Youth-serving organizations take on a serious responsibility when they open their doors to children and other vulnerable people. Fulfilling that responsibility well requires two things working together: a safety culture strong enough to prevent harm, and independent investigations credible enough to find the truth when someone alleges mistreatment.
Youth Services Law covers both. Posts examine the legal landscape, practical decisions, and organizational choices that shape how schools, camps, churches, colleges, faith-based groups, and community organizations protect the people in their care and respond when something goes wrong. The goal is the same in every post: precise, useful guidance for child protection and investigations.
The start of the school always brings competing demands from parents involved in ongoing custody disputes. Schools can get caught in the middle when parents bring those disputes into the school. Now is a good time to establish some ground rules with your parents that may help you avoid becoming part of the drama. Get…
We have seen a tendency for youth-servicing organizations (YSOs) to concentrate all of their efforts on preventing sexual predators from entering the organization. While hardening your organization against pedophiles is an important goal, placing too much emphasis there can distract from other equally important concerns. First, there is no foolproof way to “detect” sexual predators….
One long-running controversy in treatment of people who have suffered from childhood abuse is whether and how much to delve into their memories of the abuse. In a recent study, researchers uncovered indications that people who don’t remember abuse, or at lest don’t report it to interviewers, have better mental health than those who do….
As we work with youth organizations to draft good child protection policies, we see three very common misconceptions. Youth-serving organizations genuinely care about protecting children, but they often unwittingly leave opportunities for maltreatment. The most common mistake we see is simply adopting someone else’s policy. Our advise is to adapt, not adopt, other policies. “We…
Federal prosecutors have issued one of their periodic reminders about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), this time about upcoming summer camps. The ADA does apply to most summer camps, requiring those organizations to make “reasonable accommodations” for campers with physical or behavioral disabilities. While camps have to assess each situation individually, there are some…
Researchers recently published an interesting longitudinal study of disclosures of child sexual abuse (CSA). They reviewed records of past interviews of suspected child abuse victims, and then interviewed as many of the victims as they could find 20 years later. Of the 99 suspected victims they were able to interview, 18 disclosed in both interviews,…
The Journal of Pediatrics recently published an article arguing persuasively that a major cause of the current epidemic in childhood anxiety and depression is that we supervise our children too much. With the best of intentions, the authors argue, we are depriving our children of important opportunities to become self-confident and independent. The review first traces…
Mandated reporter training often tells people that mandated reporters are immune from suit. That training is not completely accurate, because most statutes only protect good faith reports. To avoid immediate dismissal, a plaintiff’s attorney need only allege that the mandated reporter acted in bad faith. In such cases, the mandated reporter eventually may be exonerated,…
The police investigation into staff at the Rainbow House in Clayton, County, Georgia, offers three important lessons for youth organizations. Police have charged an employee, the son of the director, with sexual abuse of a 15-year-old client at the center. According to police reporter, that employee has confessed to sexual contact with the client. Police…
This time of year is always a time for renewed hope, particularly among those people who celebrate Passover and Easter. It’s also a good time for a new article that argues that the “discipline of positive psychology, particularly the construct of hope” offers the best way to help children overcome adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Hope…