Our Commitment to Safety

The Safety and Well-being of Young People is Our Number One Priority: We work every day to create a safe, fun environment so children and teens can have opportunity to be successful in life. We have ZERO tolerance for inappropriate behavior of any kind, including child sexual abuse or misconduct, and we provide significant resources to ensure this priority is achieved.

Culture of Safety: Boys & Girls Club of Sparta continually updates robust safety policies, programs and trainings for our staff and volunteers. These policies 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 Club members and staff safe including:

·        Criminal history background checks on all employees and volunteers

·        All our staff members are trained in recognition and prevention of child abuse

·        We have regular, repeated crisis response drills

Safety Policies: Boys & Girls Club of Sparta has comprehensive safety policies in place that protect youth including, but not limited to supervision, transportation, and communication and safe staff to child ratios.

Mandatory Background Checks & Drug Testing Checks: Conduct criminal background checks are required every 12 months of all employees, as well as all volunteers who have direct, repetitive contact with children at the Boys & Girls Club of Sparta. All potential employees and volunteers are also run through the National Sex Offender Registry. Background checks must also meet Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) membership requirements. If there is reasonable suspicion of the use of alcohol or illicit substances, Boys & Girls Club of Sparta has the right to request a drug screen on any employee and/or volunteer.

Required Immediate Reporting: Boys & Girls Club of Sparta 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 Club of America within 24 hours.

Mandatory Annual Safety Assessments: We conduct a safety assessment each year to ensure we continually make improvements to safety at our Club.

Safety Trainings: Ongoing training and supervision of staff is critical. We participate in a wide variety of trainings each year including child abuse and neglect recognition and prevention, mandatory reporting, ethics & boundaries, crisis management and response, anti-harassment, CPR & First Aid, transportation, cyber safety, Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS), bullying, and response & reporting   We also engage leading third-party safety experts to provide guidance for our policies and procedures.

Safety Committee: Boys & Girls Club of Sparta has 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: Locally, we partner with the Sparta Police Department.

Nationally, Boys & Girls Club 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 Task Force comprised of local leaders charged with providing input on the safety direction and key safety initiatives.

·        Mental Health First Aid, a national program that teaches skill 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.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America has advocated the passage of the U.S. PROTECT Act, which improved background screening systems and access. The national organization has also partnered with the FBI, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the Centers for Disease Control to contribute to the development of safety practices that benefit ALL youth-serving organizations.

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 at the Boys & Girls Club of Sparta. To learn more about our national safety policies and actions, please visit Boys & Girls Clubs of America Child Safety page, here(https://www.bgca.org/kids-in-need/child-safety).