The Lansingburgh Boys & Girls Club is committed to providing a safe and respectful environment for our members and will not tolerate any physical, sexual or emotional abuse or any neglect toward or by any member. The terms member or child shall include any person under the age of eighteen (18) years.
Physical abuse is defined as injury that is intentionally inflicted upon another. Sexual abuse and sexual misconduct shall be interpreted to mean any sexual interaction between a child and another person (including another child) in a position of power over the child. Specific acts may include inappropriate physical contact, viewing pornography, exposing oneself to another person, enticing others to expose themselves, inappropriate language or any other behavior that is a violation of the organization’s Code of Conduct or Employee Handbook. Emotional abuse is mental or emotional injury to a member that results in an observable and material impairment in his/her growth, development, or psychological functioning. Neglect is the failure to provide for a member’s basic needs or the failure to protect a member from harm.
Unless authorized in advance by the Executive Director, adult staff and volunteers shall not :
--be isolated with a member on Club premises, when transporting a member or at any off-site Club activity.
--initiate conversations with members about sexual matters. If a member initiates a conversation about sexual matters with a staff or volunteer, the adult shall limit the conversation to the child’s immediate concerns and shall provide a written incident report to the Executive Director before the end of his or her work shift; or
--engage in off-site social activities with members. Such prohibited interactions include meetings, telephone conversations, texting, social networking, email or internet communication. All communication between staff and members must be transparent.
All persons are prohibited from the access, display, production, possession or distribution of pornography on Club premises or equipment.
Bathroom Activities
Most incidents of member to member abuse occur in the bathrooms. Therefore, the following supervision guidelines are/will be implemented:
When supervising restroom use, adult staff members should first quickly scan the bathroom before allowing members to enter.
Group Bathroom Breaks
Staff are required to take groups of two or more members to the bathroom – following the “rule of three” or more.
If the bathroom only has one stall, only one member should enter the restroom while the others wait outside with the staff.
For those bathrooms with 3 stalls, 3 members will be sent in at one time.
Members of different ages using the bathroom at the same time will be minimized.
Staff will stand outside the bathroom door but remain within earshot.
Single Use
Members are required to ask permission to use the bathroom
Staff are required to frequently check the bathroom
Staff are prohibited from using the bathroom at the same time as members.
When assisting young members in the stalls, the staff will keep the door to the stall open.
Any suspected abuse or misconduct will be treated as a serious matter, (as stated above) shall be immediately reported to the Executive Director and shall be documented by written incident report prepared within the same work shift. The Executive Director shall immediately report the incident to the President of the Board of Directors. When applicable, the incident will be reported to the appropriate authorities, including Rensselaer County Child Protective Services and the City of Troy Police Department. The Executive Director shall maintain the confidentiality of incident reports, as well as the confidentiality of the identity of the alleged victim and the alleged target of the investigation, unless disclosure is required by law or for the safety of a person or persons.
Guidelines for staff/volunteers’ response to suspicious or inappropriate behaviors and/or policy violations
Interrupt the behavior.
Report the behavior to a supervisor, director, or other authority.
If you are not comfortable making the report directly, make it anonymously.
If the report is about a supervisor or administrator, contact the next level of management.
Document the report but do not conduct an investigation.
Keep reporting until the appropriate action is taken.
Guidelines for organization response
Review the need for increased supervision.
Review the need for revised policies or procedures.
Review the need for additional training.
Guidelines for Staff/Volunteers responding to member-to-member sexual activity
If you observe sexual activity between members, you should immediately separate them.
Calmly explain that such interactions are not permitted and separate the members .
Notify your supervisor.
Complete the necessary paperwork including what you observed and how you responded.
Follow your supervisor's instructions regarding notifying the authorities and informing the parents/guardians of the members involved.
In some cases, if the problem is recurring discipline may be required including not allowing one or both members to return to the program.
Guidelines for Supervisors and Administrators responding to member-to-member sexual activity
Meet with the staff who reported the sexual activity to gather information.
Confirm that the members involved have been separated or placed under increased supervision.
Review the steps taken by the staff on duty.
