Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line

One on One Contact Policy

Staff shall NOT

Initiate one-on-one contact with a member.
Have a private meeting or communication with a member. This includes in-person meetings and virtual communications such as texting, video chat, and social media.
Transport one member at a time unless accompanied by another staff member. This includes personal and private vehicles.

Staff shall

Ensure meetings and communications (in-person and virtual) between members and staff and volunteers include at least three individuals.
Ensure in-person meetings take place in areas where other staff and/or members are present.
Communicate to another staff if an emergency situation arises.

Exceptions may only be made when delivering medical or counseling services by a licensed, trained therapist, or similar professional or in an emergency situation or when a meeting is requested by staff of Child Protective Services. All exceptions shall be documented and provided to Club leadership.

Staff shall immediately inform Club leadership if a staff member, volunteer, or board member violates this policy. Should any adult staff, volunteer, or board member violate this policy, the Organization will take appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including termination

Bullying Prevention Policy

The HELP Committee and Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line is committed to providing all members with a safe environment, and will not tolerate any form of bullying at any Club activity on or off Club property.

All staff, volunteers, and members shall read and abide by the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line Code of Conduct.

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.

Staff and/or volunteers who observe an act of bullying shall take immediate, appropriate steps to intervene. If the staff member and/or volunteer believes his/her intervention has not resolved the matter, they shall report it to Club leadership and document the incident in writing.

Club leadership or appropriate staff member shall inform the parent or guardian of any member who was observed as a victim or perpetrator of bullying. Depending on the frequency and severity of the conduct, intervention, counseling, correction, discipline and/or referral to law enforcement will be used to remedy the impact on the victim and change the perpetrator’s behavior, up to, and including terminating membership.

Youth Event Travel Policy

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Hi-Line sponsored youth events are events that require youth from the Club and their chaperones to travel together, including overnight stays. Examples of these events include, but are not limited to, National Keystone Conference, Youth of the Year events, and the state BGC conference.

No minor Club member should travel to a BGCA-sponsored event alone.
Staff and chaperones shall abide by the local Organization’s policy regarding the prohibition of one-on-one contact at all times.
One adult chaperone and one youth shall not travel alone together.
Members should be accompanied by at least one adult chaperone who is at least 23 years old and a current employee of a Boys & Girls Club. If board members, part time staff or staff who are between the ages of 21-22 chaperone events, written consent must be given by the youth’s parents or guardians.
Adult chaperones must successfully pass a criminal background check that is no more than twelve (12) months old, and have been employed by the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-line for at least one (1) year.
During overnight travel, if youth share sleeping rooms with other youth, all youth will have roommates that are of the same gender and of similar age. Reasonable single accommodations will be made for youth should they request it.
Adult chaperones shall stay in separate rooms from members. An adult chaperone shall not share a hotel room or other sleeping arrangements with a youth alone. Adult chaperones should make reasonable efforts to reserve rooms on the same floor and/or in close proximity for supervision purposes.
All youth and chaperones must review and sign appropriate codes of conduct. Youth codes should be reviewed and signed by the parent or legal guardian as well.

Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Policy

The HELP Committee and Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line is committed to providing a safe environment for members, staff, and volunteers. To further ensure their safety, the Organization maintains a drug and alcohol free workplace. The unlawful or improper use of drugs, including marijuana, which is criminalized as a Schedule I narcotic at the federal level, controlled substances or alcohol in the workplace presents a danger to everyone.

As a federal grantee, The HELP Committee and Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line has a duty to comply with the requirement of the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988.

Employees are prohibited from reporting to work or working while under the influence of alcohol and/or using illegal or unauthorized drugs.
Employees are prohibited from engaging in the unlawful or unauthorized manufacturing, distribution, dispensing, sale or possession of illegal drugs and alcohol in the workplace including on organization paid time, on organization premises, in organization vehicles or while engaged in organization activities.
Employees are prohibited from reporting to work or working when the employee uses any drugs, except when the use is pursuant to a doctor's orders and the doctor has advised the employee that the substance does not adversely affect the employee's ability to safely perform his or her job duties. The employee must present a doctor’s note to the Executive Director that confirms those orders before reporting to work.
Employees taking a legal drug which potentially affects job safety or performance are responsible for notifying their supervisor and/or Club leadership. If the organization and the employee's physician have determined that the substance does not adversely affect the employee's ability to safely and efficiently perform the employee's job duties or determined that a reasonable accommodation can be made, the employee may commence work. An employee may not be permitted to perform his or her job duties unless such a determination or reasonable accommodation is made.
Employees must notify their supervisor and/or Club leadership, within five (5) days, of any criminal drug statute violation.
Employment with the organization is conditioned upon full compliance with the foregoing drug and alcohol free workplace policy. Any violation of this policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including discharge.
There shall be no tobacco use of any kind at any of the HELP Committee and Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line sites or activities. Furthermore, employees are to report to work free from the smell of tobacco smoke.
The organization provides information about the dangers of tobacco use and secondhand smoke to all employees.
The organization recognizes tobacco dependency as an illness and a major health problem. Employees needing help in dealing with a tobacco dependency will be supported through an employee assistance program that includes access to tobacco cessation programs.

The HELP Committee and Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line further reserves the right to take any and all appropriate and lawful actions necessary to enforce this drug and alcohol free workplace policy including, but not limited to, the inspection of organization issued lockers, desks or other suspected areas of concealment, as well as an employee's personal property when the organization has reasonable suspicion to believe that the employee has violated this drug and alcohol free workplace policy.

