At Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club, Child Safety is Job No. 1 

Ensuring child safety is fundamental to the mission of the Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club.

The Safety and Wellbeing of Young People is Our Number One Priority

We work every day to create a safe, inclusive and fun environment so kids can have every opportunity to be successful in life. We have no tolerance for inappropriate behavior of any kind, including child sexual abuse or misconduct, and we put resources behind that stance.

Culture of Safety: Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club continually updates robust safety policies, programs and training for staff and volunteers to promote child safety and protect young people from threats in our society. These resources include but are not limited to:

• One point of entry and exit
• Formal check in and out procedures with a no “Ins & Outs” policy
• Staffing ratios follow a policy of one staff to twenty youth
• Three or more people are required to be present at all times during club activities and in all communications with youth for the safety of everyone, no 1:1 contact is allowed
• Safe Passage- we provide transportation from area schools to the Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club
• Staff meetings and trainings address safety on a recurring basis
• A Positive Behavior Support approach to working with youth, including a hierarchy of intervention strategies to support positive, safe behavior and address negative or unsafe behaviors
• Referrals to mental health and family support services
• Policies regarding communication with Members require correspondence to always involve 3 parties, whether that be 1 Member and 2 Staff Members, or 2+ Members and 1 Staff Member.

Safety Policies: Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club maintains comprehensive safety policies that protect youth, including but not limited to policies on supervision, transportation, communication and prohibition of one-on-one contact.

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

Mandatory Background Checks: Mandatory criminal background checks are required upon hire and annually for every staff and board member at Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club In addition, criminal background checks are required for any volunteer who has direct, repetitive contact with children. All potential employees and volunteers are run through DOJ Livescan criminal background check system.

Required Immediate Reporting: Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club staff and volunteers are all mandated reporters and 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 Annual Safety Assessments: We employ a multi-tiered safety assessment approach  to ensure we continually make improvements to safety at Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club.

Safety Trainings: Ongoing training and supervision of staff are critical. We participate in a wide variety of child safety training through online courses, seminars, conferences, webinars, local trainings and meetings. 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.

Safety Committee: Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club has a dedicated Board-led Safety Committee to provide input and guidance on local policies and safety strategies. Priorities and initiatives include:

• Bi-Annual multi-tiered walk thru assessments
• Resource development, guidance and support for continuous improvement in facility and child safety

Mandatory Employee Reference: Any employee interested in moving to another Boys & Girls Club is required to have a reference from their previous Club, even if the Clubs are within the same community.

State and Local Laws: We comply with federal, state and local safety laws, including those impacting facilities and vehicles.

Safety Partnerships: Nationally, Boys & Girls Clubs of America works with leading experts in the areas of safety, security and technology to develop state-of-the-art solutions for Clubs. Partners include:

• National Child Safety Advisory Task Force, made up of leading experts and organizations
• Blue Ribbon Taskforce, composed of local Club leaders who provide input on safety direction and key safety initiatives
• Mental Health First Aid, a national program that teaches skills to recognize and respond to signs of mental illness and substance abuse
• Crisis Text Line, a confidential text message service for youth in times of crisis

Locally, Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club partners with:

• Los Angeles Police Department, Hollenbeck Division
• Los Angeles Fire Department and Fire Station 1
• Department of Mental Health and area mental health providers such as VIP Community Mental Health Services, Children’s Hospital, Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services
• City of Los Angeles GRYD Program for Gang Reduction and Youth Development
• Lincoln Heights Community Clergy Collaborative, bringing service agencies, government entities, and local clergy together to address gang violence in our community

Continued Commitment: In July 2020, Boys & Girls Club organizations voted to adopt additional safety measures to further improve safety within our Clubs. Though many of these practices were already commonplace across our Movement, this vote made them mandatory for all Clubs. These include more stringent reference and background checks, enhanced Safety Committee requirements, stronger communication of key safety resources and information, and more. With unprecedented majority, on July 26, 2021, local Boys & Girls Clubs voted in record number to adopt additional membership requirements that further enhance child safety, implementing recommendations from RAINN that began in 2020 and will continue over the next two years – a demonstration of our continued commitment to keeping kids safe.

Nationally, Boys & Girls Clubs of America has advocated for passage of the U.S. PROTECT Act to improve background screening systems and access. The national organization has also partnered with the FBI, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the Centers for Disease Control to support the development of safety practices that benefit ALL youth-serving organizations.

America’s young people deserve nothing less than our constant focus on their safety and our firm commitment to protect every child who is entrusted to our care at Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club.