Safety Policies

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Concho Valley has comprehensive safety policies in place that protect youth, including, but not limited to, supervision, transportation, communication and prohibiting one-on-one contact. We implement layers of safety policies and guidelines in order to keep our kids safe including:

• 24- hour Toll-free Child Safety Hotline: We encourage all staff, members and families to report any incident or situation they feel is unsafe. Call our office at 655.8343. Through our national partnership with Presidium, one of the nation’s leading safety experts, Boys & Girls Clubs of San Angelo 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 for every staff, board member, volunteer and contractor who have direct contact with the children every year at Boys & Girls Clubs of San Angelo.
• Required Immediate Reporting: All Boys & Girls Clubs of the Concho Valley staff and volunteers are required to immediately report any critical incident/safety concerns to local authorities. We are also required to report any critical incident to Boys & Girls Clubs of America within 24 hours.
• Safety Training: Ongoing training and supervision of staff is critical. We participate in a wide variety of child safety conducted such as seminars, conferences and webinars. We also engage leading third-party experts to provide guidance for our policies and approaches, including Praesidium, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the National Children’s Advocacy Center.
• State and Local Laws: We comply with federal, state and local safety laws, including those impacting facilities and vehicles.
• Safety Committee: Boys & Girls Clubs of the Concho Valley has a dedicated safety committee to provide input and guidance on local policies and safety strategies.
• Compliance: Any person not in compliance with our safety policy will be subject to immediate disciplinary action.
• Mandatory Employee Reference: Any employee looking to move to another Club, MUST have a reference from the previous Club.

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.
• 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.

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 Clubs of the Concho Valley. To learn more about our national safety policies and actions, please visit Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Child Safety page, https://www.bgca.org/kids-in-need/child-safety