Safety Policies

​At The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Coastal Bend ​the safety and well-being of
​young people is our number one priority.

We work every day to create a safe, fun environment so kids can have every opportunity to be successful in life. We have ZERO tolerance for inappropriate behavior of any kind, including child sexual abuse or misconduct, and we put resources behind that stance.

​Boys and Girls Clubs of the Coastal Bend has comprehensive safety policies in place that protect youth, including but not limited to, supervision, transportation, communication and prohibiting private one-on-one contact.

Culture of Safety

Boys and Girls Clubs of the Coastal Bend 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 including:

• ​Controlled onsite access
• Compliance with State Safety Standards
• Extensive employee and volunteer background checking and vetting processes

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

Mandatory Background
​Checks

Mandatory criminal background checks are required every year for every staff and board member at Boys and Girls Clubs of the Coastal Bend.  In addition, criminal background checks are required for any volunteer who has direct contact with children. All potential volunteers and employees are run through First Advantage, and Employer Flexible respectively.​

Required Immediate
​Reporting

Boys and Girls Clubs of the Coastal Bend 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 Annual
Safety Assessments:

We complete a safety assessment each year to ensure we continually make improvements
​to safety at our Clubs.

Safety
​Trainings

Ongoing training and supervision of staff is critical. We participate in a wide variety of child safety training conducted such as [seminars, conferences, webinars and a semi­-annual safety symposium]. 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

Boys and Girls Clubs of the Coastal Bend has a dedicated safety committee to provide input
​and guidance on local policies and safety strategies.

Mandatory Employee
​Reference

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.​

State and
​Local Laws

We comply with federal, state and local safety laws, including those impacting facilities and vehicles.​

COVID-19
​

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Coastal Bend follow the current recommended CDC requirements.

Safety Partnerships

​Nationally, The 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, comprised of local Club leaders charged with providing input on the 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, The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Coastal Bend partners with:

• Texas Department of Health and Human Services
• Higginbotham Insurance
  
  

Nationally, Boys & Girls Clubs of America has advocated the passage of the U.S. PROTECT Act, which improved 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 contribute to 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 Boys and Girls Clubs of the Coastal Bend. To learn more about our national safety policies and actions, please visit Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Child Safety page, here.