New York – Jewish Schools in NY Ignore Fingerprint Checks

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    New York – Fewer than 1 percent of the state’s 1,900 private schools run fingerprint checks on job applicants to screen for sex offenses and other criminal behavior, The Post has learned.

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    Statewide, only 17 private schools have submitted fingerprints since a 2007 law granted them the right, says the state Education Department.

    Unlike public schools, private schools are not required by law to do extensive background checks. The 2007 law stopped short of making it mandatory.

    There are approximately 380 private Jewish schools in New York State, attended by about 124,000 children.

    Yet, in nearly three years, only one Jewish school, the North Shore Hebrew Academy in Great Neck, has submitted fingerprints to SED.

    Fingerprinting is a far more reliable way than a simple name check to look for priors, said lawyer Elliot Pasik, a member of an advocacy group that wants Albany to require all schools to fingerprint.

    “Many do run applicants’ names, but there are a lot of mistakes with that. People can give false identities, for example. It’s very imperfect,” said Pasik, who filed a (PDF) Freedom of Information request with the state to find out which private schools ran fingerprints since 2007.

    But state officials note that, so far, none of the background checks run by the Education Department for private schools has yielded an applicant with a criminal history.

    According to a press release issued by Pasik Shortly after the optional nonpublic school background check law passed, a national umbrella group of yeshivas, Torah U’Mesorah, issued a memorandum in July 2007 to all of its approximate 700 member yeshivas urging them to do employee background checks. The memo notified them about the new law in New York State. Torah U’Mesorah is strongly connected to Agudath Israel of America, a national group dominated by ultra-orthodox rabbis.

    Notwithstanding that memo, it now appears that the optional background check law is being largely ignored. The one yeshiva taking advantage of it, North Shore Hebrew Academy, is considered a modern orthodox school.

    Neither Torah U’Mesorah nor Agudath Israel are known to be auditing the yeshivas for determining whether background checks are being performed, nor sanctioning them for failure to do so.

    Of concern to advocates and parents is that the Catholic school system in New York is virtually 100 per cent compliant with a system of doing background checks based on names, through a private company, Choicepoint. Torah U’Mesorah and Agudath Israel have not established such a system.


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    45 Comments
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    Dag
    Dag
    13 years ago

    We have given the Yeshivas plenty of time to do the right thing. Time for Markey

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Neither Aguda or Tora Umsorah have auditing capability or relationships with jewish schools. They have at most only cursury relationships. They exchange memos. But that it.

    judith
    judith
    13 years ago

    They are still in the mindset of “It can’t be one of us”.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Lets not complicte the matter. All it will take is a simple letter from gadolei yisroel to all chassideshe and litvashe yeshivot and beis yaakovs (and shuls that run preschool programs) saying that any teacher, assistant, janitor etc. i.e. ANYONE who goes near our yinglach must undergo a full background check with the authorities including fingerprints. No exceptions, even for rabbonim who are regarded as big talmeidi chacamim or who are “vouched for” by a chushive rav. Zero tolereance for anyone with ANY prior conviction of any kind of innapproriate behavior. If this serves to prevent even one tragic case of abuse, than whatever the cost of such checks will be worthwhile.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Stop with the non sense. Who needs this. Frum yiden will not do what the goy sad to do. We are yiden and we do what the thora sad to do.
    That’s history how jews against jews always acted. And they will act in the future. And that why we pray daily vlamalshnim. Its a prayer against sinful jews and jews who think they know better from our old rabbis. So history continues and we will deal with that the same way our old rabbis dealt with it

    RTJ
    RTJ
    13 years ago

    Thank you, attorney Pasik, for not letting this issue die. This gives the lie, once again, to Agudah’s claims that things have changed.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    can someone with some insight give us a reason or two why the frum schools would not adapt to finger printing? isnt thier goalbto keep kids as safe as possible? i smell a guge cover up here

    fight for our freedom!!
    fight for our freedom!!
    13 years ago

    fingerprinting is am infringement on my rights!!! i will not succumb to pasik’s preposterous demands!!! i am protected by the 4th amendment and i demand my freedom!!! lets start fingerprinting all lawyers and see what this pasik has to say about it!!!

    MO are not compliant too
    MO are not compliant too
    13 years ago

    Why is this targeting Torah U’Mesorah. Modern Orthodox schools and Solomon Schechter schools also belong to their own network. They have also ignored the new background checks. I call on Yeshiva University Affiliated schools and all Conservative schools to comply as well!!!!