Review the incident report to confirm it is accurately and thoroughly completed.
Meet with parents/guardians of the members involved.
Determine what actions should be taken to make sure there is no recurrence, including assessing the suitability of the program for the children involved.
Notify the proper authorities.
Training: Within the 1st 30 days of employment, the employee will take the Armatus OnLine Training in the following content areas
Abuse Risk Management
Prevention of Member-to-Member Abuse
Employees will be required to take abuse training annually.
Criminal Background Checks (as required by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America)
The Boys & Girls Club of Lansingburgh is committed to selecting and retaining the best staff and volunteers to serve our youth. As part of the initial selection process and on an on-going basis, Boys & Girls Clubs of Lansingburgh will conduct background checks in accordance with the following policy. Boys & Girls Clubs of Lansingburgh will conduct criminal background checks of all employees, including minors, board volunteers, and others who serve on a standing committee, and conduct background checks on all volunteers, including partners and minors, who have direct, repetitive contact with children. Name‐based or fingerprint‐based record searches may be used in any combination but will, at a minimum, (a) verify the person’s identity and legal aliases through verification of a social security number, (b) provide a national Sex Offender Registry search, (c) provide a comprehensive criminal search which includes a national search, (d) provide a comprehensive local criminal search which includes either a statewide criminal search or county level criminal search, depending on your jurisdiction (a current list of jurisdictions can be found at www.bgca.net/childsafety), and (e) include here any additional background check criteria required by your organizational policies, funding, or licensing agencies or required in your jurisdiction, such as motor vehicle records, child abuse registry, or credit checks. Such checks will be conducted prior to employment and at regular intervals not to exceed twelve (12) months. All background check findings will be considered when making employment or volunteer decisions. It is the policy of Boys & Girls Clubs of Lansingburgh that an employee or volunteer will be automatically ineligible for employment or volunteer service, if such individual: (a) refuses to consent to a criminal background check, (b) makes a false statement in connection with such criminal background check, (c) is registered, or is required to be registered, on a state or national sex offender registry, (d) has been convicted of a felony consisting of: 1. murder, 2. child abuse, 3. a crime against children, including child pornography, 4. domestic violence, 5. abduction or human trafficking, 6. a crime involving rape or sexual assault, 7. arson, 8. weapons, or 9. physical assault or battery, (e) has been convicted of a drug‐related offense committed within the last five years, or (f) include here any additional hiring exclusions required by your organizational policies, funding, or licensing agencies or required in your jurisdiction. Boys & Girls Club of Lansingburgh will conduct reference checks on any candidate for employment or volunteer service. Should candidates for employment have previous experience with a Boys & Girls Club, a reference from the former Boys & Girls Club supervisor will be obtained by Boys & Girls Club of Lansingburgh prior to extending an offer for employment or volunteer service.
All employees and volunteers (other than volunteers at LBGC fundraising events) shall be required to sign a copy of this policy, acknowledging that they have received a copy thereof.
Attached please find the Sexual Abuse Prevention Policy of the Lansingburgh Boys & Girls Club which was adopted by the Club’s Board of Directors in May, 2017. Our response to the recommendations made by Selective Insurance is as follows:
Recommendation #1: Written Program Elements
We have initiated a new bathroom procedure. When a child has to go to the bathroom, they first have to go to the front desk and get a bathroom pass. There are only 2 passes available (the bathrooms each have 3 stalls). The front desk is in close proximity to the bathrooms and the staff person at the desk has the responsibility for distributing the passes and also maintaining a vigilant eye on who and when someone enters and exits the bathroom. This procedure will be made part of our policy. A crisis plan and complaint procedure are outlined in the policy.
Recommendation #2: National Background Checks
As required by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, national, state and local criminal background screenings are completed prior to hiring. These screenings are completed every year thereafter for employees and volunteers who are in regular contact with children.
Recommendation #3: Limiting One on One Interaction
This item is addressed in our Sexual Abuse Prevention Policy.
Recommendation #4: Training Documentation and Acknowledgement
All staff have or will have taken Sexual Harassment training as required by New York State prior to October 1, 2019. They have signed and acknowledged that they completed the training.