The Rotary Club of Akron had the pleasure of listening to our own John Reyes, Esq., Buckingham Doolittle & Burroughs and our District 6630 Youth Protection Chairperson during our Tuesday, April 4th Club meeting.For many Rotarians present at the meeting or viewing online, I am sure much of what John was presenting to us was new. What is important to understand is that the Rotary Club of Akron will be embarking on an initiative to strengthen our Youth Protection efforts to be in compliance with District and Rotary International Policies and Procedures.
So, what does the Youth Protection Initiative have to do with Akron Rotarians?
To be completely honest, I don’t think my article can do justice to what is being presented. I would encourage our readers to check out the recording from John’s presentation as well as checking out our Rotary website to review Rotary District 6630 Youth Protection Policies and Procedures. You can view the presentation by clicking here.
John began his presentation with a little history of efforts by various organizations that have developed Youth Protection policies and procedures because of incidents affecting children that put organizations at risk from a liability position. Rotary has had a long history of vetting Rotarians and other individuals involved with the Rotary Youth Exchange. This new initiative is to expand the vetting process to include all projects that involve Rotarians having contact with youth.
Strong support and effective management of youth programs are essential to ensuring that all youth protection policies are followed.
Individuals who have admitted to or been convicted of a crime related to sexual abuse or harassment are ineligible for Rotary Membership.
The Rotary Club of Akron strives to create and maintain a safe environment for all youth who participate in Rotary activities. “To the best of their abilities, Rotarians, Rotarians’ spouses and partners and other volunteers must safeguard the children and young people they come in contact with and protect them from physical, sexual, and psychological abuse.”
The Akron Club is invested in multiple Youth Programs.
The Club will be initiating a vetting process. There is a process to determine if a Rotarian has only “Casual contact” or “Continued contact.”
- For Rotarians who have only “casual” contact, you will receive a link to take a training course. A District Record is kept. That is all for Casual Contact.
- For Rotarians who have “continued” contact, District will send you a generic email with a link to complete an application.
- Rotarian submits completed application with link to Youth Volunteer Management system (YVM).
- YVM sends a link to Rotarian for a background check.
- If the report is not clear, a “pre-adverse” letter is sent to the Rotarian, who has 10 days to respond. District conducts a second review and finalizes eligibility.
- If all approved, VYM system will mark Rotarian’s record “approved” and Rotarian is eligible to work with youth.
- There are several other steps in the process:
- YVM sends email to references named in application.
- YVM sends email to Club YPO to do volunteer/Rotarian Interview
- YVM sends link to volunteer/Rotarian to take Youth Protection Training course.
- Performance results sent to District. Must have passing score.
Stay tuned for more information on this initiative. Our Club will be rolling out our implementation process over the next several months.
Yours in Service,
Terry Dalton
Akron Rotary Club Secretary and Scholarship Chair
