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YSO Pledge for Child Safety

YSO Pledge for Child Safety

For the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse in Youth-Serving Organizations in theCommonwealth of Massachusetts

I pledge to associate my youth serving organization with the best practices for forming and providing ongoing awareness of the prevention of child sexual abuse, drawing upon the vision and standards as expressed in the report of the Massachusetts Legislative Task Force on the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse entitled “Guidelines and Tools for the Development of Child Sexual Abuse Prevention and Intervention Plans by Youth-Serving Organizations in Massachusetts.”

I pledge to use the tools and sample documents provided, and/or to develop to the best of my ability, in collaboration with my staff, volunteers and parents:

• a set of child safety policies and procedures;
• a code of conduct for staff and volunteers;
• screening, hiring and supervisory practices consistent with the report’s recommendations;
• guidelines for a safe physical environment and safe technology use;
• guidelines for responding to and reporting suspected, observed, or disclosed instances of abuse and neglect;
• access to training and education programs and materials about child sexual abuse;
• All documents will be posted, or available for review by staff, volunteers, clients, and parents.

I commit myself, my staff and my organization to do all in our power to protect the children in our care against child maltreatment, and to comply with all actions required by the child abuse reporting laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.