Disaster Victims Now Considered an At-Risk Population

Most States and the Federal Government create laws to protect at-risk populations which includes children, the elderly and the disabled. Helping this part of the population that often times are unable to help themselves is very important to the overall health of the union. A recent report from the SunSentinel.com outlined that when disaster strikes in Palm Beach County a team of volunteers trained by county emergency managers are deployed as the first line of defense helping their communities with search and rescue to basic first aid to putting out small fires. However, not all these responders were required to undergo a criminal background check and without thorough criminal background checks the opportunity emerges for individuals with less than altruistic motives to join in with emergency volunteers. The lack of criminal background checks could create the opportunity for felons to gain access to some of the State of Florida’s most vulnerable people which also includes disaster survivors in addition to children, the elderly and the disabled. Classifying disaster victims as part of the at-risk population is now being examined more deeply to protect this often overlooked part of the population. Risk mitigation needs to reduce the threats to all at-risk populations and a thorough background screening process is how to achieve it. To read more about a diversity of risk mitigation in protecting at-risk populations view recent CriminalBackgroundRecords.com press release: Background Screening: A Diversity of Risk Mitigation in Protecting At-Risk Populations