Further Considerations for Safe Environments
Safe Environments should be created by having clear sight lines, proper staff-to-child ratios, and safety standards for all personnel and…
Home / Safe Environments / 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:
*Find more information on staff-to-child ratios from the American Camp Association, and the Massachusetts Afterschool Research Study Report.
Overnight trips present different challenges related to visibility. If youth are staying in hotel/motel rooms, policies and procedures should:
Safe Environments
Safe Environments should be created by having clear sight lines, proper staff-to-child ratios, and safety standards for all personnel and…
Reporting
Who Are Mandated Reporters? Massachusetts law defines a number of professionals as mandated reporters (for the full list, see MGL Chapter 119,…
Screening & Hiring
Your Youth-Serving Organization’s (YSO’s) hiring process should include basic screening measures for potential staff and volunteers through…
Screening & Hiring
Because the internet and social media are a rich source of information about prospective candidates, and social media is perceived as a forum in…
Screening & Hiring
If a criminal record is discovered, its existence alone does not necessarily automatically disqualify a candidate from employment or volunteer…
Code of Conduct
Once your Code of Conduct is in place, it’s important to implement it through training and by disseminating the information widely, in a variety…
Training
When it comes to training your volunteers, there is certain core content that is critical to include in a comprehensive training program to…
Reporting
The term Human Trafficking is used by Department of Children and Families (DCF) as an umbrella term used to include two specific allegations of…
Code of Conduct
Your Code of Conduct will provide your staff, volunteers, and others responsible for children and youth with very specific guidelines that will…
Screening & Hiring
Additional screening and hiring measures should be implemented based on the specific needs, responsibilities, and risks of your Youth-Serving…
Customized child sexual abuse prevention guidelines to meet the unique needs of any organization that serves children.
Learning Center Registration
Sign up for an account and start your learning experience.
Free Online Assessment
Let us help you find out where to start.