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Appendix A - Praesidium's Recommended Child Protection Policies

Appendix A

Praesidium's Recommended Child Protection Policies

I. Introduction

Statistics indicate that one in four girls and one in eight boys will be sexually abused by the time the youth reaches 18 years of age. And, contrary to what many people believe, the abuse is normally perpetrated by someone that the child knows-a teacher, a swim instructor, a little league coach, a child care worker, etc. The offender often gains access to the child through organized programs and activities. The offender gets to know the child and tests the child's boundaries to see how the child will respond. Next, the offender breaks the organization's policies and procedures by touching the child inappropriately, finding ways to spend time alone with the child, and eventually sexually abusing the child.

In establishing zero tolerance for abuse, Jeff Ellis Swimming (JES) has partnered with Praesidium Inc., a company that specializes in the prevention of sexual abuse, to create recommended policies that (1) set the stage for safe environments and (2) define acceptable and unacceptable personnel conduct. These policies and procedures also facilitate effective monitoring and supervision because personnel can recognize and take action when they see policy violations. Most importantly, these policies and procedures are designed to protect personnel from false allegations of sexual abuse. As safety must always be the first and primary concern for all facilities, the policies outlined in the manual are designed to protect children from abuse and those working in your facility from false allegations of abuse.

II. Recommended Code of Conduct for Your Facility's JES Programs
Children will be treated with respect at all times.

Licensed JES program coordinators and certified swim instructors will exhibit the highest professional standards and personal integrity.

Licensed JES program coordinators and certified swim instructors will conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with the philosophy and objectives of JES.

Licensed JES program coordinators and certified swim instructors will not stare or comment on a child's body.

Licensed JES program coordinators and certified swim instructors will not have secrets with children. Licensed JES program coordinators and certified swim instructors will not swear or tell off-color jokes.

Licensed JES program coordinators and certified swim instructors will not discuss with children their sexual encounters or in any way involve children in their personal problems or issues.

Licensed JES program coordinators and certified swim instructors will do their utmost to prevent abuse and neglect among children involved in JES activities and services.

Licensed JES program coordinators and certified swim instructors will not physically, sexually, or emotionally abuse or neglect a child.

Licensed JES program coordinators and certified swim instructors will share concerns about suspicious or inappropriate behavior with their supervisor.

Licensed JES program coordinators and certified swim instructors will obey the laws and report any suspected abuse or neglect of a child whether in or out of JES programs and whether perpetrated by JES personnel or others, to the state or local authorities.

Licensed JES program coordinators and certified swim instructors understand that JES has zero tolerance for abuse and agrees to comply in spirit and in action with this position.

Licensed JES program coordinators and certified swim instructors will accept their personal responsibility to protect children from all forms of abuse.

III. General Definitions
  1. Client Facility and/or Personnel
    • For the purposes of these policies, the following are included in the definition of client facility:
    1. All program coordinators.
    2. All swim instructors.
  2. Children
    • For the purposes of these policies, the following are included in the definition of children:
    1. All JES participants
    2. Siblings of JES participants
  3. Types of Abuse
    1. Physical abuse is non-accidental injury which is intentionally inflicted upon a child.
    2. Sexual abuse is any contact of a sexual nature that occurs between a child and an adult. This includes any activity which is meant to arouse or gratify the sexual desires of the adult.
    3. Emotional abuse is mental or emotional injury to a child that results in an observable and material impairment in the child's growth, development, or psychological functioning.
    4. Neglect is the failure to provide for a child's basic needs or the failure to protect a child from harm.
IV. Screening and Selection for Program Coordinators and Swim Instructors

All programs must adhere to screening and selection criteria required by your facility. The following are recommended items to be completed before an applicant is released to work with children.

