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.
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…
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…
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…
One thing that you must do in your program is criminal record and background checks of the adults working in your program. The specific details, however, can vary based on the needs of your program. Criminal Records Checks First, require criminal background checks for anyone working directly with children. The background checks rarely turn up…
Organizations often think of a child protection policy as a single self-contained document. The better practice is to include portions of the policy throughout your documents and communications. Potential employees, volunteers, and parents need to know from the beginning that you have a child protection policy and that you are serious about enforcing it. Start…
The recent USA Gymnastic and Catholic Church scandals illustrate the need for child protection policies in all organizations that serve young people. It is tempting to look for a policy that you can simply copy from another organization, and some companies will promise to sell you a policy that they have developed. Either route can…
I ran across this article describing more fallout from the investigation of Larry Nassar, the U.S.A. Gymnastics (USAG) doctor convicted of molesting female gymnasts. Rhonda Faehn, who was in charge of the women’s program during Nassar’s tenure, lasted less than one week as a consulting coach with the University of Michigan. UM fired her after…
This post is part of a continuing series about responding to reports by a now-adult of past abuse at a youth-serving organization. The first few posts discussed general principles, first steps, and what not to say at the beginning of an investigation. This post discusses principles for interviewing the people involved. The most difficult and…
This post is part of a continuing series about responding to reports by a now-adult of past abuse at a youth-serving organization. The first post discussed general principles, and this one discusses first steps in an internal investigation. In many ways, the first 48 hours after you receive a report of historic abuse are the…
By now, most people have heard about the students from Covington Catholic High School, initially accused of harassing a Native American protestor at the end of the March for Life in Washington, D.C. A short clip of the encounter went viral, and a wave of criticism descended on the students. The school administration and the…