background checks for EAA Young Eagles pilots?

The issue is that the site that EAA directs you from is NOT the company they say it is. It is hiding behind an anonymous registration and an SSL certificate for another company (which I have reason to believe is the actual people getting your information). The EAA has done nothing but obfuscation on this without explanation. They tell you "Oh sure, it's safe it uses SSL" Well, it's not, all it tells you that you have a secure connection to someone who might misuse your information.
 
flyingron said:
The issue is that the site that EAA directs you from is NOT the company they say it is. It is hiding behind an anonymous registration and an SSL certificate for another company (which I have reason to believe is the actual people getting your information). The EAA has done nothing but obfuscation on this without explanation. They tell you "Oh sure, it's safe it uses SSL" Well, it's not, all it tells you that you have a secure connection to someone who might misuse your information.
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And I am still working to resolve that issue. I'm trying to contact the company directly and ask the question and get an answer on that. If I find out anything I'll post it.
 
There is a huge credibility problem with EAA and the vendor. The EAA FAQ states that no data will be shared with any outside vendor at any time... Only problem is that they hired an outside vendor that hired another vendor to do the checks. AmericanChecked sends a person to a masked website that is owned by Backchecked LLC to run the information...Now, unless these are wholly owned by the EAA, I'd say that they were outside vendors to the EAA.

I'd say there is a little problem there.:yikes:
 
flyingron said:
The issue is that the site that EAA directs you from is NOT the company they say it is. It is hiding behind an anonymous registration and an SSL certificate for another company (which I have reason to believe is the actual people getting your information). The EAA has done nothing but obfuscation on this without explanation. They tell you "Oh sure, it's safe it uses SSL" Well, it's not, all it tells you that you have a secure connection to someone who might misuse your information.
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Some people have express concern over that issue, while others seem more concerned about their SSN. :dunno:

Meanwhile, an earlier screen capture has now been posted on Purple, showing that making SSN optional was apparently a change since January 22nd.
 
I'm familiar with the mentorship program EppyGA referred to, and don't see it as similar to Young Eagles. Nor are Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Big Brother, etc. I don't see a lasting mentorship/teacher/advisor role model relationship in YE's, or the risksfor organizations that create those relationships - it's an airplane ride.

EAA national acknowledges that this has not been well thought out or implemented, and has made changes. Previously collected Social Security numbers will be purged except for the last four digits, for example. The outside agency is used to separate EAA from members' personal data. Disqualifying Criminal history is supposedly limited to violent crime, and mainly child abuse. The information can be easily entered on the internet,. All per Jack Pelton, EAA CEO.

Young Eagles has been highly successful in terms of number of flights, safety record, and a total lack of events that the background checks are intended to prevent.

But, as was pointed out, the people involved in the events above are most likely first offenders, and background checks would not have located them. I would suspect that most with prior convictions would be prohibited from involvement by court order in any case. It seems likely that the approval cards can be forged. So, it also seems the prevention is ineffective, and there is little or no problem to prevent. It's hard to imagine how the checks could be helpful at all, but even harder to imagine how they could do more good than harm.

I'll guess that this will decrease YE volenteers by 30% or more, and even EAA Membership by perhaps 10%. I'll guess that the cost of initial (and perhaps reoccuring) will exceed the cost of any litigation. And I'll guess that 5 years from now EAA management will declare success because there will have been no more problems than in the last five years.

In trying to avoid the possible expense of litigation, they have incurred the certain expense of the background checks and record keeping. In trying to prevent a PR nightmare from an unfortunate event, they have created a PR nightmare. And, in trying to prevent a disaster that could destroy the program, have created one that may very well do just that.

I haven't yet decided whether I'll continue to volunteer for YE's, or even renew my membership.
 
To me, a pilot's certificate and medical should be enough for this purpose. Just because I can pass a background check doesn't mean I should always have to. And, I say this as someone who has flown protective details for the POTUS on a number of occasions at work.
 
I can't say the EAA has admitted anything. They blamed the members who complained for being unduly concerned that they were being asked to type their information into a site with a SSL certificate that wasn't who it said it was and was hiding behind an anonymous domain registration. They're answer was always "We have to do this" and "Trust us, it will be alright."
 
I ran into this problem when the Boy Scouts demanded a background check for me to teach a ground school for the Aviation merit badge. I figured what was good for the goose was good for the gander and I told them I would willingly undergo the check if they provided me with the BSA written procedure indicating how they would safeguard my information. They were asking for more than enough information to permit identity theft.... so I asked for them to show me how they were going to protect my information and also show me some audit trail that would let me believe they actually followed the paper procedure.