  1. A Standard Application.
  2. A signed Code of Conduct.
  3. A county criminal background check in all counties where the applicant has lived the last 10 years, a multi-state criminal background check, and a sex offender registry check.
  4. Face-to-face interviews using behaviorally based standardized questions designed to assess for potential risk to abuse.
  5. A minimum of three reference checks that include professional and personal references using behaviorally based questions that assess abuse risk. A family member may be included as a possible personal reference.

All of the above mentioned records must be documented in a personnel file.

V. Training Recommendations

Personnel who are trained in abuse prevention are more likely to understand their role as protector, to recognize the signs that abuse is occurring, and to report suspicious or inappropriate behaviors. Trained personnel are also less likely to place themselves in situations where they could be falsely accused.

In order to educate personnel in how to detect the warning signs of abuse, JES recommends that personnel complete the following training course:

  1. General Training Curriculum Recommendations
    1. Review the facility Code of Conduct for program coordinators and swim instructors.
    2. Methods for monitoring locker rooms.
    3. Methods for monitoring the pool area.
    4. Things to look for when monitoring adult-to-child interactions in the pool.
    5. Things to look for when monitoring child-to-child interactions in the pool.
    6. Behavior management in the pool.
    7. How to protect yourself from false allegations of abuse:
      • During swimming lessons.
      • When children need to be taken to the bathroom.
      • When staff and children are changing together before swim class.
    8. Actions to take if there is a situation of concern.
    9. How to report concerns about staff, parents, and children.
VI. Conduct with Children

The following policies are intended to assist personnel in making decisions about interactions with children in the facility's JES programs. For clarification of any guideline or to inquire about behaviors not addressed in this section, contact your supervisor.

