Guidelines for Interactions at Your Organization
It’s essential that interactions between your employees/volunteers and the youth you serve are appropriate and positive, support positive youth…
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Home / Elements of Prevention / Code of Conduct
A Code of Conduct is an important tool you can use to establish the acceptable types of interactions that take place at your youth-serving organization (YSO)—and what’s expected from anyone in a position of responsibility for children/youth in your care, from junior employees and volunteers to senior management.
Typically, a Code of Conduct will include information such as:
Codes of Conduct can be used to address interactions between your staff and children/youth; among your staff members; between your staff members and parents; and among your children/youth. Implemented thoroughly and consistently, your Code of Conduct serves as an “early warning system” that can detect any inappropriate or harmful behaviors as they occur so that your supervisors, managers, and staff can address them before they become chronic—or, ideally, before the children/youth you care for are harmed.
Your Code of Conduct should be written in clear language, defining the behaviors that your organization considers appropriate, inappropriate, or harmful. Depending on the kinds of services your YSO provides, your Code of Conduct should anticipate and contain guidance for typical interactions—both inside and outside of your facilities. It should consider interactions of every size, from one-on-one contact to small and large group situations, and every duration (one-hour small group instruction, all-day events, overnight trips, multi-week residential camps, etc.).
If you’re building your Code of Conduct for the first time, you may find that input from your front-line staff in regular contact with children/youth—along with parents and the children/youth themselves—is helpful and contributes to a sense of shared awareness and responsibility.
Since you can’t possibly include descriptions of every situation and interaction that may arise, it’s helpful to include in your Code of Conduct your Mission Statement (the purpose of your YSO) and a set of ethical practices (Code of Ethics) that reflect the core standards and principles that guide your activities. Combined, your Mission Statements and Codes of Ethics can guide your staff and volunteers in decision-making when circumstances are uncommon, unclear, or unexpected.
For your children/youth, a simple set of “rules and regulations” can list the behaviors you expect, emphasize that the rules are there to keep everyone safe, and identify to whom they should report if the rules aren’t being followed.
Your Code of Conduct should also include a clear description of your YSO’s reporting lines, and the process you’ll follow when behavioral concerns or breaches of the Code of Conduct are observed and/or reported. It should define your policies for handling all inappropriate behavior, including those that could possibly be handled internally by a supervisor or manager, and those that “cross the line” into causing harm and which must be reported to police or Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF).
In either case, once a situation is reported, your administrators and supervisors must then ensure that all allegations are addressed in line with the organization’s protocol and Massachusetts law. Your staff and volunteers must trust that their reports will be responded to, and will be handled quickly and appropriately. They must also trust that they will not be penalized for coming forward and raising issues, questions, or concerns. Negative consequences to a person who reports a concern will prevent others from coming forward—thus increasing the potential risk to children.
Putting your Code of Conduct to use starts with your screening and hiring process for all prospective administrators, staff, and volunteers. You can give your Code of Conduct to your applicants, read and discuss it as part of their personal interview, and ask them to sign it to acknowledge they’ve received it and agree to comply with its requirements. If the candidate is hired, it’s a good idea to keep a copy of their signature in their personnel file.
Monitoring and documentation strategies for your YSO’s leadership should also be included in your Code of Conduct implementation. By reinforcing safety policies and your Code of Conduct through staff meetings and other training or professional development opportunities, you can ensure the topic is addressed regularly. That way, it will be easier for your staff to talk about their concerns and highlight the day-to-day behaviors that may be giving them some concern. In this way, a Code of Conduct becomes not only a guide for daily interactions by your supervisors, employees, and volunteers, but also a tool that fosters awareness and conversations about behaviors—both those that are appropriate and beneficial, and those that fall outside of your defined boundaries.
Integrating your Code of Conduct into your YSO’s performance appraisal process also reinforces its role as a shared responsibility that serves to protect everyone in the organization, promoting a sense of both personal and professional ownership. Ultimately, it can help you to foster the kind of culture that promotes mutual respect, empathy, reciprocity, and dignity—one that encourages people to come forward and helps them to feel safe in doing so.
Code of Conduct /
It’s essential that interactions between your employees/volunteers and the youth you serve are appropriate and positive, support positive youth…
Code of Conduct /
Keep in mind that a Code of Conduct is limited; it usually refers only to the most common and expected behaviors staff/volunteers may encounter each…
Code of Conduct /
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