cpsylist: Internship: MATCH NEWS: Background Checks and Drug Testing

[Shoshana Kerewsky]

Fall applicants and current interns: Please read carefully.


Shoshana
________________________________________
Shoshana D. Kerewsky, Psy.D., HS-BCP
Editor, The Oregon Psychologist

Counseling Psychology and Human Services Department
5251 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-5251
 (541) 346-2429

E-mail is not a secure or confidential medium. Please contact me by other means if you require greater privacy.

________________________________
From: APPIC Match News <match-news at lyris.appic.org> on behalf of Greg Keilin <gkeilin at mail.utexas.edu>
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2018 8:41 AM
To: APPIC Match News
Subject: MATCH NEWS: Background Checks and Drug Testing

APPIC MATCH NEWS
---

Every year, a number of students are matched to an internship site, only to later be denied appointment or dismissed because they failed to meet pre-employment requirements, such as background checks and drug testing.  This, of course, is devastating to the individuals involved.  The purpose of this e-mail is to provide guidance to students, doctoral programs, and internship programs in navigating these issues.  We ask that DCTs of academic programs discuss these issues with their students who are seeking internship this year.


MATCH POLICIES

APPIC Match Policy # 7b states, "Appointments of applicants to internship positions may be contingent upon the applicants satisfying certain eligibility requirements. Such eligibility requirements must be clearly specified in the internship programs' written materials and provided to applicants in advance of the deadline for submitting rankings for the APPIC Match."

STUDENTS:  It is important to understand that most sites consider interns to be employees, which means that they have the same expectations of interns as they do of any other employee.  Many sites now conduct background checks, drug testing, or other pre-employment screenings that a student must pass in order to be employed as an intern.  Remember that the APPIC Match Policies allow you to be denied appointment or dismissed if you fail any pre-employment screenings.  Thus, if you have a criminal history or currently use a controlled substance, careful attention to sites' pre-employment requirements is essential as you decide where to apply and which programs to rank.  Keep in mind that, in some cases, criminal records that have been sealed or expunged may be included in these background checks.

INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS:  Match Policy #7b requires the advance disclosure of your site's eligibility requirements so that students can understand these requirements and make informed decisions about whether or not to apply to or rank your site.  Most importantly, it minimizes the possibility of your program being matched to an intern who is ineligible for hire.  Thus, if your site has such pre-employment requirements, please ensure that your public materials (web site, brochure, APPIC Directory Online listing, etc.) are as clear and detailed as possible.  Specifically:

a.  Please be clear about your eligibility requirements and, as much as possible, what constitutes a "pass" and a "fail."  For example, it is generally not enough to simply say that you conduct a "background check," since that doesn't tell the applicant what past behavior is and is not acceptable (e.g., will a misdemeanor constitute a pass or a fail?).  Similarly, saying that you conduct "drug testing" doesn't clearly specify what your expectations are of the applicant in terms of their drug use (e.g., is marijuana use acceptable?  if so, under what circumstances?).  The goal here is to be as disclosive as possible in order to minimize the possibility that an ineligible student will apply (or, worse, get matched) to your site.

b.  To achieve what we are asking in the previous paragraph, it is essential that you work closely with your Human Resources department in order to craft wording that is clear and covers all of your institutions' policies and eligibility requirements for employees.  We have seen a number of situations where HR determines that the student has failed a requirement that wasn't disclosed in advance, often because the Training Director wasn't aware of the requirement or how it would be administered, interpreted, or enforced.


DRUG TESTING

Some internship programs perform drug testing prior to and/or during the internship year.  One of the most misunderstood issues in this area is with regard to the recreational and medical use of marijuana (cannabis).  Some students assume that having a prescription for marijuana, or being matched to an internship program that is located in a jurisdiction that allows the recreational use of marijuana, means that their use of marijuana will be acceptable to the internship program.  However, this is a very risky and potentially incorrect assumption, as some internship programs prohibit the use of marijuana in ALL circumstances, and will refuse to hire a student who tests positive for marijuana regardless of medical need, the presence of a prescription, or its legal status.

STUDENTS:  If you use any controlled substance, regardless of its purpose or legal status, you should carefully review sites' materials to ensure that you apply to sites that will allow you to use such substances.  If a site's materials are unclear, you should consult with sites' HR departments to get clarification of their policies.  We strongly encourage you to get such a clarification in writing.  While we appreciate that asking for clarification can feel difficult or risky to do, the consequences of not being clear can be devastating.

INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS:  Please ensure that your public materials are as clear as possible in terms of any drug testing that is performed and the expectations for employees and interns as far as drug use is concerned.  In particular, please be aware that the medical use of marijuana has become increasingly common among the general population, and thus clearly articulating your policies regarding the medical and recreational use of marijuana would be helpful to applicants.





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APPIC: Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers
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