WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--650 background screening professionals gathered in Phoenix, Arizona from September 15-17, 2013 to participate in the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) annual conference. The association’s ten-year anniversary was a major theme of the conference, as attendees celebrated association milestones, including the rapid growth it has experienced over the years.
"As an association representing the interests of nearly 800 companies worldwide that offer tenant, employment and background screening and related services, we have come a long way together in a relatively short time, thanks to the shared vision of our members who focus on finding solutions to the challenges we face," said NAPBS Chair Judy Gootkind. "In the past ten years, we've been successful in finding our voice, creating best practices, and continually moving forward in our efforts to ensure our members operate with the highest degree of integrity and professionalism."
The annual conference agenda provided ample programs and training sessions aimed at empowering NAPBS members and conference attendees to better serve clients and raise standards in the background screening profession.
Conference attendees not only learned about the evolution of the association, but also of the profession overall. With greater public awareness of background screening dating back to 2001, stemming from the September 11th attacks, employers turned increasingly to background screening to fill the critical need of making informed hiring decisions in a security conscious economy. The role of background screening has since expanded and now also includes tenants, volunteers, contractors, care providers and more. Politicized issues, like terrorism concerns, kept the topic of background screening top of mind throughout the past ten years. Most recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in background checks due to the debate over immigration reform in Congress. Accordingly, NAPBS continues to improve standards in accordance with evolving state and federal law.
“Accuracy in background screening is a top priority for NAPBS members. As such, one of our greatest accomplishments to date is the creation of an accreditation program,” said Gootkind. “The program, developed in consultation with our regulators, ensures best practices are followed and the law is adhered to throughout the screening process, and we look forward to its growth in the next ten years of our association's development.”
About NAPBS
The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) is the leading national resource for issues related to the background screening profession. NAPBS promotes and advocates for ethical business practices and fosters awareness of privacy rights and consumer protection issues. NAPBS is the foremost leader in the movement toward establishing generally accepted and reliable standards for background screening professionals and organizations. For more information on background screening, visit our website at www.napbs.com.
