Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield continually updates 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.

Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield has comprehensive safety policies in place that protect youth, including, but not limited to, supervision, transportation, communication, and prohibition of private one-on-one contact.

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, Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield members and staff have access to a confidential 24-hour toll-free Child Safety Hotline, 866-607-SAFE (7233) or email SafeClub@Praesidiuminc.com.

Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield 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 criminal background checks are conducted each year for every staff and board member at Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield. In addition, criminal background checks are required for any volunteer who has direct contact with children. All potential employees and volunteers are also run through iCori.

We complete a safety assessment each year to ensure we continually make improvements to safety at our Club(s).

Ongoing training and supervision of staff and volunteers is critical. Both staff and volunteers participate in a wide variety of child safety training on a continuous basis, such as on-boarding orientations, webinars, and conferences. 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.

Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield has a dedicated safety committee to provide input and guidance on local policies and safety strategies. Priorities and initiatives include:

• Continually monitor and adjust COVID protocols

• Review and revise our comprehensive safety plan that includes emergency procedures and reporting requirements for any incident that could pose harm to a youth or staff. The plan is updated annually, and all Club staff are trained during their onboarding process and twice per year afterwards.

• Develop Ongoing staff training. BGCM staff participate in a wide variety of child safety training conducted through an annual organization-wide Safety Awareness Day, a second manager-specific Safety Awareness Day, and a culture that encourages sharing best practices. Expectations about the responsibility that every BGCM staff person has for the safety of children start at the first-day orientation with a conversation with the CEO or Director of Operations.

• Complete a yearly safety self-assessment, which includes conducting 2-3 facility audits of the Clubhouse to assess the conditions of the Club with an eye on any areas of concern for youth and staff safety. (Club vans are assessed during these audits.)

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.