Within your youth-serving organization (YSO), the public and private conduct of your administrators, staff, employees, and volunteers can inspire and motivate others, or can cause great harm if inappropriate. Your Code of Conduct is an essential tool to help you ensure the safety of the children and youth in your care, and prevent child sexual abuse. It works by identifying the expected and acceptable behaviors and interactions between your adult staff (including any volunteers, older teens or aides) and the children and youth who come to your YSO for services and activities.

You can use your Code of Conduct to: 

• Address interactions between your staff and children/youth
• Define interactions among your staff members, between staff members and parents, and among the children and youth themselves 
• Speak to issues of risk and physical, emotional, and sexual boundaries
• Address staff-to-child ratios, 1-on-1 contact with children and youth, and sensitivity to the appearance of impropriety
• Discuss interpersonal communication using electronic and social media 
• Define compliance with the policies and procedures of your YSO and the child abuse reporting laws of the Commonwealth 

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