March 2010 Update: CORI Procedures: Please read entire page for important information.

CORI Training Dates: In order to become certified or get your certification renewed, you must attend a training session. Click here for upcoming dates:  CORI Training Dates.

The MACUCC and the Mass. CHSB (Criminal History Systems Board) STRONGLY suggest that ALL churches in the MACUCC become certified.   WHY?  To practice safe church practices and to satisfy insurance coverage and liability issues. Certified agencies have a greater scope of access than publicly available CORI. CORI reports do NOT replace Safe Church policies and are not infallible; they should be used in conjunction with sensible Safe Church procedures. 

 How does a church become certified and how do you process CORI’s at the local church? 

• All of the information to guide you in the process of conducting a CORI is available at the Criminal History System Board’s website; www.mass.gov/chsb.Your first step should be to visit this website to review the regulations and steps involved.

• Forms and application information.

• Basically, the steps begin with selecting a person (s) within the congregation who will be responsible for and have authorization to accessing CORI information. The recommendation is that this person (s) not be staff. Each church probably has a person who is already familiar with the procedure because he or she is a nursery school Director, a school employee, lawyer, social worker, elder care agent or other professional who is involved in the CORI process.  Once you have decided to become CORI certified:

• Fill out the CORI Certification Application (PAGES 1&2)    http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/chsb/cori_cert.pdf  Download the PDF and fill it out before processing the application on-line (see next paragraph.)  DO NOT MAIL THE APPLICATION. Effective September 2, 2008 all applications, new AND renewals must be done on-line.

Please note that PDF files are available so you have the information in front of you before you proceed on-line. The following information is direct from the CHSB website: http://coriweb.chs.state.ma.us/cass/terms.html

• On-line Certification Application Users http://coriweb.chs.state.ma.us/cass/terms.html
  Effective Sept. 2, 2008 all applications for CORI certification must be submitted through the CHSB On-line Certification Application (OCA) program. The CHSB will no longer accept applications submitted by mail or fax. If your agency is NEW to the CORI certification process and has not previously been certified then you may submit your application by selecting “I agree” on this page and proceeding with the application by following the prompts. If your agency is applying to either RENEW or EXPAND your CORI certification and you have already been assigned a agency code, usercode and password then you may proceed with entering your RENEWAL or EXPANDED application. If you do not have a usercode and password please call the CHSB CORI Unit at 617-660-4640 prior to entering your RENEWAL or EXPANDED application. Please note, you will not need a usercode and password for the NEW application and do not need to call prior to submitting a NEW application.

Prior to entering a NEW, RENEWAL or EXPANDED application you will need the following information:

(a) Name and contact information for your company, including email address and phone number.

(b) License number (if applicable) for your agency.

(c) Name and date of birth for each individual that will request, review or receive CORI.
If your application is “Timed Out” please contact the CHSB legal department at 617-660-4760 to notify staff of this message. Please note, if your application is “Timed Out” an application error has occurred and you will need to reenter your application. Please also note, you may not pause or save your application. Once you begin the entering the application you will need to enter all responses at one time.

This person (s) then submits the form on-line to the Criminal History Systems Board requesting authorization to conduct CORI’s on behalf of the local church AND completes an Individual Agreement of Non-Disclosure and Statement of CORI Certification Compliance: http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/chsb/cori_cert.pdf (PAGE 3) http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/chsb/cori_non_disclose.pdf  (Anyone reviewing a CORI must also complete AOND)

• Individuals applying for authorization to conduct and review CORI’s will also be CORI’d. You will only be notified if you are determined inappropriate to access CORI. Additionally the church must have a locked file cabinet available to store the CORI’s. The room where the file cabinet is located must also be locked.   Review the CORI MODEL POLICY: http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/chsb/cori_model_policy.pdf

• The certified individual will then need to provide individuals who are to be CORI’d with an authorization form that gives the certified person (administrator) permission to seek a CORI. This form is issued by the CHSB at the time of certification.

• This form must be signed by the certified individual and must appear on church letterhead. Identification of the individual who is being CORI’d  must be verified by reviewing a driver’s license or other form of acceptable photographic identification. A copy of this identification must be kept on file with the CORI applicant form.

• Attend a CORI training session.  www.mass.gov/chsb.  (Mandatory for certification and renewal.)

 CORI’s can be mailed to the Criminal History Systems Board or churches can request CORI web access. To be set up for the online process, you must contact the Criminal History Systems Board.

Churches are non profits so they should not need to pay the fee for requesting a CORI. To have the fees waived, you must request a waiver from the Criminal History Systems Board. To request a waiver, submit a letter on church letterhead stating that your church should be allowed free access to CORI’s because it serves the public interest.

 

The Criminal History Systems Board has determined that a fee exemption shall serve the       public interest only where: the agency or entity requesting the fee exemption provides services to the elderly, children, victims of crime, medically infirm persons, or the physically or mentally challenged; and more than 50% of the staff of the agency or entity are uncompensated volunteers; and the agency or entity requesting the fee exemption charges no fee for its services or charges a nominal fee that may be waived.

Who should be CORI’d?

• It is strongly advised that all adults who will be spending overnights with children/youth submit to a CORI. In addition, church staff that spends unaccountable time with children/youth should also be CORI’d. This could include the pastor, sexton, CE Director, youth leaders and church musicians. Youth leaders who will be attending overnight events sponsored by the Massachusetts Conference are required to be CORI’d and it will be the responsibility of each church to provide the necessary information to perform a CORI. CHURCHES THAT APPLY FOR CERTIFICATION SHOULD NOTE THAT THE CRIMINAL HISTORY SYSTEMS BOARD HAS AUTHORIZED A GENERAL GRANT OF ACCESS UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF MASS. GENERAL LAWS, chapter 6, paragraph 172:  “Programs operated by religious organizations may receive CORI pertaining to conviction and pending criminal case data for the purpose of screening current and otherwise-qualified prospective staff that have the POTENTIAL for UNMONITORED access to children.” This "general grant of access" only means that you do not have to go before the CHSB board to apply for certification. You still must apply on-line or via the mail.  You are not required by law to conduct CORI’s on every Sunday school teacher and volunteer. A CORI report is not a guarantee of child’s safety, but the MACUCC and the CHSB recommend that Safe Church policies are practiced and routinely updated. A model guideline for establishing Safe Church policies is available at http://www.ucc.org/ministries/safe/.

• A person cannot be CORI’d prior to consideration for employment or serving as a volunteer. A CORI can only be conducted after a decision has been made that the candidate is qualified for the position.

Effective June 30, 2005 the Criminal History Systems Board implemented new regulations for processing Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) requests.  Due to the new procedures, we regret that the Massachusetts Conference is no longer be able to perform CORI’s for local churches UNLESS the MACUCC is sponsoring an event involving youth. Examples include Confirmation Retreats and Mission Trips.  In that case, ALL leaders must be CORI’d or provide a CORI report that is less than 2 years old from the date of the event.

An individual is entitled to access his/her CORI by submitting a request form; http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/chsb/cori_request_personal.pdf. The cost is $25.00 and the church may pay the fee if so desired.

These procedures may  sound somewhat complicated, however once you maneuver your way through the system, the process of obtaining CORI’s is quite simple and can be conducted on a regular basis. Feel free to contact Cindy Bolton (CORI Administrator) if you have additional questions (508-875-5233, or boltonc@macucc.org) To schedule a Safe Church Workshop contact Susan Dickerman (508-875-5233 or dickermans@macucc.org)

Most importantly,

 A SAFE CHURCH IS EVERYONE’S RESPONSBILITY

Go to Safe Church Page