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.
A debate raging in Washington state captures in microcosm the controversy throughout the country about the child welfare system can balance the safety of children against the trauma of unnecessary removals. In 2021, Washington state lawmakers passed the Keeping Families Together Act, with the goal of reducing unnecessary removals of children from their homes and…
In two weeks, I’ll be speaking at an Adventist Attorney’s Conference and Retreat in Victoria, BC, Canada. My topic will be “Safeguarding the Vulnerable: Avoiding and Responding to Domestic Violence and Abuse.” I have always enjoyed attending these conferences and forging friendships, even though I’m not Adventist. This year’s conference promises the usual outstanding legal…
One area that all youth-serving organizations must address is how to accommodate children with disabilities. It can be a complicated question, such as when a child’s disability harms other children or when your program simply cannot accommodate a disability without completely changing the program. Youth programs must find a way to balance and care for…
A recent court case from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals dives into the tricky intersection of religious accommodations and workplace policies. Although this particular case involved a public school, the principles that the court reviewed will apply to all youth organizations balancing competing concerns of staff and client rights. Where The Case Started Brownsburg…
A new study shines a spotlight on something we might not always think about: how unpredictable environments in childhood can have lasting effects on mental health, behavior, and even physical health by the time kids hit adolescence. There are some good pointers in the results for those of us who work with kids in chaotic…
One of the most common mistakes I see my youth-serving clients make is having written child protection policies that they don’t adequately explain to on-the-ground staff. The case I highlighted last week may be an example of that problem. Having written policies that your staff members either don’t know about or don’t follow can set…
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has reaffirmed the ministerial exception to employment laws as applied to religious schools. A private Christian elementary school fired an assistant principal, who sued, claiming that his termination was retaliation for complaining about race and sex discrimination and for raising concerns that the school’s main funder might be a…
The Arizona Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion analyzing the intersection of Arizona’s clergy privilege with its mandated reporting law. Three minors brought suit against the Church of Latter-Day Saints and two church bishops, alleging that their father had confessed to the bishops that he had been sexually abusing his children and that, because…
A magistrate judge found a former director of a childcare center in Lynchburg, Virginia guilty of failing to report a staff member’s abuse of children at the center. What makes this an unusual story is that the police also charged three Board members with the same crime. The judge found those members innocent, but once…
A recent article highlights the unintended consequences of extending the statute of limitations for abuse claims. In 2020, California made important changes to its statute of limitations, with the noble goal of allowing survivors to hold institutions accountable. The unintended effect, however, has been to harm current students and institutions. AB 218, which took effect…