At Boys & Girls Club, Youth Safety is our Top Priority
Ensuring child safety is fundamental to the mission of Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties. Every day, staff members across our organization work to create a safe, positive, and fun environment so kids and teens can have every opportunity to be successful in life. We have zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior of any kind, including child sexual abuse or misconduct.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties has comprehensive safety policies in place that protect youth – including, but not limited to, supervision, transportation, communication and prohibiting private one-on-one contact.
Culture of Safety
Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties continually updates robust safety policies, programs, and training for our staff and volunteers that are designed to promote child safety and protect young people from threats that are present in our society. We implement layers of safety policies and guidelines to keep our kids safe including:
- Annual background checks
- Appropriate staff to child ratios
- Regular safety trainings
- and more
Mandatory Background Checks
Mandatory criminal background checks are required every year for every staff member. Criminal background checks are also required for any volunteer who has direct contact with children. All potential employees and volunteers are also run through several databases including the National Sex Offender Registry.
Required Immediate Reporting: Staff and volunteers are all mandated reporters. We are required to report any critical incident/safety concern to local authorities immediately. We are also required to report any critical incident to Boys & Girls Clubs of America within 24 hours.
Safety Trainings
Ongoing training and supervision of staff is critical. We participate in a wide variety of child safety training conducted such as conferences, webinars and a semi-annual safety symposiums. We also engage leading third-party safety experts to provide guidance for our policies and approaches, including Praesidium, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and the National Children’s Advocacy Center.
Safety Committee: We have a dedicated safety committee to provide input and guidance on local policies and safety strategies.
State and Local Laws: We comply with federal, state and local safety laws, including those impacting facilities and vehicles.
Safety Partnerships
Nationally, Boys & Girls Clubs of America works with leading experts in the areas of safety, security and technology to develop state-of-the-art solutions for Clubs. Partners include:
- National Child Safety Advisory Task Force, made up of leading experts and organizations
- Blue Ribbon Taskforce, comprised of local Club leaders charged with providing input on the safety direction and key safety initiatives
- Mental Health First Aid, a national program that teaches skills to recognize and respond to signs of mental illness and substance abuse
- Crisis Text Line, a confidential text message service for youth in times of crisis
Locally, Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties partners with:
- Our local police departments
- Our local school districts
America’s young people deserve nothing less than our constant focus on their safety and our firm commitment to protect every child who is entrusted to our care. To learn more about our national safety policies and actions, please visit Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Child Safety page.
24-Hour Child Safety Hotline
We encourage all staff, members, and families to report any incident or situation they feel is unsafe. Through our national partnership with Praesidium, one of the nation’s leading safety experts, Club members and staff have access to a confidential 24-Hour Child Safety Hotline, 866-607-SAFE (7233) or email SafeClub@Praesidiuminc.com.