At Boys & Girls Club of Bay City and Matagorda County, Child Safety is Job No. 1
Ensuring child safety is fundamental to the mission of Boys & Girls Club of Bay City and Matagorda County.
The Safety and Wellbeing 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. We have ZERO tolerance for inappropriate behavior of any
kind, including child sexual abuse or misconduct, and we put resources behind
that stance.
Culture of Safety: Boys & Girls Club of Bay City and Matagorda County 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!
Safety Policies: Boys & Girls Club of Bay City and Matagorda
County 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 Club of
Bay City and Matagorda County 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 Club of
Bay City and Matagorda County.
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 the First Advantage
Required Immediate Reporting: Boys & Girls Club of Bay City and Matagorda
County 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 Club.
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, webinars and a semi-annual safety symposium. 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.
Safety Committee: Boys & Girls Club of Bay City and Matagorda County has a dedicated safety committee to provide
input and guidance on local policies and safety strategies.
Mandatory Employee
Reference: Any employee
interested in moving to another Boys & Girls Club is required to have a
reference from the previous Club, even if the Clubs are within the same
community.
State and Local Laws: We comply with federal, state and local
safety laws, including those impacting facilities and vehicles.
Safety Partnerships: Nationally, Boys & Girls Clubs of America
works with leading experts in the areas of safety, security and technology to
develop state-of-the-art solutions for Clubs. Partners include:
- National Child Safety Advisory Task Force, made up of leading experts and organizations
- Blue Ribbon Taskforce, comprised of local Club leaders charged with providing input on the safety direction and key safety initiatives
- Mental Health First Aid, a national program that teaches skills to recognize and respond to signs of mental illness and substance abuse
- Crisis Text Line, a confidential text message service for youth in times of crisis
Locally, Boys & Girls Club of Bay City and Matagorda County partners with:
- Bay City Police Department
- Matagorda County Sheriff’s Department
- Matagorda County Crisis Center
- City of Bay City
- Matagorda County
Nationally, Boys &
Girls Clubs of America has advocated the passage of the U.S. PROTECT Act, which improved background screening systems
and access. The national organization has also partnered with the FBI, the National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children and the Centers for Disease Control to contribute to the development of
safety practices that benefit ALL youth-serving organizations.
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 Boys
& Girls Club of Bay City and Matagorda County. To learn more about our national safety policies and
actions, please visit Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Child Safety page, here. https://www.bgca.org/about-us/child-safety