  1. General Conduct
    1. Personnel will report unmanageable or unusual behavior of children to parents or legal guardians as soon as possible.
    2. Personnel are prohibited from the use, possession, distribution, or being under the influence of alcohol, tobacco products, or any illegal drugs while in the presence of children.
    3. Personnel will respond to children with respect and consideration and treat all children equally, regardless of sex, race, religion, culture, or socioeconomic status. Personnel will portray a positive role model for children by maintaining an attitude of respect, patience, and maturity.
    4. No personnel may date a student or become romantically or sexually involved with a student.
    5. All personnel, including personnel under the age of 18, will maintain appropriate boundaries when in positions of power with children.
    6. Money or gifts will not be given to children, except for within the context of a group gift given to all children in celebration of special events or recognition.
    7. Personnel will never be nude or inappropriately dressed in the presence of children. Personnel must be well groomed and appropriately dressed at all times.
    8. Personnel are prohibited from possessing any sexually oriented or morally inappropriate printed materials (magazines, cards, videos, films, clothing, etc.) in the presence of children.
  2. Physical Contact
    • Praesidium recommends that all facilities implement a Physical Contact Policy that will promote a positive, nurturing environment while protecting children and personnel from misunderstandings. The following recommended guidelines are to be carefully followed by all personnel working with children.
    1. Appropriate affection between personnel and children is important for a child's development and is a positive part of your facility's JES programs. The following forms of affection are regarded as appropriate examples:
      1. Side hugs
      2. Pats on the shoulder or back
      3. Handshakes
      4. "High-fives" and hand slapping
    2. Some forms of physical affection have been used by adults to initiate inappropriate contact with children. In order to maintain the safest possible environment for children, the following are examples of affection that are NOT to be used:
      1. Full body hugs or lengthy embraces
      2. Kissing
      3. Touching bottoms, chests, or genital areas
      4. Showing affection in isolated areas of the program such as restrooms or locker rooms
      5. Wrestling with a child
      6. Tickling children
      7. Piggyback rides
      8. Any type of massage given by a child to an adult
      9. Any type of massage given by an adult to a child
      10. Any form of unwanted affection
  3. Verbal Interactions with Children
    • Personnel are prohibited from speaking to children in a way that is, or could be construed by any observer, as harsh, coercive, threatening, intimidating, shaming, derogatory, demeaning, or humiliating.
    • Personnel are cautioned against initiating sexually oriented conversations with children. Personnel are not permitted to discuss their own sexual activities with children or in the presence of children.
    1. Appropriate Verbal Interactions:
      1. Positive reinforcement
      2. Appropriate jokes
      3. Encouragement
      4. Praise
    2. Inappropriate Verbal Interactions:
      1. Name calling
      2. Discussing sexual encounters or in any way involving a child in the personal problems or issues of personnel
      3. Telling secrets
      4. Cursing
      5. Telling off-color or sexualized jokes
      6. Shaming
      7. Belittling
      8. Derogatory remarks
      9. Harsh language that may frighten, threaten, or humiliate a child
      10. Compliments that relate to physique or body development (e.g. "You are really developing ...")
VII. Supervision of Your Facility's JES Programs
  1. General Monitoring
    1. A minimum of two screened adults should be available in each program facility.
    2. The adult-to-child ratio should meet program guidelines and should be directly related to the goals of the program and the design of the facility.
    3. The adult-to-child ratio should be adjusted for those programs that serve children with special needs.
  2. Monitoring Higher-Risk Activities
    1. One-on-One Interactions. Most abuse occurs when an adult is alone with a child. As a result, it is recommended that all your facility's JES programs prohibit personnel from being alone with a lone child. As stated in the JES manual, a lifeguard must always be present during lessons; therefore swim instructors should never conduct "private lessons" without another adult present.
      • If the facility does not prohibit one-on-one interactions, personnel should observe the following guidelines to manage the risk of abuse or false allegations of abuse:
      1. Do not conduct private lessons at individual's homes.
      2. Avoid physical affection that can be misinterpreted. Limit affection to pats on the shoulder, "high-fives," and handshakes.
      3. Document any unusual incidents, including disclosures of abuse or maltreatment, behavior problems and how they were handled, injuries, or any interactions that might be misinterpreted.
    2. Managing Bathroom and Locker Room Activities
      1. Ask parents to escort their own children to the restroom.
      2. Prohibit personnel from being alone with a child in the bathroom without the benefit of informal monitoring, such as keeping the door ajar, so passersby can see the personnel.
      3. Female staff should only assist female children and male staff should only assist male children with bathroom activities.
      4. Prohibit personnel under the age of 18 from assisting children with bathroom activities.
      5. Prohibit children from being in the bathroom alone for extended periods of time.
      6. Do not send large groups of children to the bathroom at one time.
      7. Prohibit personnel from changing in front of children.
      8. Prohibit personnel from showering with children.
      9. Require personnel to check bathrooms prior to children entering and to stand with the bathroom door partially ajar while children are in the bathrooms.
      10. Require personnel to periodically and consistently monitor bathrooms and locker rooms for suspicious or inappropriate behaviors.
      11. Prohibit facility personnel from taking cameras and/or cell phones with them while escorting children to the restroom.
