Child Abuse Prevention
What the Southington-Cheshire Community YMCAs does to Protect Children
- Screening - All new employees and volunteers undergo a background check prior to hiring, and they must provide at least three references. All staff and volunteers must also go through new checks on a biannual basis, or if they're returning to the Y after a 90-day break or transferring into a licensed program. Our members and guests are also screened through a Raptor system daily that integrates with The National Sex Offender Registry.
- Training - Comprehensive online and in-person child abuse prevention training is mandatory to all YMCA employees and volunteers, and they are required to refresh their training annually. The goal is to educate on inappropriate conduct, while also teaching the warning signs of abuse.
- Reporting - Should any allegation arise, the YMCA will proactively work with the authorities and all parties involved to respond in a prompt, thorough and empathetic manner.
- Policy - The Southington-Cheshire Community YMCAs maintains a zero tolerance policy toward child abuse and child endangerment. Staff are to report any questionable behavior they see, or violations of our Employee Code of Conduct.
- Auditing - To ensure we continuously uphold the highest standards in child safety and protection, we have developed internal teams that routinely audit our operations, and utilize the Praesidium assessment tool. Praesidium is a consulting firm that specializes in abuse prevention and risk management and YMCA partner.
Steps to Protecting Children
Learn the facts of child sexual abuse. Understand the risks. Realities, not trusts, should influence your decisions regarding children.
- Minimize opportunity. If you eliminate or reduce one-adult/one-child situations, you’ll dramatically lower the risk of sexual abuse for children.
- Talk about it. Children often keep abuse secret, but barriers can be broken down by talking openly about it.
- Stay alert. Don’t expect obvious signs when a child is being sexually abused.
- Make a plan. Learn where to go, whom to call and how to react.
- Act on suspicions. The future well-being of a child is at stake.
- Get involved. Volunteer and financially support organizations that fight the tragedy of child sexual abuse.
Please educate your children about appropriate and inappropriate physical, verbal and emotional contact. Make sure that your child knows that if they experience any inappropriate actions at our Y (or elsewhere), that they should alert you immediately.
If you see warning signs from your child or adult, or you hear about something that sounds like abuse, report it immediately. If your child tells you about sexual abuse or inappropriate behavior, here’s how to react. Your response plays a big role in how your child understands abuse and how he/she recovers.
- Stay calm.
- Comfort your child.
- Listen carefully.
- Ask for examples.
- Do not threaten or criticize the person your child is accusing.
If what you learn from your child or if what you’ve observed or overheard at practice sounds like abuse, call the CT DCF Careline, 1-800-842-2288 or the police.
If what you learn from your child, or if what you’ve observed or overheard at practice, sounds like a boundary violation, suspicious or inappropriate behavior, or a policy violation in an organization, share your concerns with the individual employee, supervisor, or the person in charge of your organization. Be sure to follow up with both your child and the adult you’ve talked to.
Help Prevent Child Abuse
At the Southington-Cheshire Community YMCA we believe ALL children deserve the opportunity to discover who they are, and what they can achieve. Every day, we are proud and respectful of the trust parents and communities place in us. From youth sports to day and overnight summer camp; from out-of-school time to preschool; our Ys work to ensure your children have a safe, fun filled experience.
At the Y, child protection is our number one priority year-round. During April – Child Abuse Prevention Month – we participate in a week-long campaign— Five Days of Action—to increase awareness of child sexual abuse and empower and equip our communities to prevent it. By taking part in this important campaign and through implementing abuse prevention practices year-round, we can all commit to the safety of all children in our care.
The Know. See. Respond. campaign ties in three impact areas – preventing child sexual abuse at summer camp, in youth sports, and on the internet. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, U.S. Center for SafeSport and Praesidium have shared resources to support this campaign.
Insert Video- Know See Respond https://youtu.be/LvLpsCXBHaI
Our culture of child safety includes the foundational habits of child sexual abuse prevention—Know. See. Respond. When put into practice, they help us create safer environments for children to grow and learn.
Know: Knowing about child sexual abuse can help us better understand what to look for and how to keep it from happening in the first place. For example, did you know that 1 in 10 children in the U.S will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday?
See: When we know the signs of abuse, we can intervene on behalf of children.
Respond: If you suspect abuse, are you ready to respond? Do you know when and how to report suspected child abuse? Follow the link below to find your state’s child protection agency: https://www.childwelfare.gov/resources/states-territories-tribes/
Summer Camp
KNOWing (link Fast Facts: Preventing Child Sexual Abuse |Violence Prevention|Injury Center|CDC) about child sexual abuse can help adults better understand what to look for and how to prevent it. As parents, caregivers, and trusted adults to the young people in our lives, we play an important role in protecting them from abuse. This requires our commitment to continually learn and then ask questions about the safety of our loved ones.
The Y—and other youth serving organizations—implement a series of measures to keep the kids in their care safe. Next time you enroll your loved one in a new program, ask them about their child protection practices. For this summer, you can use this list (link 6 Key Questions a Parent Should Ask of a Camp | Praesidium (praesidiuminc.com)
Youth Sports
When we SEE boundaries being crossed or suspect a child is being abused, we can and should act quickly. Sports should be safe places for children to grow, both as individuals and athletes. As a parent, caregiver, coach or volunteer, it is up to you to make sure any environment in which children in your care interact is free from abuse. Learn more about the signs and how you can help prevent child sexual abuse in youth sports at uscenterforsafesport.org/parents/.
Internet Safety
Did you know that you don’t need evidence to report abuse—only reasonable suspicion? But even for adults, reporting abuse is hard. We don’t want to falsely accuse someone or get someone in trouble. On the other hand, reporting might be the one thing that saves a child – or children – from abuse. It is our responsibility to RESPOND to any and all disclosure, discovery or suspicion of child sexual abuse.
As adults and children alike have turned to digital tools for school, work and socialization, online safety matters now more than ever. Many online dangers put children at risk, such as cyber bullying, online enticement and more. As an adult, keeping an open line of communication with any children in your care who may access online content can be key to helping prevent sexual abuse. Learn the facts, how you can keep kids safe, and how to respond to online victimization at missingkids.org/netsmartz.
Talking to a Child about Abuse
Teaching children about sexual abuse is the best way to help keep them safe. Talking with your child regularly about their activities, people in their life and how they are feeling helps lay the groundwork for open, non-threatening conversations to be your norm. Learn more about talking to your child about abuse at https://ourkidscenter.com/learn/how-to-talk-about-abuse/
Early, Open, Often (link, https://www.earlyopenoften.org)
Other Resources
Together, we can help prevent child sexual abuse. Take a look at some of these helpful resources from other organizations who share the Y’s commitment to the safety of children.
Educational Videos and Information for Parents & Caregivers by our abuse prevention consultant and partner Praesidium
Recognize Abuse and it’s Warning Signs
How to Talk to Youth About Abuse
Online Trainings for Parents & Caregivers by U.S. Center for SafeSport
The U.S. Center for SafeSport produces online abuse awareness and prevention courses.
Click here to access all online training materials. After following the link, click on the “Get Trained Now” button. This will take you to the Learning Management System, where you can create a free account and access the trainings.
Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Online Training by Darkness to Light
Darkness to Light offers training that specializes in the education and prevention of child sexual abuse, other forms of abuse and mandated reporting. Click here to access all online training materials.