Abuse Prevention Strategies for Youth Organizations

Youth organizations can add incredible value to communities, providing education, inspiration, and activities for kids. However, the very elements that make youth activities fun can also create a high-risk environment for abuse.

A single incident can be devastating for a child and their family. An abuse allegation can also put your organization’s reputation, finances, and operations at risk.

A strong abuse prevention strategy can keep your summer youth program running smoothly and help all of your participants participate safely and excited to return next year.

Abuse Prevention Strategies for Summer Camps

Preventing abuse in your summer camp begins long before participants begin checking in on day one. Here’s how you can make abuse prevention an organizational priority:

1. Understand your legal responsibilities for hiring, training, and onboarding volunteers and staff
2. Create clear safety policies, including policies for reporting suspected abuse
3. Don’t rush your training and onboarding processes.
4. Create a clear supervision strategy, ideally with two adults present when supervising children or teenage staff/ volunteers.
5. Set expectations with staff, volunteers, and families.

Here’s how these abuse prevention strategies can support a safe and fun youth program.

Understand Your Legal Responsibilities

Before you start staffing and training your youth program, it’s critical to understand your legal responsibilities. Your state may have laws regarding background checks for hiring and specific training requirements when hiring or providing services to youth.

For example, California laws set specific mandated reporter training requirements for summer camps and youth programs.

AB 506 requires mandated reporter training and background checks for employees, administrators, and volunteers of youth-serving organizations. It also requires written policies for preventing child abuse.

AB 1963 designates supervisors of minor employees (under the age of 18) and HR employees as mandated reporters. This means you’ll need to provide mandated reporter training to the adults supervising your junior counselors or teen lifeguards.

If you’re unsure of your legal responsibilities for hiring, training, or onboarding employees and volunteers, contact a legal professional in your state who can help.

Create Clear Safety Policies

As mentioned above, CA AB 506 requires written policies to prevent child abuse. Be sure your organization’s safety policies are updated to reflect state requirements and your organization’s policies for protecting participants and youth workers/ volunteers.

Provide your safety policies to staff members, volunteers, and camper families. Post it publicly in program areas.

Some safety policies you may want to include:

• Two-adult rule: A child is never alone with one adult.
• Visibility: Doors stay open; staff may not enter bathrooms or changing areas alone with participants.
• Buddy system: Establish buddy rules that prevent participants from being alone.
• Appropriate vs. inappropriate touch: High-fives, fist bumps, or brief side hugs are acceptable; lap sitting, massages, or roughhousing are not.
• Social-media boundaries: Staff members never connect privately with participants online; no direct messages are allowed between participants and staff.
• Photo rules: Parent consent in writing; approved camp cameras only; no phones allowed in cabins, changing rooms, or bathrooms.
• Transportation guidelines: Pre-trip head counts, seat-belt checks, and at least two adults in every vehicle. Driver’s records must be obtained for all drivers.
• Reporting guidelines: Steps for reporting suspected abuse or inappropriate or unsafe behavior.

Clear Screening and Hiring Processes

Don’t rush your screening and hiring processes. Keeping your participants safe from harm starts with good screening.

• During the interview, ask scenario-based questions about how a youth staff or volunteer might handle situations, such as if a participant wants to connect on social media or if they’re asked to keep a secret about being inappropriately touched.
• Check references.
• Follow state guidelines for background checks, fingerprint submissions, and driving records.
• Even if your state doesn’t require it by law, background checks, Live Scan fingerprinting, and driving records can help you screen potential candidates.
• Check applicants against sex offender registries.

Training and Onboarding

Provide Mandated Reporter Training to employees, administrators, and youth volunteers. You can find specific training for supervisors of teen workers, volunteers, religious organizations, and even organization-specific trainings at the Mandated Reporter Training platform. Browse training for youth-service volunteers.

Provide camp or activity-specific training. For example, your employees and volunteers may need training on pool or waterfront rescue protocols, road and transportation safety, wilderness safety, or injury prevention/ treatment.

Train your employees and volunteers on your organization’s expectations, policies, and guidelines. Provide written policies, checklists, and post fact sheets that can be referenced in an emergency.

Don’t rush your training and onboarding process.

Supervision Strategy

Strong supervision leaves less risk for abuse. Some things to consider when organizing your supervisors, junior counselors, and participants include:

• What is your expected ratio of adults to junior counselors and participants?
• Who supervises a zone (pool supervisor vs art room supervisor)?
• Who covers for supervisors during lunch or bathroom breaks?
• Do you have a clear org chart so supervisors know who to report to?

Establish a daily check-in policy with supervisors to go over schedules, challenges, or to recognize achievements.

Set Expectations with Participants and Families

Onboard and train your youth participants and their families in the same way you would onboard a volunteer or new employee. An orientation policy can help you establish expectations and communication with your youth participants and their families.

• Provide a written handbook for participants explaining expectations, policies, schedules, and rules of conduct.
• Include your abuse prevention policies and reporting obligations.
• Include information for who to contact with questions, concerns, or absences.
• Collect signed acknowledgements from families that they have received and read their handbooks.

Create a Safe and Fun Camp Experience

Putting abuse prevention strategies at the core of your hiring, training, and onboarding processes is the best way to create a safe environment for kids, volunteers, coaches, and staff. Every kid deserves to be safe, and your commitment to abuse prevention creates a safe and fun experience for everyone.