    3. Outside Contact. Many cases of organizational abuse occur off-site and outside of regularly scheduled activities. Contacts outside of regularly scheduled activities may put children, personnel, and your facility at increased risk. Therefore, it is recommended that all your facility's JES programs prohibit personnel from having outside contact with children involved in your facility's JES program.
      • If your facility does not adopt the above recommendations then the following procedures should be considered:
      1. Require personnel to submit any plans for outside contact in writing. The plan should include the date, time, activity, and names of children involved. Supervisors should identify for personnel what types of outside contact are appropriate and inappropriate.
      2. When participating in outside contact, require personnel to document their contacts with children for the week. The documentation should include the date, time, activity, and names of children involved and any unusual incidents.
      3. Any contact between personnel and children which takes place outside the context of scheduled activities or job description (phone calls, letters, or face-to-face conversations) will be permitted only with the express approval of the child's parents. Parents must be advised of the nature of the contact and that such contact is not part of your facility's JES activity.
      4. Any electronic communication with children including blogging or leaving comments on blogs, instant messaging, and use of social media sites is prohibited. All email communication with children should be copied and/or forwarded to supervisory personnel and parents and guardians.
VIII. Information for Parents and Children
  1. Parent Orientation
    • Because parents and guardians of JES children are encouraged to observe JES programs, it is recommended that JES program coordinators conduct a parent orientation to inform the parents about (1) the JES philosophy and objectives and (2) your facility's policies specifically related to child abuse prevention. Once parents are made aware of your facility's policies and procedures, they can play a role in monitoring the interactions between facility staff and their children.
  2. Parent Handbook
    • It is recommended that the program coordinator also provides the children's parents with a written handbook outlining the facility's policies and procedures related to child abuse prevention. This handbook should include the following at a minimum:
    1. The Code of Conduct for program coordinators and swim instructors
    2. How SWim instructors should and should not touch participants during the lessons
    3. The facility's policies related to outside contact
    4. The facility's restroom and locker room procedures
  3. Personal Safety Message for Children
    • It is the job of facility staff to protect children from abuse within your facility's JES program. However, the facility can still provide children with information about how to protect themselves from abuse. With the parents present, the program coordinator should provide the following Personal Safety Message to the children:
    • My body belongs to me. If someone makes me feel uncomfortable, scared or hurt, or touches my private areas, I will yell 'STOP" and GO TELL an adult who listens. I have a right to be safe. I deserve respect.
  4. Feedback from Parents and Children
    1. Formal Feedback
      • Praesidium recommends surveying children and their parents at the end of the lessons. These surveys should include items related to abuse risk management.
    2. Informal Feedback
      • Praesidium wants all children to be safe and encourages parents to become part of the risk management team. Program coordinators should provide parents with the following script and questions to help parents assess the safety of their facility's JES programs:
      • As a parent, you can help to ensure the safety of your child by taking a few minutes every so often to ask your child some simple questions.
        1. Is anyone touching you in a way that you don't like?
        2. Has anyone said anything to you that made you feel bad?
        3. Is anyone asking you to keep secrets?
        4. Is anyone scaring or threatening you?
      • If you have any concerns about how your child is being treated in our facility's JES program, please let us know. Thank you!
IX. Reporting of Problems
  1. Reporting of Inappropriate Behaviors with Children
    • Because JES is dedicated to maintaining zero tolerance for abuse, it is imperative that all facility staff participate actively in the protection of children. In the event that personnel observe any suspicious or inappropriate behaviors on the part of other personnel, it is their personal responsibility to interrupt the behavior and immediately report their observations.
    • Examples of suspicious or inappropriate behaviors could include: policy violations, neglectful supervision, seeking private time with children, taking children off-premises without adhering to procedures, buying gifts for individual children, poor role modeling, swearing, or making suggestive comments to children.
    • Instruct facility staff that if they witness these suspicious or inappropriate behaviors, they should follow this five-step process:
    1. Spotlight the Situation.
      • Introduce yourself by giving your name and position and ask the guest if you may be of assistance. Remain polite, courteous, and professional. A simple greeting lets the guest know that someone is watching. This will usually interrupt any improper goings-on.
    2. Identify What's of Concern.
      • For example, "You were observed bumping into children in the wave pool," or "A parent reported that you were videotaping her child without her permission."
    3. Explain Why the Conduct is Inappropriate.
      • For example, "You are making parents feel uncomfortable," "This area is just for children and their parents," or "That is against our policy."
    4. Give the Guest Specific Instructions.
      • For example, "Please leave this area," "Don't let that happen again," or "You will have to leave the pool."
    5. Alert Park/Pool Management to the Situation.
      • Management may decide to take further steps such as increasing surveillance, evicting the guest, or calling the police.
    • In addition, all inappropriate behaviors or policy violations that relate to interactions with children should be reported according to your facility procedures and chain of command.
    • Personnel may choose to report concerns anonymously by:
    1. Submitting an anonymous, specific and verifiable letter of concern to one of the above- mentioned administrators.
    2. Submitting a Confidential Notice of Concern (Appendix A2).
