At The Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County, Child Safety is Job No. 1

Ensuring child safety is fundamental to the mission of The Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County

 

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The Safety and Wellbeing of Young People is Our Number One Priority

We work every day to create a safe, fun environment so kids 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, and we put resources behind that stance.

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Culture of Safety

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County 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:

• All staff are required to undergo annual background checks and drug tests  

• Members follow a strict one-at-a-time bathroom policy 

• Staff are never allowed to be 1:1 with a member 

• Staff are trained annually on active supervision and supervision best practices 

• All staff are required to sign a “Safe Staff Conduct Agreement” on an annual basis 

• Entrances to clubs are monitored by trained staff at all times 

• Staff need to be 21 and need to pass an annual vehicle background check before driving club vehicles 

• All staff are trained on reporting to CPS, Local Law Enforcement, and Suicide Crisis Response teams 

• All staff are trained on, and practice, all emergency drills (fire, tornado, bomb, lockout, and lock-down) 

 

Safety Policies

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

 

24-hour Toll-free 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, The Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County members and staff have access to a confidential 24-hour toll-free Child Safety Hotline, 866-607-SAFE (7233) or email safeclub@praesidiuminc.com.

 

Mandatory Background Checks

Mandatory criminal background checks are required every year for every staff and board member at The Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County. In addition, criminal background checks are required for any volunteer who has direct contact with children. All potential employees and volunteers are also run through the National Sex Offender Registry.

 

Required Immediate Reporting

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County 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.

 

Mandatory Annual Safety Assessments

We complete a safety assessment each year to ensure we continually make improvements to safety at our Clubs.

 

Safety Training

Ongoing training and supervision of staff is critical. We participate in a wide variety of child safety training conducted such as Active Supervision Workshops, Crisis Prevention Intervention Training, Incident Reporting Training, Bullying Prevention and Identification training, and Trauma Informed Care training sessions. 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

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County has a dedicated safety committee to provide input and guidance on local policies and safety strategies. Priorities and initiatives include:

• Quarterly Physical Safety Audits of our main sites in Greeley

• Policy review and updating 

• Emergency Procedure review and development 

• Emotional Safety Initiatives  

• Deepening relationships between clubs and local emergency responders 

• Reviewing and updating transportation safety policy

 

Mandatory Employee Reference

Any employee interested in moving to another Boys & Girls Club is required to have a reference from the previous Club, even if the Clubs are within the same community.

 

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, The Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County partners with:

• Local Law Enforcement and Emergency Responders 

• North Range Behavioral Health 

• All Local School Districts 

• Hensel Phelps Construction Co. 

• Cintas  

• Greeley Fire Department 

• Weld County Food Bank 

• Weld County Health Department

Nationally, 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 Clubs of Weld County. To learn more about our national safety policies and actions, please visit Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Child Safety page, here.

 

Safety Policies:

Safety of those we serve is the Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County #1 priority. To ensure the physical and emotional well-being of all the children in our care, we always implement the following safety policies.

1. All doors to unused areas, storage rooms, and maintenance rooms are monitored and kept locked throughout the day.

2. The games room doors, from the front desk, stay locked at all times. 

3. No adults are permitted passed the games room doors, unless otherwise escorted by a staff member. 

4. All adults signing-in or signing-out children will be asked to show identification, unless otherwise approved by the Clubhouse Director (i.e. frequent and known parents/guardians)

5. Staff at the Clubs use Respectful Redirection to address behavioral concerns

6. a. A three step process of behavior intervention designed to reduce conflict

7. Staff at the Clubs use Restorative Practices to resolve conflict between children
   a. Follow the links provided to gain more information on Restorative Justice Practices
   b. http://restorativejustice.org/#sthash.Xwmwalsk.dpbs
   c. https://www.kickboardforschools.com/blog/post/restorative-practice-ideas-for-your-classroom
   d. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTzDge3RaK8

8. All facilities operate a “Zen-zone” for children if they need a space to decompress and/or refocus.

9. Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County has a zero-tolerance policy for Violent Behavior. If a child acts out violently and harms another child, the child that did the harm will be asked to go home for the day and further disciplinary measures will be considered upon administrative review. 

10. Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County has a zero-tolerance policy for bullying. If a child is found to be bullying other children at club, that child will be sent home for the day. Further disciplinary measures will be considered upon administrative review. 
    a. Click here to understand how Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County defines bullying behavior.

11. Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County is drug and violent free environment.

12. 1:1 interaction with youth is not permitted at any time. Staff are not allowed to be 1:1 with youth under any circumstance

13. We uphold a strict 1 at a time bathroom policy for children. Staff have a staff bathroom they are required to use if necessary during operating hours.

14.  All facilities have a first-aid kit, AED, and multiple fire extinguishers on site. 

Below are additional policies put in place to address more thorough precautions concerning the COVID-19 crisis.  

1. Upon picking up and signing out a child, parents will wait outside, and a BGCWC staff will escort their child in to the club and out to them from the club at check-out.

2. Upon drop-off, parents will be required to physically sign their child into club.

3. All children, upon check-in, will have their temperatures taken and a respiratory check done. Respiratory checks will be a series of questions about the child’s respiratory tendencies w/in the last 24 hours.

4. We will honor parent/guardian preference on whether your child needs to wear a mask while at club.

5. All staff and children will be asked to wash their hands first thing as they enter the facility.

6. All staff will monitor and emphasize proper handwashing and sanitary coughing and sneezing.

7. Staff will only be able to eat/drink in designated eat/drink areas for staff.

8. Children will be asked to wash their hands numerous times throughout the day including before and after eating.

9. If a child is showing symptoms of COVID-19 the child will be contained in an isolation room until a parent/guardian can pick them up.

10. If a child under our care tests positive for COVID-19, The Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County can release their information to the local Health Authorities.

11. Staff will do a sanitation wipe down of their programming space and all relevant materials once per hour.

12. Throughout this time, we will uphold a 1 staff to 10 children ratio.