Rules for behavior is what most people think of when they hear child protections policies—the guidelines for interaction among children and between children and adults. Of course you need to prohibit harsh treatment and actual abuse, but you also need to address “boundary” issues. In other words, decide where to draw the line on behavior…

The next important policy for keeping children safe is supervising children and staff. Supervision policies include not only supervision during your program, but recognizing when you cannot supervise interactions. Supervision One highly important area for your child protection policy is being sure that you are always supervising the children in your care. Thus, rules about staff-student…

Once you have established your policies, you must make certain that you know of any violations of the policy, and that you respond appropriately to those reports. Even the best policy is useless if you cannot enforce it. Reporting and responding to violations are an essential part of any good child protection policy. Reporting Violations…

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among teenagers, and depression and anxiety in that age group have skyrocketed. Any group that works with older children and teenagers is likely to encounter a client who expresses suicidal thoughts. The good news is that there are many resources that will help you respond. Level…

One vexing area for youth organizations is how to accommodate children with disabilities. It can be a complicated question, such as when a child’s disability harms other children or simply cannot be accommodated without completely changing your program. Even programs with the best intentions must balance and care for the needs of all of the…

One thing that struck me about the recent college admissions scandal is the way that the parents abused disability laws to get more time for standardized tests or a specific test center for their children. Most mental health professionals are people of integrity, but many mental health diagnoses depend entirely on subjective criteria. It is…

The Americans with Disabilities Act and Sec. 504 prohibit discrimination against a child with a physical or mental impairment that “limits one or more major life activities.” In general, a facility must make “reasonable modifications” to its programs to accommodate a child’s disability. There are three important exceptions, namely that a program (1) can exclude…

One common question that I get is which parents have authority over the children in a program. As with all legal questions, it depends. In Georgia, for example, biological parents are considered the proper guardians of the child. If the parents are still married, then either parent may sign your contract and check a child…

Organizations working with teenagers face questions of sexual behavior in several different situations. The most common issues that I see are (1) “sexting,” or sending sexually explicit photos to each other, (2) horseplay that turns sexual, and (3) consensual sex. Whether these require a report to authorities or only an internal response depends on several…

This story from Los Angeles illustrates that even the best child protection policies do not work if staff and supervisors do not follow through. In this analysis, I’m relying on the reporter’s facts, most of which come from later police reports and depositions in a civil suit against the LA school system. According to the…