    • All reports of suspicious or inappropriate behavior with children will be taken seriously. If at any point in gathering information about suspicious or inappropriate behavior a concern arises that there is a possibility of abuse, the state authorities will be contacted and a report will be filed.
    • If at any point policy violations with children are confirmed, personnel will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination and possible prosecution. Disciplinary action will follow the Progressive Discipline Process outlined in these policies.
  2. Reporting Abuse of Children
    1. Emotional and sexual abuse may not have obvious signs and are difficult to ascertain. Concerns should be acted upon in cases where a sexual abuse incident is alleged to have occurred and in situations of deprivation or exposure to unwholesome or demoralizing conditions.
    2. Personnel must report any suspected abuse or neglect of a child to the state authorities. Reports may be made confidentially or anonymously. A person who mistakenly reports suspected
    3. abuse is immune from civil or criminal liability as long as the report was made in good faith and without malice.
    4. In addition to reporting to the state authorities, personnel are required to report any suspected or known abuse of children that may have been perpetrated by personnel. Reports of suspected or known abuse may be made confidentially to facility contacts.
    5. When suspicious behavior, inappropriate behavior, or suspected abuse is reported to the state, the state will inform the facility whether they believe a crime has been committed that would require an investigation by civil authorities.
    6. During investigations by state authorities or internal investigations by a third party, the personnel who is the subject of the investigation will be temporarily removed from facility responsibilities and duties.
    7. Internal investigations will be documented. Documentation of internal investigations will be stored in the personnel file of the personnel who is the subject of the investigation and in the human resources file.
    8. At the conclusion of an internal investigation for personnel, the results and recommendations will be submitted to [INSERT COMMITTEE OR DEPARTMENT NAME HERE].
    9. If abuse of a child is confirmed, the personnel will be subject to termination in accordance with the Progressive Discipline Policy, which provides for termination in cases of serious and major offenses.
    10. If abuse of a child is confirmed through an internal investigation, the state and the police will be re-contacted and a follow-up report will be submitted.
    11. If a JES program coordinator or swim instructor is found to be abusing a child, Ellis & Associates should be informed so that the JES License or certification can be revoked.
X. Recommended Progressive Discipline
  1. Recommended Procedures
    1. JES recommends that facilities maintain the highest quality personnel who exhibit exemplary conduct and superior performance. To this end, all personnel are to be informed by their program coordinators of what is expected of them in the performance of their roles, how to conform to facility's policies, and how well their performance meets expectations.
    2. When personnel performance or conduct does not meet the expectations of the facility, it is the responsibility of program coordinators to address the problem(s) in a timely and equitable manner. The recommended procedure would normally include four steps: 1) Counseling, 2) Formal Warning, 3) Probation, and 4) Termination.
    3. All documents associated with the Progressive Discipline Procedure should be retained in the personnel file of the personnel.
    4. In the event of an allegation of abuse, the program coordinator or Swim instructor should be temporarily removed as an instructor or coordinator pending an internal investigation.
  2. Recommended Steps in Progressive Discipline
    1. Counseling. A large portion of performance and conduct deficiencies are identifiable and in many cases, can be addressed and resolved through informal counseling between the program coordinator and the swim instructor. Effective counseling includes the following:
      1. Clear identification of the problem with specific examples,
      2. A mutually agreed upon action plan to resolve the problem,
      3. Documentation of the counseling and communication which is kept in the personnel file of the individual who receives counseling.
    2. Formal Warning. Formal Warnings should be initiated when 1) counseling fails to resolve the problem, or 2) the problem is of such a serious nature that immediate and formal resolution is required.
      1. Formal Warnings should be documented using the following format:
        1. A specific statement of the problem.
        2. Reference to any counseling that was attempted.
        3. A statement of the policy that was violated.
        4. A summary of corrective actions to be taken.
        5. A statement of the consequences of failure to resolve the problem(s).
        6. A reasonable timeframe for resolution (often 15 to 30 days).
      2. Formal Warnings should be presented at a meeting with the program coordinator.
      3. Personnel should be required to sign the Formal Warning Document.
      4. Formal Warning Documents and all accompanying materials should be stored in the personnel file of the individual who receives the warning.
      5. If Formal Warnings relate to the organizational policies for the protection of children, Formal Warning Documents will be faxed to the appropriate facility department.
    3. Probation. Probation is the third step in the Progressive Discipline Procedure prior to dismissal.
      1. Probation should be initiated when a warning process has not succeeded or when the misconduct is such that a second infraction would clearly warrant termination.
      2. The probation process consists of the same elements as the formal warning process with an emphasis on the fact that failure to meet the conditions of the probation will result in termination if significant improvement is not demonstrated consistently in the probation period (typically 30 days).
      3. A second Formal Warning Document should be completed when the personnel is placed on probation.
      4. At the successful conclusion of probation, personnel should be notified in writing that the individual is no longer in a probationary status.
    4. Termination. Termination should be administered under one of two conditions:
      1. Failure to improve conduct during the steps of Progressive Discipline, or
      2. Serious and major offenses, including but not limited to, violations of the organizational policies for the protection of children.

