’m hoping to tag along with Mia and her classmates at Hendricks Avenue Elementary on some field trips this year.
There is one problem, though. OK, two problems according to a company that does background checks for Duval County Public School volunteers.
Domestic battery.
Felony counts of firearms possession.
Hearing about this background came as quite a surprise to my friends, employer, wife and — last but not least — me.
I think the biggest legal issue I’ve had in my 50 years is a speeding ticket.
“Or so you say,” several co-workers said.
Most of them quickly said they believed me, so much so that they kept laughing about the idea of my “criminal history.” Which led me to have a counter-reaction, arguing that, hey, I could be bad enough to be packing some illegal heat. Which only made them laugh harder.
B.R. Rhoads, Hendricks’ principal, said that I’m still welcome at school “with a full-body patdown and ankle bracelet.”
But as they all eventually pointed out, this does raise serious questions. Not just about me. About background checks.
Everyone who volunteers at the public schools has to have one done, which certainly makes sense. This year they all were done online. And when I put in my name, address, date of birth and Social Security number, I was asked if I wanted a copy of the results.
I didn’t think about it again until I received an envelope from InfoMart, a company in Marietta, Ga.
The profile prepared for DCPS said that “based on the identifying information made available by the applicable jurisdictions, the applicant had the following criminal history”:
It listed two matches in Cook County, Ill., in 1997 and 2006. (No word on whether I also voted for any Chicago mayors.)
As tempting as it was to use the gun charge to boost my street cred in Jacksonville, I decided I better try to clear this up.
When I called InfoMart, a friendly woman named Maria explained that some courts won’t share Social Security numbers. So they match what they can, such as names and birthdates (and if the client asks, give them all of this information).
Maria said they would dig deeper into it. I asked her for her last name.
http://liarcatchers.com/background_checks.html
“We don’t give those out,” she said politely, an answer that seemed a bit ironic considering that I had given her my full name, address, Social Security number … “It starts with a G.”
That was Thursday morning. It only took me a few calls to Cook County to find out more about the “match.” I was told it wasn’t based on the Social Security number, but there is a Mark Woods. Same birth date. Different middle initial. Different physical description. Living in a city where I’ve never lived. Doing things I’ve never done.
I’m hoping InfoMart will figure this out soon. Because when Mia and her classmates go to the pumpkin patch this week, I’d like to tag along. Preferably without an ankle bracelet.
