What is Training?
Training programs are offered to staff at least annually to heighten awareness of your commitment to safety and help create a culture of…
Home / Screening & Hiring / Know the State & Federal Laws That Apply
State and federal laws and regulations require specific types of screening and background checks—particularly criminal and sexual offense records checks—for individuals and professions that provide certain services to children and youth. Specific types of screening and background checks may also be required in order for you to receive state or federal funding.
There is no “one size fits all” screening requirement—organizations have their own unique requirements and may make different decisions about what background checks to conduct. Some (e.g., public schools) have strict requirements, while others are left to the discretion of the organization (e.g., an afterschool program in a faith community). These requirements may also limit the use of certain types of screening information to exclude an individual from consideration. Therefore, if, after review, you’re still uncertain about the rules and requirements that apply to your operation, we recommend that your leadership consult with an attorney and/or relevant professional association(s) for advice and guidance.
We do have one universal recommendation, however: that every youth-serving organization like yours implements some level of a background check and screening for all employees and volunteers without exception—even if an applicant is known to you—especially if unsupervised or unmonitored interactions with children are expected. And keep in mind as you conduct criminal history and background checks that, unless specified otherwise by law, the existence of a criminal record does not necessarily automatically disqualify an applicant.
Training
Training programs are offered to staff at least annually to heighten awareness of your commitment to safety and help create a culture of…
Training
Once you have identified your training expectations and standards and have researched current and available local and national training, explore…
Policies & Procedures
Your Policies and Procedures must be continuously referred to throughout the year. At a minimum, an annual review of all policies and procedures…
Policies & Procedures
Whether your organization is evaluating an existing policy or creating a new one, we’ve provided a convenient Child Sexual Abuse Prevention (CSA)…
Training
When it comes to training your volunteers, there is certain core content that is critical to include in a comprehensive training program to…
Training
Parents and other caregivers need to receive, at a minimum, the same level of prevention education as their child/youth. Parents can be strong…
Reporting
Thinking of children or youth as capable of sexually abusing other children or youth can be difficult to consider and challenging to address. In…
Monitoring Behavior
Develop a culture of child safety at your Youth-Serving Organization (YSO) using your Monitoring Behavior protocol that includes leadership-driven…
Code of Conduct
Your Code of Conduct should cultivate standards of behavior for staff and volunteers at your Youth-Serving Organization (YSO) which prioritize child…
Screening & Hiring
Your Youth-Serving Organization (YSO) should create protocols for the application, interviewing, and screening process. Each step of the process…
Customized child sexual abuse prevention guidelines to meet the unique needs of any organization that serves children.
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