For resettlement agencies & welcome circles

Welcome newcomers home — with people you can trust.

Co-sponsors and welcome-circle volunteers get deep, in-home, unsupervised access to families who are among the most vulnerable people in the country. VolunteerBadge helps you vet every one of them for $5 — identity-verified and FCRA-compliant — so a warm welcome is also a safe one.

Screen volunteers for $5 Build a welcome program

$5 per check Free platform for nonprofits Identity-verified FCRA-compliant

Welcoming the world's most vulnerable

Resettlement is one of the most intimate forms of volunteering there is — near-strangers open their homes, cars, and lives to families arriving with almost nothing. The scale, and the stakes, are why careful vetting matters.

122.1M

people worldwide were forcibly displaced by conflict and persecution

UNHCR, 2025

~100K

refugees resettled in the U.S. in FY2024 — the most since 1994

Global Refuge / U.S. State Dept

40%

of all forcibly displaced people are children under 18

UNHCR Global Trends

10,000

everyday Americans the Welcome Corps set out to mobilize as private sponsors

U.S. State Dept

A background check is one layer of a caring program — not a guarantee. Sources linked at the bottom of this page.

Why vetting matters when volunteers welcome newcomers into homes and lives

A newly arrived family may have limited English, no local network, and children in tow. The volunteers who greet them at the airport, furnish their apartment, and drive them to appointments are, for a while, their entire world. That trust is a gift — and a responsibility to get right.

Deep, in-home access

Co-sponsors and welcome-circle members set up apartments, deliver groceries, and visit families in their homes — often alone, often over many months.

Children in the home

Roughly 40% of displaced people are children. Volunteers spend unsupervised time with families that include kids, in homes and cars, from day one.

A language & power imbalance

Newcomers may not yet speak English or know their rights, U.S. systems, or where to turn. That imbalance is exactly what a bad actor could exploit.

The agency’s federal standing

Resettlement runs on federal programs and trust. A screening step protects the newcomers, your volunteers, and your organization’s standing and reputation.

Screening serves the newcomers — never targets them. VolunteerBadge checks the volunteers who serve. Refugees and immigrants you welcome are never the subject of a check.

What the $5 check includes

Everything a resettlement or immigrant-services program needs to vet a volunteer — nothing you don't.

National criminal search — county, state & federal court records (3,241 sources)
Sex-offender registries in all 50 states + the national registry (NSOPW)
Federal watchlists — OFAC, FBI Most Wanted, exclusion lists
Free biometric identity verification (government ID + live selfie)
Free address history on every report
Human CRA review of every high-confidence record before it reaches you
Built-in FCRA adverse-action workflow if you ever decline a volunteer
Reusable badges + automatic quarterly re-screening

Send the application

Email a link or share a QR code with your co-sponsors, mentors, and welcome-circle members. They apply from their phone in minutes.

Verify & screen

A government ID + selfie confirm the real person; the $5 national check runs with their consent.

Cleared to welcome

A verified badge lands on your roster — with adverse-action handled for you if records appear.

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Practical guide

Building a welcome-circle & co-sponsor program with screening

Whether you run a full resettlement agency or a single co-sponsor group, a well-built volunteer program makes the welcome warmer and the operation safer. Here is a simple, dignified way to stand one up.

🌍1. Form the welcome circle

The federal Welcome Corps asks private sponsors to form a group of five or more who commit together to greet and support a newly arrived family. Faith communities, veterans groups, employers, and neighbors all make strong circles.

Recruit a committed core. Five people who can share airport pickup, housing setup, transportation, and appointment support without one person burning out.
Set a realistic commitment. The first 90 days are the most intensive; be honest about the time it takes so volunteers can say a durable yes.
Partner with a resettlement agency (or a Welcome Corps hub) for training, case coordination, and guardrails.

