Youth Safety

The following policies mitigate the risk of child abuse at our Thurston County Boys & Girls Clubs:

1. All staff undergo thorough background checks upon hire as well as annual background checks while employed at Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County. This includes a statewide criminal check, a national criminal check, social security number verification and check of the sex offender registry. Staff and volunteers whose work is part of our OJP mentoring program also complete finger print verification.
2. Reference checks are required and completed at hire. If previously employed at a Boys & Girls Club, reference checks from that Club are required.
3. Drug testing is required of all staff as a pre-employment requirement; random drug testing of staff also occurs.
4. Two adult staff members are required inside the Clubs at all times. Under no circumstances should a staff member be in a room alone with a Club member without being in view of others. If a member wants to stay behind to talk or help a staff member clean up, another member must also be present.
5. It is a staff member’s responsibility to maintain a professional relationship with members. Staff may NOT have contact with members outside of approved Club activities for any reason, including babysitting, sharing or communicating via email, phone or through social networking.
6. At Clubs without a Staff Only Restroom, the restroom must first be cleared of any children prior to adult use of the facilities. Clearing the restroom must be completed for use by staff, volunteers and parents of Club members. At Clubs with a Staff Only Restroom, the restroom is strictly for adults. Youth are not allowed to use it and staff are not allowed to use the Youth Restroom.
7. Only one member at a time can use the restroom.
8. During peak hours of operations, staff members may be assigned to monitor the entrance to restrooms.
9. All Club staff receive training on Child Safety through Praesidium and/or BGCA.
10. If any staff member is accused of abuse of a child, local law enforcement are contacted.
11. All critical incidences at the Club are reported to Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

All staff are mandated to report any cases of suspected or reported abuse and neglect. Child Protective Services will be notified.