Club Safety

At Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington County, Child Safety is Job No. 1

Ensuring child safety is fundamental to the mission of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington County

The Safety and Wellbeing of Young People is Our Number One Priority
We work every day to create a safe, fun environment so kids can have every opportunity to be successful in life. We have ZERO tolerance for inappropriate behavior of any kind, including child sexual abuse or misconduct, and we put resources behind that stance.

Culture of Safety: The Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington County continually updates robust safety policies, programs and training for our staff and volunteers that are designed to promote child safety and protect young people from threats that are present in our society. We implement layers of safety policies and guidelines to keep our kids safe including:

–    Mandatory background checks for all employees and volunteers.
–    Strict policy prohibiting any private one-on-one contact between any staff/volunteer and a member.
–    Annual mandatory safety policy reviews by a Board-led safety committee and 3rd party safety and facility experts.
–    Annual mandatory safety assessments of facilities.
–    Annual reviews and updates of trainings that are presented to staff and volunteer conduct around safety.
–    A Mandatory Reporting policy that requires our organization to report information to the proper authorities around various forms of incidents in our programs.

Safety Policies: The Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington County has comprehensive safety policies in place that protect youth – including, but not limited to, supervision, transportation, communication and prohibiting private one-on-one contact.

24-hour Toll-free Child Safety Hotline: We encourage all staff, members and families to report any incident or situation they feel is unsafe. Through our national partnership with Praesidium, one of the nation’s leading safety experts, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington County members and staff have access to a confidential 24-hour toll-free Child Safety Hotline, 866-607-SAFE (7233) or email SafeClub@Praesidiuminc.com.

Mandatory Background Checks: Criminal background checks are required every year for every staff and board member at the Boys & girls Clubs of Washington County. In addition, criminal background checks are required for any volunteer who has direct contact with children.

Electronic Interactions: Any electronic interaction between members and staff, volunteers, and board members during and outside of Club hours is strictly prohibited via WCBGC issued technology or on personal technology and related systems (email, social media, etc.). Examples include direct or private messaging on social media accounts, email between Club personnel and youth (whether using personal or Club account), staff and youth “following” or being “friends” on social media accounts. The Club also strongly discourages staff and personnel from engaging with parents/guardian in any electronic space other than official Club email and the Club phone system. If you observe or suspect any disregard of this policy by Club personnel, please call the Director of Operations or Executive Director immediately – 262.334.3732

Required Immediate Reporting: The Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington County staff and volunteers are all mandated reporters. We are required to report any critical incident/safety concern to local authorities hours immediately. We are also required to report any critical incident to Boys & Girls Clubs of America within 24 hours.

Mandatory Annual Safety Assessments: We complete a safety assessment each year to ensure we continually make improvements to safety at our Clubs.

Safety Trainings: Ongoing training and supervision of staff is critical. We participate in a wide variety of child safety trainings. We also engage leading third-party safety experts to provide guidance for our policies and approaches, including Praesidium, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and the National Children’s Advocacy Center.

Safety Committee: The Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington County has a dedicated safety committee to provide input and guidance on local policies and safety strategies. Priorities and initiatives include:

–    Supporting Club management efforts to deliver appropriate, ongoing safety training to all staff and volunteers.
–    Regularly review reported safety incidents to determine if additional policies/procedures should be in place to prevent future incidents.
–    Conduct annual facility walkthroughs to develop strategies to eliminate or reduce identified hazards.
–    Regularly review and develop safety policies and procedures as needed to meet organizational needs.

Mandatory Employee Reference: Any employee interested in moving to another Boys & Girls Club is required to have a reference from the previous Club, even if the Clubs are within the same community.   

State and Local Laws: We comply with federal, state and local safety laws, including those impacting facilities and vehicles.

Safety Partnerships: Nationally, Boys & Girls Clubs of America works with leading experts in the areas of safety, security and technology to develop state-of-the-art solutions for Clubs. Partners include:

•    National Child Safety Advisory Task Force, made up of leading experts and organizations
•    Blue Ribbon Taskforce, comprised of local Club leaders charged with providing input on the safety direction and key safety initiatives
•    Mental Health First Aid, a national program that teaches skills to recognize and respond to signs of mental illness and substance abuse
•    Crisis Text Line, a confidential text message service for youth in times of crisis

Locally, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington County partners with:

–    Local law enforcement agencies and first responders in the communities which we serve to develop policy and procedures for safety
–    Local legal professionals to receive legal expertise in policy development
–    Local safety experts from various entities, such as local businesses, to receive outside expertise in the areas of facility safety.
–    County-based services to receive proper information on how to report and handle various safety situations.
–    Health systems and mental health agencies to receive medical-focused safety training and expertise.

Nationally, Boys & Girls Clubs of America has advocated the passage of the U.S. PROTECT Act, which improved background screening systems and access. The national organization has also partnered with the FBI, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the Centers for Disease Control to contribute to the development of safety practices that benefit ALL youth-serving organizations.

America’s young people deserve nothing less than our constant focus on their safety and our firm commitment to protect every child who is entrusted to our care at The Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington County. To learn more about our national safety policies and actions, please visit Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Child Safety page, here.