Each county will form a Client Protection Committee (CPC).  The CPC will be appointed by the agents and will become an independent, standing committee that is not accountable to any other group or council.  A report of accepted volunteers will be made to the appropriate council following each CPC meeting.  Minutes of CPC meetings must be kept on file in the CES Office in the same location as the volunteer files.  The CPC is a stand-alone group whose decisions cannot be over-ruled by any other Council or governing body. 

The CPC will be composed of five individuals, including one representative from each of the following councils or program areas (4-H, FCS, ANR, Horticulture, FA) and up to two additional members (in order to have a committee of five), recruited from the following organizations: law enforcement, social services, education or clergy.  (No organization, program area or council may have more than one representative.)  Each member of the CPC shall serve a three-year term.  Individuals may serve up to two consecutive terms.  Terms should be set on a staggering, rotating basis, with no more than two individuals rotating off in a given year.

The CPC shall elect chairperson and a secretary.  (Because of the volume of 4-H volunteers compared to other program areas, it is suggested that the chairperson represent 4-H.)  The appropriate Extension Program representative (4-H, FCS, ANR, HORT, CA) or the CPC chairperson shall meet with the appropriate agent to review the Volunteer Application Packet (VAP) for that agent’s program area and to categorize each application into one of three groups; green, yellow or red.  (The guidelines for green, yellow and red are found in Chapter 9.)  The appropriate Extension Program representative (4-H, FCS, ANR, HORT, CA) or the CPC chair will review the completed volunteer files with the agent and will make a decision collaboratively about each application and categorize them. 

Green applications are accepted as volunteers upon approval of the full CPC committee.  Yellow applications are questionable, incomplete, and include those with some question regarding their suitability, have incomplete applications, or have a question or issue which needs to be resolved.  Yellow applications will go to the full CPC for further discussion, review and a full, face-to-face interview. Red applications are those which have information which renders the application objectionable or unable to be placed.  These applications also go to the full CPC for full review and likely rejection.   If the CPC categorizes the application as Red, it is turned down outright, without an interview.  However, the CPC may decide to proceed with a full interview.

The agent and the chair of the CPC should meet at least quarterly, and/or at the request of the agent, for the purpose of reviewing the files of prospective volunteer applicants.  These files should include the completed VAP, as assembled by the agent and their support staff. The VAP includes:

• Volunteer application
• Criminal Record (background) check results
• Interview questions, responses and notes made by the agent or CPC chair during the interview
• References
• Volunteer position description

Ultimately, the CPC will determine the suitability of each individual for the position for which s/he is making application.  There are four alternatives for each applicant:

• Accept the individual for the role for which s/he is applying.
• Reject the individual for the role for which s/he is applying.
• Accept the individual, with provisions or on probation, for the role for which they are applying.  (Probation is generally imposed on volunteers with unsafe driving records [cannot transport youth or vulnerable audiences] or for those convicted of writing bad checks [cannot handle money.]
• Reject the individual for the role for which they are applying but recommend an alternative role.

The secretary of the CPC will record minutes at each CPC meeting.  These minutes will be kept in the locked, fire-proof filing cabinet, along with the individual volunteer files.  Additionally, the secretary shall submit a written report to each program council, including the names of those individuals who have been accepted as volunteers in that program area.  This report shall be made at the first council meeting immediately following each CPC meeting as well as each meeting of the agent and the CPC chair.

Client Protection Committee Forms