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club safety

OUR COMMITTMENT TO SAFETY

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At the Boys & Girls Club,
Youth Safety is our #1 Priority

At the Boys & Girls Club of the Columbia Basin, our team works every day to create a safe, inclusive, and fun environment so club members 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.

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The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin has comprehensive safety policies in place that protect youth – including, but not limited to, supervision, transportation, communication and prohibiting private one-on-one contact.

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Culture of Safety

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin 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

  • Child Abuse Prevention Training for all staff, volunteers & Board Members

  • Robust Staff Onboarding & Ongoing Trainings

  • and more!

Culture of Safety

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin 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:

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  • Annual background & driving checks

  • Appropriate staff to child ratios

  • Robust Staff Onboarding & Ongoing Trainings

  • and more!

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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, volunteers & Board members 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 by law 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.

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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.

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Child Club Safety Committee: We have a dedicated safety committee to provide input and guidance on local policies, review recent club incidents and safety strategies.

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State and Local Laws: We comply with federal, state and local safety laws, including those impacting facilities and vehicles.

Culture of Safety

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin 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 & driving checks

  • Appropriate staff to child ratios

  • Robust Staff Onboarding & Ongoing Trainings

  • and more!

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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, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin partners with:

  • Our local police departments & sheriffs departments

  • Moses Lake, Cle Elum & Kittitas School Districts

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Continued Commitment to Safety

Mandatory Annual Safety Assessments: We employ a multi-tiered safety assessment approach with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to ensure we continually make improvements to safety at our Clubs. 

Continued Commitment: In July 2020, Boys & Girls Club organizations voted to adopt additional safety measures to further improve safety within our Clubs. Though many of these practices were already commonplace across our Movement, this vote made them mandatory for all Clubs. These include more stringent reference and background checks, enhanced Safety Committee requirements, stronger communication of key safety resources and information, and more. With unprecedented majority, on July 26, 2021, local Boys & Girls Clubs voted in record number to adopt additional membership requirements that further enhance child safety, implementing recommendations from RAINN that began in 2020 and will continue over the next two years - a demonstration of our continued commitment to keeping kids safe. 

Nationally, Boys & Girls Clubs of America has advocated for passage of the U.S. PROTECT Act to improve 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 support 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 Boys & Girls Clubs of Spokane County. 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.

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