Child and Youth Protection — Keeping Your Eye on the Ball

Consulting Services in Child and Youth Protection

One needs to look no further than the pages of nearly any newspaper to see documentation of the impact of child abuse on our society and particularly on the nonprofit and religious organizations serving children and youth.

While all forms of child abuse are significant risk management concerns, child sexual abuse is a particular concern due to the predatory nature of many child molesters who seek access to children through the organizations in which they are active. It is imperative that all organizations offering services to children and youths recognize the risks of sexual molestation and implement aggressive risk management strategies to prevent child molesters from gaining access to children.

The Nonprofit Risk Management Center has a proven track record of assisting child and youth serving organizations develop and implement effective child abuse prevention strategies. Our staff has more than 20 years experience working with some of the largest youth-serving organizations in their efforts to protect children from predatory child molesters. We have a through understanding of the dynamics of child abuse, the typical techniques used by child molesters, and the need to apply multi-dimensional strategies to build safer organizations.

We begin with your mission. Other consulting services may arrive with a “cookie-cutter” approach to protecting children. We respect the differences in organizations and understand that different strategies work better for some organizations. If your organization must accept a risk to accomplish its mission, we will strive to devise risk management strategies to protect the children you serve while being true to your mission.

How can the Nonprofit Risk Management Center help?

We offer a variety of services to youth serving organizations that address child and youth protection issues:

Consulting Services

  • Child abuse risk assessments: using your mission as the context, we examine the services your organization offers, its staffing, screening, training, and client population characteristics. Through an on-site visit, interviews with senior staff, review of policies and insight into the organization’s history, successes and challenges working with youth, the Center’s staff identifies and prioritizes critical risks facing the nonprofit overall and specifically arising from the management of the organization’s youth program(s) as applicable. The Center’s report offers detailed, practical suggestions to protect an organization’s mission and assets — including the safety and welfare of staff, clients and volunteers.
  • Develop training materials and programs: whether it’s a face-to-face training session, or an on-line or video-based training course, we can help deliver the right youth protection message to your employees, volunteers, parents and children.
  • Develop organizational policies and procedures: to help your organization manage the risks associated with child safety, we can suggest policies and procedures that will significantly lower the probability of abuse within your organization. Whether it’s helping to develop the appropriate screening process or developing supervision guidelines for program activities, we will help your organization balance risks with your organization’s mission.

If you would like to discuss special risks inherent in your organization’s youth programs, Send an email to John.

OnLine Tools

The Center offers web-based tutorials that you, your staff and board, can take 24/7. Just click on these topics to get started!

Publications

Just click on these titles to place a secure on-line order from our web site.

Also of interest:

  • Coming Soon! NEW! Financial Risk Management: A Guide for Nonprofit Organizations: this new book offers insights on managing a wide array of risks that affect your bottom line.
  • Coming Soon! Coverage, Claims and Consequences: An Insurance Handbook for Nonprofits: The 2nd edition of this popular book offers practical advice on the topic of insurance.

Taking the High Road: A Guide to Effective and Legal Employment Practices for Nonprofits

Managing Facility Risks, 10 Steps to Safety

Managing Risk in Nonprofit Organizations: A Comprehensive Guide

Staff Training on Youth Protection Topics

The Center will design effective training modules specifically tailored for your organization’s youth programs, whether internet-based (great for multiple worksites) or in DVD format. Center staff can also be retained to deliver in-person training to your organization’s staff. The Center’s training includes handout materials and customized publications. Recent training topics have included:

  • "Risk management in youth serving organizations," "ABCs of Background Checks and other Screening Techniques,”
  • "Risk Management for Social Services Agencies: Critical Topics in Abuse Prevention, Detection and Response,"
  • Safety Training for Youth Programs (also covers procedures at your nonprofit for reporting accidents, injuries and unsafe conditions)
  • Preventing, Identifying and Reporting Child Abuse

Send an e-mail to the Center outlining what type of training you envision and your timeline, and we will send you a proposal itemizing what we will do, and the proposed cost.

Customized Services

Library — Resources

eNews

The Center’s bi-monthly newsletter that is emailed to your in-box, providing a quick lesson or highlighting a timely issue that your organization needs to know. Sign up for eNews Here!

Risk Management Essentials

View the Center’s 16-page newsletter that is published three times a year. Each issue covers a selection of issues, showcases the Center's training and workshops, and/or highlights new publications offering risk management advice from a nonprofit perspective. Download the current issue or order back issues here!

Risk Management Resource Center

Also, check out our Risk Management Resource Center for fact sheets on a range of risk management, liability and insurance topics.

Free Technical Assistance

Is your situation unique... not covered in the online advice area? E-mail your question using our online form. We provide free technical assistance to nonprofit organizations.