Editorial: Criminal checks alone can't protect our kids

It was the kind of news that keeps parents awake at night: In just a two-week period earlier this month, a coach and a self-defense instructor were charged with having sex with teenagers.

Understandably, the two cases -- one involving a 15-year-old in Forest Lake and the other a 16-year-old in Robbinsdale -- sparked an immediate call for strengthened screening for youth coaches and instructors in schools and community education programs. Faced with an overwhelming number of requests for waivers and a growing need for coaches, the state scaled back licensing requirements in 1991, and some educators say the Legislature should establish new, tougher requirements.

It's natural to look for quick solutions, especially when our children are at risk. The disturbing truth is that there aren't any surefire ways to prevent adults from taking advantage of vulnerable children. A potential coach may pass even the most stringent licensing tests, but that doesn't guarantee his future actions. Deviant sexual behavior is not a problem we can legislate away.

Minnesota school districts already are required to complete Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) checks on all employees. It's then up to the districts to determine if a teacher or coach should be hired. In the case involving the Robbinsdale Cooper High School assistant hockey coach, the background check showed convictions for driving without a license and violating a restraining order, and bookings on misdemeanor offenses, including theft.

He was hired anyway, and district officials have said any record of violence or inappropriate behavior toward kids would have disqualified him.

Therein lies the complexity of the problem. Should the district have refused to hire the coach based on the violations that surfaced in the BCA check? In hindsight, of course, but it was a completely different call before the sexual conduct allegations surfaced.

Certainly school district officials and administrators of community education programs need to make sure their background checks are reviewed when making hiring decisions. But in the end, engaged parents with open lines of communication to their kids may be the best defense.