Sample Code of Conduct

Children will be treated with respect at all times.

Facility staff will exhibit the highest professional standards and personal integrity.

Facility staff will conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with the philosophy and objectives of JES.

Facility staff will not stare or comment on a child's body. Facility staff will not have secrets with children.

Facility staff will not swear or tell off-color jokes.

Facility staff will not discuss with children their sexual encounters or in any way involve children in their personal problems or issues.

Facility staff will do their utmost to prevent abuse and neglect among children involved in your facility's activities and services.

Facility staff will not physically, sexually, or emotionally abuse or neglect a child.

Facility staff will share concerns about suspicious or inappropriate behavior with their supervisor.

Facility staff will obey the laws and report any suspected abuse or neglect of a child whether in or out of your facility's JES programs and whether perpetrated by facility staff or others, to the state or local authorities.

Facility staff understand that the facility has zero tolerance for abuse and agrees to comply in spirit and in action with this position.

Facility staff will accept their personal responsibility to protect children from all forms of abuse.

Acknowledgment

I attended an orientation that describes and explains the organizational policies for the protection of children adopted by our facility. I understand and voluntarily agree to abide by these policies.

Please Print
Name:
Date:
Position:
Signature:

Recommended Confidential Notice of Concern

Confidential Notice of Concern

Individual of Concern:
Date of occurrence:
Time of occurrence:
Type of Concern:
Inappropriate behavior with a minor
Policy violation with a minor
Possible risk of abuse
Other concern:
 

Describe the situation: What happened, where it happened, when it happened, who was involved, who was present, and who was notified? If reported to the State, what was their recommendation about investigating?

 

Has this situation ever occurred previously?

 

What action was taken? How Was the situation handled, who was involved, who was questioned, were police called?

 

What is the follow-up plan? Does anyone else need to be notified? Will the situation need monitoring? Would you like someone to call you to discuss this situation?

 
Submitted by:
Telephone number:
Location and address:
Signature:
Date:
Reviewed by: (Name & Title)
Date:

INDEMNITY STATEMENT

Praesidium, Inc. provides policy development to assist in the prevention of organizational abuse. However, it must be noted that no system can guarantee prevention of abuse.

When all recommendations are implemented and maintained, a risk for abuse continues to exist, as the problem of abuse is pervasive and no system to date can assure complete safety.

Accordingly, PRAESIDIUM, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND MERCHANTABILITY, REGARDING THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF THE PRAESIDIUM POLICIES IN PREVENTING OR REDUCING THE INCIDENCE OF ABUSE.

 
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