Basic Requirements of Screening and Hiring
Your Youth-Serving Organization (YSO) should create protocols for the application, interviewing, and screening process. Each step of the process…
Home / Reporting / Physical and Behavioral Indicators of Abuse
Type of Abuse | Physical Indicators | Behavioral Indicators |
---|---|---|
Physical Abuse | ● Unexplained bruises (in various stages of healing) ● Unexplained burns, especially cigarette burns or immersion burns ● Unexplained fractures, lacerations or abrasions ● Swollen areas ● Evidence of delayed or inappropriate treatment for injuries | ● Self destructive ● Withdrawn and/or aggressive – behavioral extremes ● Arrives at school early or stays late as if afraid to be at home ● Chronic runaway (adolescents) ● Complains of soreness or moves uncomfortably ● Wears clothing inappropriate to weather, to cover body ● Bizarre explanation of injuries ● Wary of adult contact |
Neglect | ● Abandonment ● Unattended medical needs ● Consistent lack of supervision ● Consistent hunger, inappropriate dress, poor hygiene ● Lice, distended stomach, emaciated ● Inadequate nutrition | ● Regularly displays fatigue or listlessness, falls asleep in class ● Steals food, begs from classmates ● Reports that no caretaker is at home ● Frequently absent or tardy ● Self destructive ● School dropout (adolescents) ● Extreme loneliness and need for affection |
Sexual Abuse | ● Sexual abuse may be non-touching (obscene language, pornography, exposure) or touching (fondling, molesting, oral sex, intercourse) ● Torn, stained or bloody underclothing ● Pain, swelling or itching in genital area ● Difficulty walking or sitting ● Bruises or bleeding in genital area ● Venereal disease ● Frequent urinary or yeast infections | ● Excessive seductiveness ● Role reversal, overly concerned for siblings ● Massive weight change ● Suicide attempts (especially adolescents) ● Inappropriate sex play or premature understanding of sex ● Threatened by physical contact, closeness |
Emotional Abusemmmm | ● Emotional abuse may be name-calling, put-downs, etc. or it may be terrorization, isolation, humiliation, rejection, corruption, ignoring ● Speech disorders ● Delayed physical development ● Substance abuse ● Ulcers, asthma, severe allergies | ● Habit disorder (sucking, rocking, biting) ● Antisocial, destructive ● Neurotic traits (sleep disorders, inhibition of play) ● Passive and aggressive – behavioral extremes ● Delinquent behavior (especially adolescents) ● Developmentally delayed |
1 From the Handbook on Child Safety for Independent School Leaders, by A. Rizzuto and C. Crosson-Tower, Copyright 2012, Reprinted with permission from the National Association of Independent Schools.
Screening & Hiring
Your Youth-Serving Organization (YSO) should create protocols for the application, interviewing, and screening process. Each step of the process…
Screening & Hiring
To determine what screening tools are most appropriate to use for a particular position and to ensure consistency in your screening protocols, we…
Training
Staff and volunteers must be trained on child abuse prevention, including the signs and symptoms of child abuse. In order to identify and vet these…
Policies & Procedures
Sample Policies & Procedures You can find examples of policies and procedures from organizations whose mission is to serve and protect…
Safe Environments
In the past, youth-serving organizations needed to worry about safety only within the physical environment—the building(s) where their services…
Reporting
Staff and volunteers at the YSO (Youth-Serving Organization) should be proficient in discussing abuse and responding to disclosures of abuse. YSO…
Screening & Hiring
Certain organizations, such as public schools and licensed childcare programs, must also query national criminal record and fingerprint-based…
Training
The approaches in the chart below can provide frameworks that make your organization most effective when training adults and/or children/youth….
Reporting
Staff and volunteers should have a detailed understanding of their responsibility to report child abuse and neglect. At your YSO (Youth-Serving…
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…
Customized child sexual abuse prevention guidelines to meet the unique needs of any organization that serves children.
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