Safety

The Safety and Well-being of Young People Is Our Number One Priority

We work every day to create a safe, fun environment so kids can have every opportunity to be successful in life. The following are some of the most significant things we do to make sure that young people are safe while in our care.

Culture of Safety: The Boys & Girls Club of Burlington continually updates robust safety policies, programs, and training for our staff and volunteers that are designed to promote child safety and protect young people from threats that are present in our society. We implement layers of safety policies and guidelines to keep our kids safe, including:

Background checks are conducted annually on every staff member, board volunteer, and volunteer who has direct and repetitive interactions with Club members.
Club staff and volunteers are not allowed to have one-on-one contact with a Club member. This includes, but is not limited to, all of our Club locations, van rides to and from the Club, and mentoring services.
All program staff receive training on sexual grooming and signs of child sexual abuse. Program staff also receive training on mental health, trauma-informed approaches, and social-emotional development.
Upon hire and upon certification renewal, all program staff receive Vermont state-approved training in infant/child CPR and basic first aid for children, injury prevention, and emergency readiness.
Parent & Member Handbook is available to each Club family through this website, upon enrollment and/or upon request.

Safety Trainings: Ongoing training and supervision of staff is critical. We participate in a wide variety of child safety training, such as seminars, conferences, and webinars. We also engage leading third-party safety experts, including experts from the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, who have decades of experience on safe policies, approaches, and facilities. They are informed by experts such as Praesidium, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), and the National Children’s Advocacy Center.

Mandatory Background Checks: Mandatory criminal background checks are required every year for each staff and board member. In addition, criminal background checks are required for any volunteer who has direct and repeated contact with children. All potential employees and volunteers are also run through the National Sex Offender Registry. Based on results of these checks, people may be excluded from employment or volunteer service with the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington.

Required Immediate Reporting: Club staff and volunteers are all mandated reporters. We are required to report any critical incident/safety concern to local authorities immediately. We are also required to report any critical incident to Boys & Girls Clubs of America within 24 hours.

Mandatory Annual Safety Assessments: We complete a safety assessment each year to ensure we continually make improvements to safety at our Clubs.

Safety Committee: The Boys & Girls Club of Burlington has a dedicated safety committee to provide input and guidance on local policies and safety strategies.

Mandatory Employee Reference: The Boys & Girls Club of Burlington conducts reference checks of potential employees in compliance with membership requirements of Boys & Girls Clubs of America and applicable laws.

Federal, State, and Local Laws: We comply with federal, state, and local safety laws, including those impacting facilities and vehicles.

The afterschool and summer camp programs are programs licensed by the State of Vermont. Accordingly, these programs are held to standards set forth on the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) website. As stated in the Club's family handbook, any concerns regarding the treatment of a child or of any unsafe situation should be reported to the Club immediately in accordance with the Club's problem-solving policy. We also encourage reporting to the Vermont Department for Children and Families at 1-800-649-2642.

America’s young people deserve nothing less than our constant focus on their safety and our firm commitment to protect every child who is entrusted to our care at the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington. To learn more about our national safety policies and actions, please visit the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Child Safety page.