    Q
    Q
    13 years ago

    Fingerprinting is a good start but how will it help if we don’t report molesters so their fingerprints are not in any data base???

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Nobody is hired “out of the blue” in Yeshivas because they have references, and there are no fingerprints on a live body so why fingerprint?

    Gregaaron
    Gregaaron
    13 years ago

    “Many do run applicants’ names, but there are a lot of mistakes with that. People can give false identities, for example. It’s very imperfect.”

    How many times has that been in issue in our Yeshivos?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Which mosad doesn’t know the staff they hire? in a community setting where everyone knows everyones gatcheh size no fingerprint background check is necessary. If there is geshmake shmutz everyone knows….

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Do not make it optional, make it mandatory!!! If they are not fingerprinted, so not let them through the door!! Accountants are fingerprinted also. anybody with a state license is fingerprinted!!

    shmiel glassman
    shmiel glassman
    13 years ago

    ANSWER! so why dont the yeshivas….its not because of “nisht by unz” -its because to be “in the sex offender registry” you need to have been “booked” & charged w/ at least a misdemeanor even a disorderly coduct chg would not get on the list
    in simple english you had to have done something , & have it called in & arrested & central booking & convicted or plead guilty & ONLY THEN ARE YOU ON THE LIST – i have personally gone thru three of the biggest databases by zipcode for ny nj – & you get a handful of odd frum characters for the most part. i can almost guarantee that there isnt 1 rebbe or teacher that is currently employed in a yeshiva thats on the list with a charge ; all the recent stories may have had rumors by unz but nothing on record
    as far as the cleaning help it would make sense thats assuming ” they exist”

    commonsen$e
    commonsen$e
    13 years ago

    Fingerprints is not the yeshuah, I think if we do fingerprints it is going to lead us false sense of security, when a person is hired in a hiemish yeshiva, the Yeshiva is doing extensive research on that person, and in such an enclosed community that we live they usually find out much more than finger prints can show… We don’t need the gvmnt goiyim telling us how to live what is good for them might not be good for us, we can take care of our self.

    Leon Zacharowicz MD
    Leon Zacharowicz MD
    13 years ago

    Many professionals, including physicians, are required to be fingerprinted, and at times are subject to a criminal background check, before licensure (e.g., New Jersey).

    It makes sense to investigate those who have access to our children, and a fingerprint check is a quick and very reliable way to screen out at least some of those who pose a danger to our children.

    Whether publicizing the sad state of affairs in some of our schools in the NY Post is the correct approach is another matter, but presumably Elliot Pasik, who has been dealing with victims of child sexual abuse for many, many years in our community, felt the need to ‘go public’ and use the power of the media to cajole our yeshivas and seminaries into taking action.

    100021
    100021
    13 years ago

    Re: finger prints.

    If a person has nothing to hide then he has nothing to fear.

    It is those with “histories” who make the most fuss about this simple – but necessary – precaution.

    formally
    formally
    13 years ago

    to all the naysayers,

    Is it so hard for a frum person to move toi another state with his or her family and after a few years everybody will vouch for him or her. Yet that person might have a checked past and no one would know. For those people who claim there is no more abusers in the yeshivas what drug or you on, even crack cannot do so mush damage.

    The stories that we read now, whether in VIN or not in VIN (there are many) that is only the tip of the iceberg since there is a code of silence in the community. It take a very brave family that is willing to buck the system of not reporting such events. To go against some robbonum (who are mistaken, and a danger) who say don’t go to the police.

    If I would be a parent I think a simple solution would be, Parents take your kids out of yeshiva until the yeshiva does fingerprint check. It might take a few weeks, but your love and safety of your children is strong than the yeshivas opposition to fingerprinting.

    You have the power since you have the numbers. Coco cola drinkers brought Coke to its knees many years ago when the changed the flavor simply buy not buying Coke any more. Coke is more powerfull than the yeshiva .

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    the same thing goes for all the school bus drivers are not tested for drug use so the next time u c ur bus driver high feel good

    shmiel glassman
    shmiel glassman
    13 years ago

    you didnt bother to read the comment- you agree that there isnt much on record because people dont call the police , & the ” hundreds of files in the das office ” would also not show up in a search!! i did not say there arent molesters… we were discussing specificly the effectiveness of a search
    lastly there are not dozens & only 2 of them were actually working with kids “