New provisions in Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services Law require individuals to obtain several clearances every five years, in the course of their employment or volunteer activities, if they have direct contact with children because they provide care, supervision, guidance or control of children, and routine interaction with children defined as “regular and repeated contact that is integral to a person’s employment responsibilities.”

Visit this website for instructions and links to apply for these clearances:

http://keepkidssafe.pa.gov/resources/clearances/index.htm

You are required to keep 1) copies of your clearances, and 2) those of your employees. You must also require prospective employees to produce these documents prior to employment. Clearances obtained for volunteer purposes cannot be used for employment purposes, but employment clearances are acceptable for volunteer activities.

To ensure that you are in full compliance with Pennsylvania’s child abuse laws, be sure to register for PDA’s custom designed CE course (Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting Requirements for Dental Professionals), which is offered as an online course for both members and your professional dental staff. This program will fulfill the two-hour training requirement and count toward the CE credit hours you need to renew your dental license.