Training for Different Audiences
Training for Different Audiences Training programs designed to prevent child sexual abuse take many forms and contain varying levels of detail,…
Home / Reporting / Building a Culture of Prevention
You can help protect the children you serve by maintaining an environment that prioritizes both preventing child abuse before it occurs and—since abuse can still happen despite comprehensive prevention efforts—ensuring its detection at the earliest possible time. It’s essential that you build and sustain a culture in which any member of your staff will come forward with their concerns as quickly as possible if child/youth maltreatment is suspected, observed, or disclosed to them. All staff and volunteers need to know what to do to ensure children’s safety and well-being, to communicate the situation promptly and effectively to the person(s) identified in your Code of Conduct, and, if necessary, to report the circumstances to the Department of Children and Families (DCF) or to the police.
Early reporting is critical, and is the key to preventing further harm. That’s why you need to ensure that all of your employees and volunteers understand the basic issues of child abuse and neglect, and know how to recognize its signs and symptoms. They should be familiar with Massachusetts law, policies, and reporting procedures, along with the responsibilities of mandated reporters—including how, when, and to whom to make a report. On Safe Kids Thrive, you’ll find this information along with suggestions about how you can address these requirements within your organization, how to react to a child who discloses abuse, and the different circumstances your staff and volunteers may encounter that require reporting—including situations where a child or youth is being harmed or abused by another child or youth with problematic sexual behaviors.
Training
Training for Different Audiences Training programs designed to prevent child sexual abuse take many forms and contain varying levels of detail,…
Screening & Hiring
Screening means thorough reference and background checks, including review of criminal and sexual offender records, for all employees, staff,…
Sustainability
Community interaction and involvement is important in maintaining a culture of safety surrounding your Youth-Serving Organization (YSO). In order to…
Reporting
Staff and volunteers at the YSO (Youth-Serving Organization) should be proficient in discussing abuse and responding to disclosures of abuse. YSO…
Monitoring Behavior
Your Youth-Serving Organization (YSO) should develop a protocol to keep staff and volunteers accountable for their behaviors. Identify the…
Screening & Hiring
Finding and retaining a qualified and diverse workforce is one of the greatest challenges for youth-serving organizations like yours. Given the…
Reporting
With some exceptions, a single incident or observation of suspected abuse or neglect may not necessarily trigger the need for a call to the…
Training
Effective abuse prevention training provides learners with new information, knowledge, and skills. Your leadership is critical to the ways in which…
Screening & Hiring
Additional screening and hiring measures should be implemented based on the specific needs, responsibilities, and risks of your Youth-Serving…
Training
Training programs are offered to staff at least annually to heighten awareness of your commitment to safety and help create a culture of…
Customized child sexual abuse prevention guidelines to meet the unique needs of any organization that serves children.
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