Within a youth-serving organization, we rarely catch abusers abusing. We catch them breaking the rules. It’s critical that all staff understand these rules and know how to detect and report rule-breaking. In our new micro-learning, we outline the five key rules of abuse prevention. We encourage you to distribute this to your staff as a quick refresher, so they are better prepared to keep every child in their care safe. 

During the holiday season, we see lifeguards returning to work while on their break. Although these guards have worked for your organization before, it is critical that they receive onboarding and training before they take the stand again. For example, complete a skills verification, validate their certifications, review the emergency action plan, and involve them in realistic training. We encourage you to utilize our Aquatics Director Toolkit for helpful guidance and tips and tricks on lifeguard preparedness, ongoing training, emergency action plans, and more. 

Preventing Injuries on Climbing Walls
If your organization has climbing walls, it is critical that your staff supervising that elevation risk are trained and monitored. This means checking to see if they are actively engaged, working with equipment properly, and following all policies and procedures. View our Climbing Safety Video Series for short videos you can use to train or refresh your staff. 

Preventing Catalytic Converter Theft
We continue to see catalytic converter thefts. View our compiled list of prevention measures to ensure your vehicles are safe from these crimes, so your programming is not disrupted, and the youth in your care can be transported to and from programs safely.

Checking In with Staff
It is important that managers and leadership are consistently checking in with staff to make sure they are physically and mentally well, and in a good place to work with youth. Identifying if a staff member is not in the right headspace to care for youth, can help prevent anything from poor behavior management to physical, verbal, and sexual abuse.