Every YSO has certain risks associated with its activities, functions, and responsibilities—and thinking about those risks is an important part of writing a Code of Conduct. When you conduct a risk assessment, you should keep in mind that some situations pose more risk for inappropriate or harmful behavior than others. You’ll need to implement more protective strategies for those situations that are riskier.

Completing a Strengths and Risk Assessment is a great way to begin creating a Code of Conduct for your own organization. Your assessment should consider the following questions:

• What is the purpose of your organization?
• How should the purpose be carried out?
• Who does your organization interact with?
• Who does the work?
• Who interacts with youth/children?
• How do youth interact with one another?
• What are the risks for your organization?
• What are the best practices for similar organizations?

For example, relatively safe environments provide multiple “eyes” on children in a small space. Classrooms are spaces where the interactions between students and between students and other adults (aides, parents, tutors) entering that space are easily observed. Studios, usually with an instructor and one or more aides, also conduct their classes in a confined area, and many offer space for parents to observe their activities. 

Riskier interactions include situations such as an overnight trip, where monitoring is more challenging than interactions in a classroom or studio. Even with parents/chaperones, an overnight field trip, an out-of-state performance, a camping experience, or a travel to a state or national  competition can vastly multiply risk—so you’d need to take steps to accommodate and lower that risk. These protective steps might include increasing adult-to-child/youth ratios that allow supervision of all participants 24 hours a day; planning safe transportation and appropriate sleeping arrangements; rules about bathing and toileting accommodations; limiting or prohibiting the use of alcohol by adults who accompany the children and are responsible for their safety and supervision; and protocols for emergency situations. No matter where children or youth are during an away or overnight event, they must always be there with the knowledge of your staff—and always under their supervision or observation.

It’s also important that your staff is trained to be even more vigilant during the times where children and youth have been shown to be more vulnerable to abuse: non-structured program time (time between programs, meals, etc.) shower time, trips to the restroom, changing for the pool, etc. 

When you write a code of Conduct, also consider what your organization stands for, what it values, and how the organization supports its values through its staff, volunteers, and participants.

• A Code of Conduct provides staff, volunteers and others responsible for children and youth with very specific guidelines that will govern behavior including:
  • Adult interactions with youth/children
  • Interactions between youth/children
  • Interactions between staff/volunteers
  • Interactions with families
  • Monitoring of partners/volunteers/providers
  • Safety and security
  • Required responses to witnessing breaches to the Code
• A Code of Conduct must be specific to each organization and take into account the ways in which it operates that present risk or protective factors. Different types of organizations will have different risks.
  •  Organizations should also consider the specifics of culture, experience, specific vulnerabilities, and other characteristics that may be unique to the population they serve.
  • A risk assessment will help your organization identify some of the main elements your Code of Conduct needs to cover, including:
    • Personnel (staff, volunteers, mentors, and anyone else who may interact with and be responsible for your children and youth)
      • Appropriate/inappropriate/harmful conduct
      • Ratios of personnel to participants
      • Intimacy/familiarity
      • Touch
      • Information sharing
    • Premises & Technology
      • Areas where a child could be isolated
      • Clear view at all times
      • Appropriate social media policy
      • Texting/outside interactions
    • Participants
      • Vulnerabilities, both overall and particular to the population you serve
      • Culture, including cultural norms that may impact vulnerability to abuse
      • Supports
      • Potential for harmful interactions between participants
    • Parents and Visitors
    • Partners, Supporting agencies, vendors, etc.
    • Reporting Procedures

Real-world example:

When Joe arrived at BGCB, he was trained on the organization’s Code of Conduct. It led him through situations he may encounter and provided appropriate actions he could take. On his first day on the job, one of the girls asked if she could “friend” him on Facebook. The Code of Conduct he signed gave him specific language to use when refusing to interact with youth on social media. . Joe reflected back on this question and shared, “If I had not been trained, I might have said no anyway because it felt wrong, but I also would have wondered if I was wrong to hurt her feelings.”

During your risk assessment process, you and your staff should ask yourselves: What are the activities your organization engages in that provide opportunities for inappropriate interactions and sexual abuse?

These might include:

• One-on-one interactions, the use of social media, the number of staff members, the use of volunteers, activities that require clothing changes
• Serving vulnerable populations including those with non-verbal/limited communication skills, very young children, LGBTQ youth, and others

Once you’ve identified those vulnerabilities, you can then define the boundaries you can set to provide staff with clear guidelines for interactions and provide others with ways to evaluate their actions. These may include:

• No (or limited and monitored) social media contact
• Never being alone with children/youth or, if a staff function requires it (e.g., counseling, tutoring, etc.), it is done with appropriate training and precautions
• Keeping a regular schedule of interactions with children, youth, and families
• Not allowing children and youth of significantly different ages to be alone together or, if required (e.g., tutoring, mentoring, etc.) with appropriate recruitment screening, training, supervision, ongoing support, and safe program practices

Again, you’ll need to evaluate your own operations and goals and decide what to include based upon the risks and benefits of each interaction. You may find it helpful to review the documents created by other organizations with missions similar to yours.

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