Nearly 10 years after the tragic death of 7-year-old Megan Kanka at the hands of a convicted sex offender who lived across the street from her home, Congressman Chris Smith (R-Hamilton) joined the Kanka Family and the Megan Nicole Kanka Foundation today to announce new federal funding he established to help the foundation provide background checks on people involved with youth athletics. 

    Standing across the street from the Kanka home on Barbara Lee Drive in Hamilton, where a small park stands in place of the home where Megan died, Smith brought news of nearly $180,000 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Justice to fund the foundation’s “Check ’Em Out Program.” Smith secured the funding in the Fiscal Year 2005 Consolidated Omnibus Appropriations Act.

    “Even with Megan's Law and other child protection statutes in place, bad people wishing to harm our children are still out there. Sometimes such people look for opportunities that provide them with easy access to defenseless children. The message today is that the Check 'Em Out Program is here to help make sure our children are safer when playing little league, soccer, or any other sport,” Smith said. 

    “These federal funds will go a long way in helping the Megan Nicole Kanka Foundation and local municipalities provide another layer of protection for New Jersey children involved in recreational sports leagues. By paying half of the cost of a police background check on any adult who volunteers to serve as a coach, manager, or other position, the Check ’Em Out Program will enable more teams and leagues to participate in this worthy endeavor,” Smith added. 

    The Megan Nicole Kanka Foundation launched “Check ’Em Out” two years ago to encourage background checks and to help volunteers or leagues pay for part of the $36 cost per check. Before the federal funding was established, the program helped pay for nearly 1,000 background checks. 

    “The arrival of this federal funding will enable the Megan Nicole Kanka Foundation to significantly expand the number of background checks performed,” Smith said. 

    Now that the federal dollars are in hand, the Kanka Foundation will be reaching out to one randomly selected municipality in each of New Jersey's 21 counties to inform them about the Check 'Em Out Program and the prerequisite that in order for a municipality's sports leagues to qualify, the municipality must have enacted an ordinance requiring such background checks.

    “Before any sports league will be able to qualify for assistance from the foundation, the organization's home municipality will have to enact an ordinance requiring background checks on those who volunteer to work with youth athletes. By enacting a local law, municipalities will help ensure the background checks apply to all leagues and help codify the policy. I call on all municipalities in the Fourth District and the state to swiftly enact such common-sense child protection ordinances,” Smith said. 

    As municipalities interested in adopting ordinances go about adopting the law, the Kanka Foundation will obtain information about all non-profit youth sports leagues to determine how many personnel will need checks and to budget the necessary matching funds for those reviews. 

    “Check ‘Em Out is a perfect example of a community oriented program that involves local governments, parents, and community organizations with support from Washington. Just as the Kankas did ten years ago when they lead the crusade to adopt Megan's Law; they are again serving their communities and helping to make all of our children safer by expanding access to background checks,” Smith said.