🧭2. Define the roles

Clear roles attract the right people and keep the family well-supported. Common welcome-circle and immigrant-services roles include:

Co-sponsor / welcome-circle member — in-home setup, groceries, and day-to-day companionship.
ESL tutor — often one-on-one, sometimes in the family's home or a quiet library corner.
Employment & housing navigators — help with job applications, leases, and benefits.
Drivers — medical, school, and immigration appointments, frequently with children aboard.
Youth mentors — homework help and belonging for kids adjusting to a new country.

🛡️3. Screen every volunteer — before access begins

This is the layer that protects the family and the program. The Welcome Corps requires every private-sponsor-group member to pass a background check before approval, and it is best practice across the field.

Put a screening step in your volunteer and co-sponsor sign-up — before an introduction, a home visit, or a key is handed over.
Run a national criminal check with identity verification (VolunteerBadge does this for $5, consent-first and FCRA-compliant).
Apply the same standard to everyone in the circle — consistency is fair, respectful, and protects you from discrimination claims.
Re-screen periodically (VolunteerBadge can auto-re-screen quarterly) and keep records for your agency and funders.
Frame it plainly to volunteers: it protects the families we serve. Most welcome the reassurance that everyone around a vulnerable newcomer has been vetted.

Start screening for $5

🤝4. Onboard with dignity & keep volunteers

Train before the first meeting. Cultural humility, trauma-informed care, boundaries, and mandated-reporting basics set volunteers up to help without harm.
Center the family's dignity. Welcome, don't rescue. Ask what a family wants; avoid speaking for them or making decisions on their behalf.
Give volunteers a real point of contact and a place to bring hard questions — isolation is what burns circles out.
Recognize the work. Milestones, thank-yous, and shared meals keep people coming back for the next family.

Free training: VolunteerBadge Academy has free, certificate courses your volunteers can take — safe boundaries, mandated reporting, and more — at academy.volunteerbadge.com.

Sources & further reading

Refugee & immigrant services screening questions

Do refugee resettlement and welcome-circle volunteers need a background check?

Yes — reputable agencies require it, and the federal Welcome Corps requires every member of a private sponsor group to pass one before approval. Volunteers and co-sponsors get deep, often in-home, unsupervised access to newly arrived families who have limited English and no local support network. A background check is a reasonable, defensible layer that protects the newcomers, the agency, and its federal standing.

What does the $5 check cover?

A national criminal search across county, state, and federal court records, sex-offender registries in all 50 states plus the national registry, and federal watchlists — with biometric identity verification and a free address-history check. Every high-confidence record is reviewed by a trained analyst before it reaches you.

Is it really free for our organization?

The platform is free for nonprofits — no monthly fees, no contracts, no per-seat charges. You only pay $5 per background check when you actually run one. Credits never expire, and bulk bundles bring the price down further, which matters when you are onboarding whole co-sponsor circles at once.

Can we screen co-sponsors, mentors, and ESL tutors separately?

Yes. Send any volunteer — co-sponsor, welcome-circle member, ESL tutor, employment or housing navigator, driver, or board member — a link or QR code. They apply from their phone, verify their identity, and consent to the check. A verified status (or a flagged review) lands on your roster.

Is it FCRA-compliant, and does screening respect newcomers’ dignity?

Yes on both. Every check is consent-first with permissible-purpose handling and a built-in adverse-action workflow (pre-adverse notice, a waiting period, and a final notice) if you ever decline a volunteer based on a record. Screening applies to the volunteers who serve — never to the refugees and immigrants you welcome.

Give every newcomer a safe, warm welcome

Vet every co-sponsor and volunteer for $5 — free platform, no contracts, FCRA-compliant. Set up in minutes.

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Screening the volunteers who welcome — never the newcomers.

Free whitepaper PDF

Welcome Here: screening volunteers without a U.S. Social Security number — fairly, carefully and well

Why many lawful volunteers can’t get an SSN, why volunteering usually isn’t employment, what a U.S.-only check can and can’t see, and how to screen fairly.

Get the free guide