We went through about a week of "you don't need that" and I responded in like kind. I kept insisting, and said things like "it is just a shame the kids are to be deprived of this experience because you won't reveal your internal protocol, which surely you have".

Finally they let me teach the class so long as there was one properly vetted troop member in the room.

Push back on this background check thing. Find out how they will safeguard your information! I don't think this organization had any protocol at all for safeguarding this information! -Skip
 
EAA let me take these kids lives in my hands flying them in my airplane at my cost, but doesn't trust to me not rape them while I have my hands full of airplane. They can kiss my six goodbye. A solution in search of a problem.
 
Mmmmmk

So here's the deal with all this "for the children" crap, get over it.

Yeah there are some creeps, no matter what you do there always will be, but there are a HUGE number of people who are not looking to hurt your kid, in fact the majority of folks not only are NOT looking to have sex with your kid, not looking to kidnap your kid, heck most people probably find your kid annoying and dont even want to be around your kid.

I KNOW it's a crazy concept, you're like "but my kid is soo cute and soo awesome everyone must want to ether steal him or take weird pictures of him". FALSE, your kid isn't special, no one really cares about him, and sure as heck 99.99% of people arnt going to risk loosing their freedom or getting killed to abduct/abuse the annoying little chit.

.... Well minus having a huge urge to slap the crap out of the kid when he kicks the back of my chair on a flight.


Oh, and of the kids who do get abducted or abused, I recall hearing something about in the MASS MAJORITY of cases it's someone in the kids family or a close family friend, SO PLEASSSE tell me you ran a background check on your wife before you left her alone with your kid, as well as your own parents, your own brothers and sisters and all your friends and their friends, because how ridiculous would it be if you didn't do that before you subjected a intrusive background check on some poor EAA pilot who's nice enough to be taking time out of his schedule, burning gas in his plane just to take your annoying little kid on a flight.

So seeing most folks dont want anything to do with your kid, you really want to make it harder for some pilot folks (not exactly the chomo demo) to take your abnouxious little chit up for a airplane ride on their dime? Take a good hard look in the mirror and slap yourself, lay off watching Law and Order, quit watching Fox "News" and get a grip.
 
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So, a few days ago a pilot dug out an old Young Eagles certificate and took his great-grandson for a first flight and filled out the old certificate. The kid is thrilled and sent an effusive thank you note. The geezer didn't assault the kid. Now, what?
 
The Boy Scouts we just told to **** off and at least at the local level they let us go ahead and do the merit badge work (scout had to do a preflight, do some basic aerodynamic stuff, and then the flight).
 
EppyGA said:
For anyone interested here is the latest update email that went out.

http://pages.eaa.org/index.php/email/emailWebview?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRokv6/OZKXonjHpfsX76+4qWaCg38431UFwdcjKPmjr1YEFTsR0aPyQAgobGp5I5FEBS7DYT6V1t6UKWA==

The URL is still an issue they are addressing. They don't have an answer at this point in time. It may have been mentioned previously, but anyone that used their SSN early on in the process will have all but the last four purged from the system.
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Apparently my Background check has been pending since January...lol.

@flyingron - I volunteered to do that merit badge with the local packs here in FL (I'm a den leader with a pack in Sarasota). I got an acknowledgement but nothing since.
 
My EAA training and background check both got stuck in PENDING (I had not even typed anything into the form for the background check). After many complaints to the EAA they managed to release it so I could proceed.
 
No one has mentioned what happens in the case of a false positive. Where will a fellow go to get his reputation back after the local chapter has been advised, in error, that old Bob can't be around the kids anymore? Any process involving screening so many people as this is likely to have some percentage of false positive errors .

Scott
 
Just got confirmation from EAA that CAP Level 1 will satisfy the background check but the online training will still be required.

Colorado CAP members that are also EAA YE - don't worry about it. PM me your real name and I'll take care of it. There are definite advantages to being Wing IT. I'll just create the list, pass it along to Wing Powers That Be, and have them send it along. You'll still have to take the EAA online training.

Other CAP Wings - PM me, and I'll send along the email from EAA HQ for your reference.
 
The online training will take you three minutes unless you trip over one of the ubiquitous bugs in their POS system. Actually, I got all the way through the final exam but it got stuck "recording the results."
 
l8evator said:
No one has mentioned what happens in the case of a false positive. Where will a fellow go to get his reputation back after the local chapter has been advised, in error, that old Bob can't be around the kids anymore? Any process involving screening so many people as this is likely to have some percentage of false positive errors .

Scott
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I anticipate that Bob would do the American thing and sue both EAA and the background check provider.
 
Actually the American thing would be to mindlessly agree with anything a database says.
 
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