Background checks for clowns – the future of children entertainment?

criminal-background check and be required to have a license to make sure they are safe to work with children. “Exotic dancers need a permit, so do massage therapists,” pointed out Beaudoin in an interview. “So why not children’s entertainers?” Children’s entertainers go into homes, have unlimited access to kids, Beaudoin said. “And parents automatically trust entertainers even though they know nothing about who really is under the mask or the bright, colourful costume.” This issue stems back to the 1970’s, when John Wayne Gacy raped and killed 33 teenage boys and young men between 1972 and 1978 – he was also known as the “killer clown” because he dressed up as a clown for parades and children’s parties. While such concerns are certainly credible, is it taking things too far? Will it create too much bureaucracy? Too much red-tape? Will it make it far too hard to hire children’s entertainers in the future? Andrea Calver, coordinator for Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, also understands the concern but says those who work directly with children, like at daycare centres or seniors’ homes, are required to get background checks done.“The difference between those working at daycares and as children’s entertainers is that entertainers wouldn’t be left alone with kids. There would be parental supervision,” she said. The issue is certainly real, but the problems associated with such a process are also recognizable. It will be interesting to see how this situation turns out. In the mean-time, what are your thoughts? Should children’s entertainers face background checks?]]>