Heads up! This article is only intended for Agency Managers.
By the end of this article, you will be able to:
Require background checks for volunteers on specific Needs
Review background check results and statuses
Manage background check expirations and overrides
Overview
Sterling Volunteers allows your Agency to complete background checks for volunteers 18 years or older before they respond to a Need. Not all sites have Sterling enabled — contact your Site Manager if you’re interested.
Key points:
Volunteers without a completed background check will be directed to Sterling Volunteers when responding to a Need
Results are delivered to the volunteer, Site Manager, and Agency Manager within 4–48 hours
Background checks cannot be completed for Team responses; enabling a background check disables team registration for that Need
Enabling Background Checks on a Need
Go to the Needs area of your Agency Manager dashboard.
To create a new Need, click Add New Need.
To edit an existing Need, click the Need title or the Edit button.
Scroll to Require Background Check? under the Duration field.
Select a package from the Select Package dropdown.
To learn about Sterling packages, visit Sterling Volunteers or email theadvocate@sterlingvolunteers.com.
Complete any additional edits and click Update Need (or Create Need for a new one).
✅ Best practice: Check Notify respondents of this update? if the Need already has volunteer responses
The Allow Team Registration option goes away when you opt to require background checks.
Reviewing Background Check Results
Go to the Sterling Volunteers tab in your Agency Manager dashboard.
From here, you can:
Export results to CSV
Access the Sterling Volunteers account
Check the status of submitted background checks
Background Check Statuses
Status | Description |
Pending | Volunteer has started the check and cannot respond until cleared |
New | Submitted but not yet reviewed by Sterling |
Clear | Passed but not yet marked eligible |
Eligible | Approved and can complete the Need response form |
Ineligible | Not approved; cannot respond
We can override the results so that they can complete the background check again, as applicable. Contact your Site Manager so that they can request an override with us. |
Consider | Requires review; contact Site Manager for override |
Expired | Must re-submit background check |
Adjudicated | Complete; results coming soon |
Overriding a Result
Mistakes happen! If information was entered incorrectly, contact your Site Manager to request an override so the volunteer can redo the background check.
Setting Background Check Expiration
Go to the Sterling Volunteers area of your Agency Manager dashboard.
Select how long to honor a background check: 1, 2, 3 years, 18 months, or forever.
Click Submit.
Once expired, the volunteer must complete a new background check.
Disabling Background Checks on a Need
Go to Needs.
Select the Need.
Scroll to Require Background Check? and set Select Package to blank.
Click Update Need.
The Allow Team Registration option will reappear once background checks are removed.
Volunteer Perspective
The Sterling Volunteers logo appears on Need cards and on the Need detail page.
Clicking Respond takes volunteers to a Background Check page, then to Sterling Volunteers to complete the check.
Volunteers can contact Sterling directly:
Phone: (855) 326-1860, Option 3.