The Rotary Club of Akron had the opportunity to hear Chaz Billington and John Reyes explain the Youth Protection Initiative impacting all Rotary Clubs, at our Tuesday, January 18, 2022 Club meeting.
Chaz is the Chair of the Rotary Club of Akron Youth Protection Committee and a member of the District 6630 Youth Protection Committee.
Many Club members are aware that youth protection and safety is a high priority of Rotary International, District 6630, and all of the clubs and members. You may be less aware that Rotary International mandates youth safety protections be implemented for all Rotary related youth activities, events, and contacts.
After considerable effort, the District 6630 Youth Protection Committee, chaired by our own PDG John Reyes, rolled out a comprehensive Youth Protection Policy.
There are few activities in the District and its Clubs that are more valuable or more important than working with youth. It is imperative that all of us do our best as Rotary International mandates to make all youth activities as safe as possible for all involved.
What is the Youth Protection Policy?
“Every activity conducted or sponsored by Rotary will occur in an environment free of abuse and harassment.” The district’s policy complies with Rotary International’s Conduct Standards, as adopted by the RI Board of Directors, October 2019.
“To the best of their ability, Rotarians, Rotarians’ spouses and partners, and all other volunteers must safeguard the children and young people with whom they come into contact and protect them from physical, sexual and psychological abuse.”
What is the Purpose of the Youth Protection Policy?
- Safety of Youth Involvement in all Rotary Programs
- Consistent and supportive incident management
- Compliance with RI directive
- Protection of club members from allegations
- Liability protection
- Legal reporting requirements
Are Rotarians Required to Be Trained in These Policies and Procedures?
- All Rotarians, spouses, partners and volunteers must be trained, understand and follow the policies in the District 6630 Youth Protection Policies and Procedures document.
- Harassment or abuse by members or those associated with authorized District and Club activities will not be tolerated.
- Club compliance is supervised by the District Governor; all clubs will be monitored for ALL youth programs.
What is the definition of Youth interactions?
Youth interactions are defined as:
- Casual Contact (incidental and infrequent group contact)
- Continued Contact, more than casual, may or may not be in a group setting, and applies to Rotarians generally assigned to support Rotary functions
What does the Club need to do to be in compliance with District 6630 and RI?
Insurance coverage protects the Clubs and District from third party liability claims. Nonetheless:
• Clubs must document any event alleging abuse or harassment involving youth.
• Clubs should review programs and implement procedures for:
o Transportation
o conducting interviews
o volunteer screening
- Clubs create action plans for responding to incidents.
- All Clubs participating in Youth Programs will:
- Provide the District with a signed Compliance statement.
- For Volunteers with Continued Contact, provide confirmation of volunteer screening prior to participating in youth activities
- Clubs participating in Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) must meet additional requirements regarding training, learning materials, applications, websites and community resources.
What are the duties of the Club President and the Club Youth Protection Officer (YPO)?
The Club President:
- Enforces District Policy
- Reviews club youth activities
- Appoints the Club YPO
- Creates youth protection committee if needed
The Club YPO:
- Co-ordinates with District leaders for volunteer screening
- Annually conducts youth protection training for club membership
The Club YPO also Co-ordinates with the District RYE chair, if the Club participates in RYE.
Will Rotarians be required any specific training?
All Rotarian and non-Rotarian Volunteers who work with youth must complete the online Youth Protection Awareness Training
All Volunteers who have Continued Contact with youth must undergo screening:
- Undergo an interview as assigned by the DG
- Complete the required volunteer application.
- Provide personal references – at least three.
- Undergo a criminal background check
Training includes:
- Recognizing sexual abuse and harassment
- How to report incidents to the Club, the District, and legal authorities.
- Additional District Training is required certain other classifications of individuals working with youth
How are allegations handled?
- Any adult to whom a youth reports abuse or harassment, will immediately refer the complaint to the sponsoring Club Youth Protection Officer, but if none, to the Club President.
- Complaints alleging sexual and physical abuse must be reported to law enforcement immediately.
- There will be full cooperation with all law enforcement agencies and child protective services.
- If the complaint involves a RYE youth, the report should be made to the District RYE chair, who assumes the duties of the Club YPO in addition to his own duties
- Non-criminal complaints will be handled at the Club level and reported to the District Governor within 72 hours.
What is Next in implementing this policy?
A variety of tasks need to be accomplished by June 2022. Chaz will be creating a Youth Protection Committee. Club Rotarians interested in being on this committee should contact Chaz. Chaz will also reach out to Rotarians he believes should be on the committee based on their involvement with the youth programs currently being provided by the Akron Club.
Additional information will be shared with the Club as we implement this new policy and the required training rolls out.