Club Member Supervision Policy

Club activities will be under continuous supervision by an appropriate adult and will maintain reasonable ratios when supervising youth.

Recommended Ratios of Adults to Youth for Club Activities

Drop-in - 1:25
Instructional – 1:20
Group Clubs – 1:15
Field Trips - 1:8
Overnight - 1 (with minimum of 2 adults present): 6

The HELP Committee and Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line is committed to providing a safe environment. As such, all Club activities shall be under continuous supervision by an appropriate adult at all times.

Staff shall not:

Use electronic devices such as cell phones, PDAs, or other communication devices while supervising members unless it is part of approved programming.

Staff shall:

Abide by the Organization’s one-on-one contact policy.
Abide by the Organization’s disciplinary policies and procedures.
Ensure at least three individuals are present when supervising members.
Maintain proper ratios at all times.
Be trained on appropriate supervision tactics and behavior patterns.
Ensure all youth volunteers are supervised by an adult staff member.
Immediately notify Club leadership and/or submit written reports detailing supervision issues or incidents.

Transportation Policy

The HELP Committee and Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-line is committed to providing a safe environment and enforces the following transportation policy for members, staff, volunteers, and other adults.

The Club only provides transportation to and from the Clubhouse and various approved off-site locations. The Club only transports youth in Club vehicles or other vehicles approved by Club leadership.

Staff shall not:

Transport Club members in personal vehicles unless given permission by the Executive Director, and then only if there are at least three individuals present.
Transport one member at a time without another staff present.
Use electronic devices such as cell phones, PDAs, or other communication devices while transporting members to and from the Clubhouse or Club related activities.

Staff shall:

Only transport members in official Club vehicles unless permission is given by the Executive Director.
Ensure at least three individuals are present when transporting members
Abide by the one-on-one policy when transporting members.
Keep an updated list of all youth who are transported to and from the Clubhouse and Club related activities

Drivers shall:

Keep a log of all youth who are picked-up and dropped off.
Perform regular checks to ensure all members are picked-up and dropped-off at the appropriate times and locations.
Immediately notify Club leadership if there is a delay or issue with transporting members to and from the Clubhouse or Club related activities.
Submit written reports detailing issues or incidents involving transporting members to and from the Clubhouse or Club related activities.

When members are transported to or from the Club by public transportation, the policies of that organization will be followed.

Restroom Usage Policy

The HELP Committee and Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line is committed to providing a safe environment and enforces the following restroom policy for members, staff, volunteers, and other adults.

Restrooms located by the staff offices have been designated for adult staff only.

Restrooms shall be regularly monitored by designated staff at a schedule set by Club leadership. Monitoring includes

walk-through and inspections.

Staff shall

Only use designated adult restrooms. Should separate restrooms be unavailable, staff shall use restrooms at designated intervals to ensure they are not using restrooms at the same time as youth members.
Abide by all staff codes of conduct.
Enforce the Organizations’ restroom code of conduct.
Intervene and notify Club leadership should inappropriate conduct be observed
Ensure restrooms are regularly cleaned and sanitized.

Staff observing unacceptable restroom conditions shall

Immediately notify Club leadership.
Complete a Repair Request Form and submit to Club leadership.
Document, in writing, restroom conduct incidents and report them to Club leadership as soon as possible.

Sexual Abuse Prevention Policy

The HELP Committee Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line is committed to providing a safe and respectful environment for our members, and will not tolerate any sexual abuse or sexual misconduct toward or by any member.

Sexual abuse and sexual misconduct shall be interpreted to mean any sexual interaction between a child and another person (including another child) in a position of power over the child. Specific acts may include, but are not limited to inappropriate physical contact, viewing pornography, exposing oneself to another person, enticing others to expose themselves, inappropriate language, or any other behavior that is a violation of the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line Code of Conduct or Employee Handbook.

Unless authorized in advance by the Club Director, adult staff and volunteers shall not:

Initiate conversations with members about sexual matters. If a member initiates a conversation about sexual matters with a staff or volunteer, the adult shall limit the conversation to the child’s immediate concerns and shall provide a written incident report to the supervisor within 24 hours; or
Engage in off‐site activities with members. Such interactions may include, but are not limited to field trips, meetings, and communications via phone, text, and/or social media.

All persons are prohibited from the access, display, production, possession or distribution of pornography on Club premises or equipment.

Any suspected sexual abuse or misconduct will be treated as a serious matter and documented by written incident report within 24 hours. When applicable, the incident will be reported to the appropriate authorities. The Chief Executive Officer shall provide written directives to maintain the confidentiality of incident reports.

Incident Reporting Policy

The HELP Committee and Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line is committed to ensuring the safety of its members, staff and volunteers.

Any employee or volunteer of BGC Hi-Line who becomes aware of an incident, as defined in this policy, shall immediately report it to Club leadership. Unless otherwise instructed, leadership is responsible for reporting the incident to authorities and BGCA, and executing the organization’s Crisis Communication Plan. Safety incidents include, but are not limited to:

Missing children
Bullying behavior
Policy violations
Inappropriate activity between adults and youth
Inappropriate activity between multiple youth
Minor and major medical emergencies
Accidents, including slips and falls
Threats made by or against staff, volunteers, and/or members
Physical assaults and injuries, including fights
Allegations of abuse
Criminal activity, including theft and robbery