OUR COMMITMENT TO CHILD SAFETY

The Noble County Family YMCA is committed to keeping children safe in our community. This means educating ourselves and our community about child abuse and how we can work together to prevent it.

We are proud and respectful of the trust parents place in our YMCA. Our efforts in child protection aim to not only create programs that protect children from abuse, but also to create an informed community that is vigilant and ready to respond in the protection of any and every child.

Creating a Child Safe Environment 

The Noble County Family YMCA is dedicated to providing a safe environment to every person who enters our doors, most importantly children who are entrusted to our care. We have a series of measures in place to keep kids safe. Our child protection policies are developed using the Praesidium Safety Equation framework. Specifically, the Noble County Family YMCA:

  • Conduct annual criminal history and sex offender registry checks are conducted on staff and volunteers.
  • Conducts staff reference checks, including questions on the applicant's suitability to work with children.
  • Conducts staff interview utilizing behavioral based questions.
  • Requires staff and volunteers to complete training on preventing, recognizing and responding to abuse. Staff recertify in child abuse prevention training annually.
  • Requires staff and volunteers to agree to our child safety code of conduct which includes rules such as:
    • Prohibits staff and volunteers from being alone with a child; interactions must be observable and interruptible.
    • Restricts staff and volunteer contact with children outside of YMCA programs (including babysitting, birthday parties, social networking, offering additional practices, etc.).
    • Provides examples of acceptable and unacceptable physical and verbal interactions.
    • Require allegations or suspicions of abuse be reported to the proper authorities in accordance with Oklahoma State law.
  • Provides anonymous ways for staff, volunteers and the community to report rule breaking or concerns to senior leadership.

 

What The Noble County Family YMCA Does to Protect Children

  • Screening - All new employees and volunteers undergo a background check prior to hiring, and they must provide at least three references. All staff and volunteers must also go through new checks when they're returning to the Y after a 90-day break or transferring into a licensed program. Our members and guests are also screened through an internal background checking system that integrates with The National Sex Offender Registry.
     
  • Training - Comprehensive online and in-person child abuse prevention training is mandatory to all YMCA employees and volunteers, and they are required to refresh their training annually. The goal is to educate on inappropriate conduct, while also teaching the warning signs of abuse.
     
  • Reporting - Should any allegation arise, the YMCA will proactively work with the authorities and all parties involved to respond in a prompt, thorough and empathetic manner.
     
  • Policy - The Noble County Family YMCA maintains a zero tolerance policy toward child abuse and child endangerment, and staff are to report any questionable behavior they see or any violation of the Employee Code of Conduct.
     
  • Auditing -To ensure we continuously uphold the highest standards in child safety and protection, we have developed internal systems that routinely audit our operations, and utilize an assessment tool developed by Praesidium, a consulting firm that specializes in abuse prevention and risk management.