CLUB SAFETY
Child & Club Safety Policy Statement
Implementing a Safety Management System: Our Layers of Safety Protection
At Boys & Girls Clubs of the Permian Basin, safety is foundational to everything we do. We strive to create safe places where youth and staff thrive and we are committed to maintaining a safe and healthy environment at all times.
To ensure the safety of our operations and services, we are committed to a safety management system to identify, assess and mitigate risks and to continuously improve our safety performance. This requires our unyielding commitment to the following principles:
• Promoting the concept that safety is a core value and precondition to operation.
• Enabling proactive identification, assessment, and mitigation of risks associated with our activities, programs, and services.
• Fostering a positive safety culture through behavioral norms, expectations and “unwritten rules.”
• Prioritizing the safety and health of all individuals involved in our operations and affected stakeholders.
• Conducting risk assessments on a regular basis to proactively address risks and minimize the likelihood and severity of incidents.
• Complying with all applicable laws, regulations, and standards, including the Movement’s membership requirements.
• Actively encouraging the reporting of incidents, near misses and other safety concerns without fear of reprisal.
• Promoting safety awareness through open, regular communication and engagement initiatives.
• Providing comprehensive training to employees, volunteers, and other stakeholders to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to perform their tasks safely.
• Allocating sufficient resources (people, processes, tools and training) to supporting this safety policy.
• Integrating safety into all aspects of our business planning and decision-making processes.
• Ensuring all employees understand that we all have a daily obligation to pursue safety, quality and compliance as described in this safety policy.
Review and Revision:
This Child & Club Safety policy will be reviewed annually to ensure its continued effectiveness and relevance. It may be revised as necessary to reflect changes in regulations, industry standards, and organizational requirements.
Layers of Safety
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, BGCPB members and staff have access to a confidential 24-hour toll-free Child Safety Hotline, (866) 607-7233 or email SafeClub@Praesidiuminc.com.
Mandatory Background Checks: Mandatory criminal background checks are required every year for every staff and board member at BGCPB. In addition, criminal background checks are required for any volunteer who has direct unsupervised contact with children. All potential employees and volunteers are also run through the National Sex Offender Registry.
Required Immediate Reporting: BGCPB 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 with topics such as transportation, fire, tornadoes, hostile threats, bullying, etcc… 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.
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.
Nationally, Boys & Girls Clubs of America has advocated for 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. to protect every child who is entrusted to our care at BGCPB.
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