About This Blog
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.
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Featured Post
September 8, 2026
Every plaintiff's attorney in a youth sexual abuse case asks the same question: did the organization follow accepted safety practices? Many organizations assume the answer required two adults present at every activity. That assumption does not hold up under scrutiny. No universal legal standard...
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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…
One very important decision for youth organizations at the start of any internal or independent investigation is which reports to keep confidential. An important part of that decision is knowing what “confidential” really means. It doesn’t help if people in the organization withhold only names while revealing other identifying information. The first step in any…
A strongly-worded opinion from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied qualified immunity to a police officer who forgot the difference between the law and his opinion of parenting decisions. Megan McMurry was a teacher in Midland, Texas, and her husband was deployed to the Middle East with the National Guard. Their 14-year-old daughter…
A story from Minnesota illustrates the difficulty in recognizing when a mentor crosses the line into an inappropriate relationship with a student. Craig Hollenbeck was a legendary high school teacher in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. For many years, from all reports, he was a stellar mentor for his students. Then, in the spring semester of 2021,…
The end of one year and the beginning of the next are traditional times to review progress and make new plans. For youth organizations, it is a good time to take a close look at your policies and records to determine which ones to keep going forward. Not only will the process make your program…