Training Parents & Other Caregivers
Parents and other caregivers need to receive, at a minimum, the same level of prevention education as their child/youth. Parents can be strong…
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Home / Safe Environments / Checklist for Safety Checks in Your Facility
Child development and school-age programs operate in many different types of facilities. Your program might operate within a dedicated Child Development Center, in a renovated elementary school, a community center, or a variety of other settings. Regardless of floor plan or design elements, all programs share several key characteristics that protect children from harm. These features promote visibility and enable active supervision of children at all times (depending on the age and design of your facility, it may not have all of these features):
There are additional design elements that help ensure children are safe. According to Koralek’s guide to preventing child abuse and neglect in center settings (1993), these include:
Virtual Lab School: Ensuring Your Programs Are Safe Spaces for Children
Training
Parents and other caregivers need to receive, at a minimum, the same level of prevention education as their child/youth. Parents can be strong…
Monitoring Behavior
Protocols should be developed in order to inform staff and volunteers about supervision, communication, and reporting procedures at your…
Safe Environments
Standards should be implemented to ensure safe physical spaces for children, such as clear sight–lines and visitor procedures. To ensure child…
Code of Conduct
Your Code of Conduct should cultivate standards of behavior for staff and volunteers at your Youth-Serving Organization (YSO) which prioritize child…
Reporting
Mandated reporters are required to immediately report suspicions of child abuse and neglect to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families…
Screening & Hiring
One way you can help prevent child sexual abuse within your organization is by screening out those at risk to cause harm—before they are hired …
Screening & Hiring
Your Youth-Serving Organization’s (YSO’s) hiring process should include basic screening measures for potential staff and volunteers through…
Training
Ideally, all children/youth should receive training and education on issues of personal safety and abuse prevention. However, not every organization…
Screening & Hiring
For positions that specify an educational requirement, you should verify any credentials listed on the employment application by requesting and…
Reporting
The term Human Trafficking is used by Department of Children and Families (DCF) as an umbrella term used to include two specific allegations of…
Customized child sexual abuse prevention guidelines to meet the unique needs of any organization that serves children.
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