Reviewing Child Protection Policies

As I said in my last post, we recommend that every youth-serving organization review its policies, including child protection policies, at least once a year.  That's a complicated topic, but we have created a self-assessment checklist that lists some of the most important topics.  Some of the components that we have found our clients most commonly overlook include:

Volunteers — It’s easy to overlook the fact that your volunteers who have access to children need to be as thoroughly screened as staff.  You also need to include them in your mandatory reporter training, as they may see the minors in situations that your staff members don't.

When Screening Adults Is Not Practical — Some published protocols recommend screening every person who might come in contact with children in your care. Some organizations can tightly control adults who access the children, but others cannot practically do so. If you take children to public areas, such as parks or entertainment venues, or sponsor competitions open to the public, for example, there simply is no way that you can screen every adult who might be present. Repairmen pose the same problem. Some groups may be able to insist that their repair crews be screened, but many of us can’t afford the luxury of insisting that a plumber willing to fix a leaky toilet on a Friday afternoon first pass a background check.

If you find yourself in this situation, be sure that your supervision protocols are very strong. Do you have enough staff to supervise all of the children? Do you have clear rules designed to keep the group together? Are your staff and volunteers trained in how to respond to likely scenarios such as a lost child? If you cannot keep staff eyes on the adults at all times (such as a public venue), make sure that you are able to keep all of the children in sight at all times.

Two-Adult Rule — We see many experts recommend that you have two adults present with every group of children. That rule may work for volunteers, but few youth-serving organizations have the budget to hire extra staff to watch each other. Schools, for example, rarely can afford to hire two teachers for every classroom.  If your YSO has that limitation, be sure that you substitute enhanced supervision. For example, be sure that your administrators have enough time to randomly check classrooms. Insist on open door policies or install wide windows in walls and doors. Be sure that supervisors and random passers-by always have a clear line of sight and, where appropriate for the situation, that someone else can always overhear any conversations. The point of the two-adult rule is to ensure good supervision of interactions. If you can't have a two-adult rule, then ensure supervision in other ways.

Interactions Between Children — We see so many news stories about adults abusing children that it is easy to forget that, statistically, children most often suffer abuse from their peers. This abuse can take the form of bullying, either in person or on social media. Thus, our child protection policies need to include components addressing both in-person bullying and cyber-bullying. Be certain that you have policies that you can enforce and that you do enforce them.

Reporting — Finally, be certain that you have clear avenues for your staff and volunteers to report concerns. If they don’t believe that you will take them seriously, they are not likely to come to you with marginal cases. Taking them seriously does not mean that you have to agree with them, but you do have to listen and investigate concerns that they report.

Of course, this post only scratches the surface of a good child protection policy. If you have specific questions or need help crafting your policies, let us know how we can help.  You can download our checklist below or obtain it from us via e-mail.

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