Physical and Behavioral Indicators of Abuse
Physical and Behavioral Indicators of Abuse Type of AbusePhysical IndicatorsBehavioral IndicatorsPhysical Abuse● Unexplained bruises (in…
Home / Reporting / Building a Culture of Prevention
You can help protect the children you serve by maintaining an environment that prioritizes both preventing child abuse before it occurs and—since abuse can still happen despite comprehensive prevention efforts—ensuring its detection at the earliest possible time. It’s essential that you build and sustain a culture in which any member of your staff will come forward with their concerns as quickly as possible if child/youth maltreatment is suspected, observed, or disclosed to them. All staff and volunteers need to know what to do to ensure children’s safety and well-being, to communicate the situation promptly and effectively to the person(s) identified in your Code of Conduct, and, if necessary, to report the circumstances to the Department of Children and Families (DCF) or to the police.
Early reporting is critical, and is the key to preventing further harm. That’s why you need to ensure that all of your employees and volunteers understand the basic issues of child abuse and neglect, and know how to recognize its signs and symptoms. They should be familiar with Massachusetts law, policies, and reporting procedures, along with the responsibilities of mandated reporters—including how, when, and to whom to make a report. On Safe Kids Thrive, you’ll find this information along with suggestions about how you can address these requirements within your organization, how to react to a child who discloses abuse, and the different circumstances your staff and volunteers may encounter that require reporting—including situations where a child or youth is being harmed or abused by another child or youth with problematic sexual behaviors.
Reporting
Physical and Behavioral Indicators of Abuse Type of AbusePhysical IndicatorsBehavioral IndicatorsPhysical Abuse● Unexplained bruises (in…
Code of Conduct
Your Code of Conduct will provide your staff, volunteers, and others responsible for children and youth with very specific guidelines that will…
Monitoring Behavior
Protocols should be developed in order to inform staff and volunteers about supervision, communication, and reporting procedures at your…
Code of Conduct
Along with guiding appropriate behavior, your Code of Conduct should include a clear description of the lines of communication and reporting…
Monitoring Behavior
Develop a culture of child safety at your Youth-Serving Organization (YSO) using your Monitoring Behavior protocol that includes leadership-driven…
Safe Environments
Ensuring a safe environment for children includes targeting the five major areas of safety: visibility, access, supervision and communication,…
Sustainability
Common Implementation Roadblocks Natural conflicts exist between strategy and culture. These conflicts—if left unaddressed— predict that…
Screening & Hiring
Criminal background checks are an important tool in your screening and selection process—and you should ensure that you’re aware of any federal,…
Reporting
Effective reporting structures rely on staff and volunteers’ recognition of signs and symptoms of abuse and neglect. The Youth-Serving…
Reporting
With some exceptions, a single incident or observation of suspected abuse or neglect may not necessarily trigger the need for a call to the…
Customized child sexual abuse prevention guidelines to meet the unique needs of any organization that serves children.
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