Safe Environment Strategies: Visibility

Whether or not you can control the design of your space, physical safety depends on your ability to continuously account for all the children and youth in your care. From this perspective, visibility is key to protecting children and youth. Being seen is the greatest fear of those who would bully, assault, steal from, sexually abuse, or otherwise victimize children. Therefore, you should take actions within your means to design, build, or adapt your existing spaces to maximize visibility; to minimize or eliminate space where children and youth cannot be seen; and to establish policies and procedures for access to and use of the space (when both on- and off-site). Those policies should include:

On-site:

• Design or adapt spaces so that they are open and visible to multiple people.
  • Use mirrors inside and out, if needed, to ensure visibility. 
• Install doors with windows, if possible, and leave doors open or ajar when rooms are in use.
  • When it is necessary to meet with children/youth behind closed doors, ensure that another adult knows about the situation.
  • If interactions cannot be directly and continuously observed, they should be interruptible.
  • Exceptions, including bathrooms and bedrooms, should have clear policies and procedures regarding who is allowed behind the closed door and under what circumstances.
• Secure all areas where a child could be entrapped, isolated, or concealed (boiler rooms, unused rooms, maintenance closets, etc.).
• Use signage to clearly identify areas that are off-limits, or that require adult/staff supervision when in use.
• Use bright lighting to eliminate shadows.
• Maintain clear lines of sight as much as possible; minimize “blind corners” and “blind spots” where behaviors cannot be observed, clear halls of any obstructions, and ensure that check-in personnel can see where participants are going.
• Landscape outside areas so you can maintain the same principles during outdoor activities. 
• Develop policies to address: on-site supervision of children, including staff to child ratios^*, guidelines for when children are out of sight, and access by parents to tour the space and observe activities. 
• Establish policies—detailed in your Code of Conduct as well as orientation and/or training for all staff and volunteers—for spaces associated with on-site toileting, showering, and personal grooming, which:
  • Identify who has access to accommodations such as bathrooms, showers and changing rooms, when they can be accessed, and with whom
  • Establish separate bathrooms for adults and children/youth, prohibiting adults from using a bathroom at the same time as children/youth, and clearly posting rules
  • Clearly delineate procedures and access when hands-on assistance by an adult is required for toileting, grooming, or change of clothes 
  • Address potential contact between children and youth who are using bathroom facilities at the same time, paying special attention to circumstances where they may be a significant age differential between them
• If possible, establish a Safety Committee of staff and youth (and possibly a few parents) who periodically walk your premises and conduct safety surveys, noting potential problem areas and maintenance needs—which can establish a sense of “ownership” and responsible citizenship.

 Off-site:

• Maintain clear lines of visibility to all children and youth as much as possible, through actions such as keeping doors open to allow observation, and consider avoiding activities in areas where that is not possible. 
• When possible, visit and survey the layout of areas to be used before children and youth are present, and clearly define what areas are off-limits.
• Establish policies to address visibility related to off-site supervision of children and youth, including staff to child/youth ratios (which may differ from on-site ratios), required proximity of group participants, and identifying clothing such as common t-shirts or caps when appropriate.
• Ensure interactions that cannot be directly and continuously observed are interruptible. 
• Establish policies for off-site toileting, showering, and personal grooming spaces, which:
  • Address how to access public accommodations such as bathrooms, showers and changing rooms, when they can be accessed, and with whom 
  • Include safety checks before a child is allowed into a public restroom, and require that adults accompany younger children into public restrooms designed for multiple users
  • Clearly define the accepted practice for the use of public bathrooms, locker rooms, and changing areas, and require that adult supervisors review new locations before trips, to ensure likely circumstances and scenarios at that site have been considered
  • Clearly delineate procedures and access when hands-on assistance by an adult is required for toileting, grooming, or changes of clothes
  • Address potential contact between children and youth who are using bathroom facilities at the same time, paying special attention to circumstances where they may be a significant age differential between them
• Before off-site activities, ensure that staff and volunteers are trained or briefed on these policies and procedures, are able to get their questions answered, and understand them—and that children/youth understand what is expected of them.

*Find more information on staff-to-child ratios from the American Camp Association,  and the Massachusetts Afterschool Research Study Report [PDF]. 

Overnight Trips

Overnight trips present different challenges related to visibility. If youth are staying in hotel/motel rooms, policies and procedures should:

• Clearly define who is allowed to room with each other, and who is allowed in rooms occupied by children and youth and rooms occupied by adults
• Clearly define who will check on the children/youth in their rooms, under what circumstances and how frequently
• Ensure two adult supervisors are present when entering a child’s or youth’s room and prohibit children/youth from entering an adult’s room
• Ensure that non-related adults room separately from children and youth
• Place over 18 and under 18 youth in separate hotel/motel rooms (exceptions are appropriate for siblings with parental request)
• Fully inform parents of the sleeping arrangements before the trip
• Inform parents if groups are staying in a common area such as a gym or a bunk house where adults, children, and youth will be housed together, and in those cases apply these best practices:
  • Define and mark separate sections for children, youth, and adults, and separate groups by age and gender when possible/appropriate
  • Separate over 18 youth from youth and children under 18
  • Assign adults in teams to watch over the children and youth
• Ensure your Code of Conduct is clear on expected and prohibited adult/chaperone behavior when at off-site and overnight events—especially among those adults entrusted with the supervision, safety, and security of the children/youth.

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