Safety

Boys & Girls Club of Rutland County Commitment to Saftey

We work everyday to to create a safe, fun environment to kids can have every opportunity to be successful in life. We have a ZERO tolerance for inappropriate behavior of any kind, including child sexual abuse or misconduct, and we put resources behind this commitment.

Culture of Safety: Boys and Girls Club of Rutland County is continually updating 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 but not limited to:

  •  Background checks are conducted upon hiring on every staff member, volunteer and anyone who has direct and repetitive interactions with club members.
  • Club staff and volunteers are not allowed to have one-on-one conduct with a club member. This includes but is not limited to, all of our club locations and van rides to and from club.
  • All staff receive training on sexual grooming and signs of child sexual abuse. Program staff also receive 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.
  • Upon hire, all staff will take the mandated reporter training by the the state of Vermont. Upon completion all program staff will become mandated reporters.
Safety Trainings: Ongoing training and supervision of staff is critical. All staff participate in a wide variety of child safety training on a continues basis, such as online trainings provided by Boys and Girls Club of America, trainings through Vermont Afterschool, and others. 
 
Mandatory Annual Safety Assessments: We complete a safety assessment each year to ensure we are following state guidelines and to ensure we can continuously make improvements where needed.
 

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 licensed by the State of Vermont. Accordingly these programs are held to standards set forth by Vermont’s Department of Children and Families.

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

Mandatory Employee Reference: The Boys & Girls Club of Rutland County conducts reference checks of potential employees in compliance with membership requirements of the Boys & Girls club of American and the applicable laws.