24-HOUR 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 & Girls Clubs of South Central Tennessee members and staff have access to a confidential 24-hour toll-free Child Safety Hotline.

MANDATORY BACKGROUND CHECKS

Mandatory criminal background checks are required upon hire and annually for every staff and board member at Boys & Girls Clubs of South Central Tennessee. 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 Veriscreen comprehensive background checks each year.

REQUIRED IMMEDIATE REPORTING

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 our Clubs. For example, Board members from the Board Safety Committee conduct annual safety assessments at a subset of our Club sites.

SAFETY TRAININGS

Ongoing training and supervision of staff are critical. We participate in a wide variety of child safety training through online courses, conferences and live trainings. 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

The organization has a dedicated Board-led Safety Committee to provide input and guidance on local policies and safety strategies. Priorities and initiatives include:

• Board lead development of safety inspections
• Safety assessments completed through guided tours of local Clubs.
• Development and annual review of Crisis response and Policy and Procedure manuals.

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.

ADHERENCE TO 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

STANDARD RESPONSE PROTOCOL

Boys & Girls Clubs of South Central Tennessee has adopted the Standard Response Protocol developed by the “I Love U Guys” Foundation to ensure a consistent, clear, and effective approach to emergency response and safety procedures across all Club locations.

WEEKLY DRILLS AND SAFETY WALK-THROUGHS

Boys & Girls Clubs of South Central Tennessee conducts weekly emergency drills and routine safety walk-throughs at all Club sites to ensure preparedness, identify potential hazards, and maintain a safe environment for all members and staff.

CERTIFIED PRAESIDIUM GUARDIANS

Boys & Girls Clubs of South Central Tennessee is committed to the highest standards of youth protection and abuse prevention. We are proud to have three certified Praesidium Guardians on staff, ensuring ongoing leadership, accountability, and best practices in child safety across all our programs.