Safety

Ensuring child safety is fundamental to the mission of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati

Culture of Safety: Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati 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:

• We deliver high impact programs to the kids who need us most
• Guided training and certified in the proven methods of the Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality
• Quarterly facility and safety inspections are performed at every Club location
• We annually review our employee manual and health, safety and transportation policies
• All employees are mandated reporters, by law
• We perform and record Boys & Girls Clubs of America mandatory annual safety assessments
• Staff members participate in ongoing safety trainings and supervision of staff to include; seminars, conferences and webinars
• We require mandatory employee reference checks
• We remain in compliance with state and local laws
• We do not tolerate inappropriate behavior of any kind to include child sexual abuse and misconduct
• Our Clubs provide safety, mentorship and a sense of community

Safety Policies: Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati has comprehensive safety policies in place that protect youth – including, but not limited to, supervision, transportation, communication and prohibiting private one-on-one contact. 

24-hour Toll-free Child Safety Hotline: We encourage all staff, members and families to report any incident or situation they feel is unsafe. Through our national partnership with Praesidium, one of the nation’s leading safety experts, Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada members and staff have access to  a confidential 24-hour toll-free Child Safety Hotline, 866-607-SAFE (7233) or email SafeClub@Praesidiuminc.com. 

Mandatory Background Checks: Mandatory criminal background checks are required every year for every staff and board member at Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada. In addition, criminal background checks are required for any volunteer who has direct contact with children. All potential employees and volunteers are also run through First Advantage, as well as the Nevada Sex Offender Registry, state and FBI fingerprint background checks, through the Nevada Department of Public Safety in accordance with strict written criteria of unacceptable convictions. 

Required Immediate Reporting: Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati 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 Trainings: Ongoing training and supervision of staff is critical. We participate in a wide variety of child safety training conducted such as seminars, conferences and webinars. We also engage leading third-party safety experts to provide guidance for our policies and approaches, including Praesidium, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and the National Children’s Advocacy Center.