RIT's OYPC provides FAQ regarding guidance, policy in youth protection and compliance

Many departments on campus sponsor programs involving minors, such as academic programs, internships, school visits and summer camps. Rochester Insitute of Technology and the greater community benefit from these activities, which introduce young people to the exciting academic and recreational resources available. RIT is committed to the safety and well-being of minors engaged in these activities and programs held on campus and in RIT-sponsored events in the community. As such, all programs must comply with C26.0 Protection of Minors on Campus Policy.

The Office of Youth Protection and Compliance provides guidance on best practices, training and resources that allow program directors to provide fun and stimulating educational experiences for youth in a safe and supportive environment. This also provides parents, guardians and educators an assurance that we will provide a quality learning opportunity for their children and students.

What is the role of the Office of Youth Protection and Compliance at RIT?

Many departments on campus sponsor programs involving minors, such as academic programs, internships, school visits and summer camps. RIT is committed to the safety and well-being of minors engaged in these activities and programs held on campus and in RIT-sponsored events in the community. As such, all programs must comply with C26.0 Protection of Minors on Campus Policy. The Office of Youth Protection and Compliance provides guidance to programs and individuals on how to comply with this policy, so information on best practices, training and resources are provided that allow program directors to provide fun and stimulating educational experiences for youth in a safe and supportive environment.

Explain policy and guidance related to protection of minors.

RIT has the C26.0 Protection of Minors on Campus Policy. Aside from the policy itself, though, information about the Office of Youth Protection and Compliance and the policy guidance is located on the K-12 University Center’s website: About Youth Protection | K-12 University Center | RIT. This is where you want to look for any information about RIT’s youth protection efforts. For program organizers, the Youth Protection Portal is key, as well, as that is how they will manage everything related to any activities with minors.

Where can the public find the policy for protecting minors?

On the K-12 University Center website: Protection of Minors Policy | K-12 University Center | RIT

For someone who doesn’t understand the policy, how do you explain it in layman’s terms?

It comes down to making sure the opportunities we, as a campus community, provide for minors – anyone under age 18 – that are safe and supportive, so that they are positive experiences for kids. It is up to adults to protect children, so this policy provides the framework for the campus community to understand how to do that.

Specifically, the policy provides requirements to ensure that the adults who are entrusted with the care of the children participating in our programs are screened beforehand; that they are educated on standards of care and supervision; that programs are structured to provide appropriate supervision and safety throughout the time they are responsible for minors; and that if anyone sees or suspects child abuse or neglect that it is reported immediately.

Why is it important for an institution to have an office dedicated to youth protection and compliance?

These types of offices and positions are relatively recent developments on college campuses. Colleges and universities actually host many, many, many youth on campus or in community events every year, whether that is through sports camps, academic camps, campus tours and various other kinds of events.

While the programming and content provided for youth may be great, most people working on campus aren’t trained to know the ins and outs of working with children. A college campus isn’t structured to consider the safety of children as a primary goal either, as the population it is intended to serve the students – adults. While everyone here is supportive of youth safety generally, and our programs had their own practices in place already, an office focused on youth protection is important for raising awareness of the importance of youth protection specifically on our campus and ensuring youth safety efforts are coordinated and consistent across campus.

Explain chain-of-command within the Office of Youth Protection and Compliance.

Currently, it is a one-person office, but we hope to add additional staff in the near future. My role as director has been to establish the policy, develop and maintain the policy guidance, and ensure those offering, or participating in activities with minors, are aware of the policy and RIT’s expectations for their programs. We are implementing the new youth protection portal now, and my role will begin to focus more on monitoring compliance and the education of the campus community.

Who within RIT does the Office of Youth Protection and Compliance support?

I get to work with every unit on campus. I start with educating them on our minor’s policy and how to comply with it, as well as developing systems on campus to provide the most effective youth protection program for purposes of serving minors, their parents, schools and other youth-serving organizations that may visit, but also for our campus community.

For one, undergraduate admissions activities are primarily centered on minors, so that includes work not only in the undergraduate admissions office, but all academic departments that host prospective students.

A number of academic organizations here also host fun, educational events for groups like the Girls Scouts, so Women in Computing, Women in Engineering and NTID’s outreach consortium are all on top of youth protection for those events.

Athletics not only hosts youth sports camps, but the coaches are recruiting prospective students, coaching youth club teams, and have their student-athletes doing community outreach activities.

The TRIO Upward Bound program through DDI is a year-round program for area high school students, and there are a few different summer programs for incoming first-year students across campus.

If kids are on campus for overnight camps, that touches coordination with housing, dining, and potentially transportation and parking. Public Safety wants to be aware of when minors will be on campus so they can be prepared, as well.

The events staff in the Office of Government and Community Relations work with third parties that host activities on campus; I regularly work with our student affairs staff because RIT’s student organizations hold a number of activities with minors, as well. And of course, the K-12 University Center hosts hundreds of children for not only camps, but also campus visits and through the LPP and STEP programs each year. So, I work with all of these groups to help them prepare.

Explain the process for those needing to register a new activity involving minors.

In order for RIT to track all activities with minors occurring on campus or in RIT-sponsored activities off campus, the policy requires program registration so we can centrally track that information and keep necessary offices in the loop. With our new Youth Protection Portal, it’s easy: https://apps.ideal-logic.com/ritpom

Whenever someone has an activity to register, RIT community members log in with their RIT credentials, click “Registration for Activities with Minors,” and the system walks you through the process. Once you submit information about your activity, including the list of staff, students or volunteers who will be involved, the system will show you exactly what screening is required of those staff members. It will send automatic emails to let your staff know what they must do to prepare to work the program, and send automatic emails to keep you up-to-date on how your program is in compliance with the minors policy.

What happens if an employee or department doesn’t register an RIT-sponsored youth event?

We have developed a few different feedback loops that allow the OYPC to be alerted to events with minors on campus. If an event with minors comes through that has not been registered with the OYPC, we reach out to the event organizer to provide them the policy and guidance, and answer any questions about the registration process.

When was the Office of Youth Protection and Compliance created?

The OYPC was founded in April 2020. Yes, just as the world was shutting down for the pandemic, but it was also a time when the focus of youth protection efforts had to suddenly pivot to consider the safety of minors online in virtual programs. It made for an interesting first several months! While RIT already had an interim policy that required mandated reporting of abuse, this office was charged with creating and promoting a more robust program of standards for youth safety, a system for tracking activities with minors, and monitoring compliance with the policy.

How was the office impacted by COVID?

This office started weeks after everything shut down. While schools and camps all shut down in-person activities, suddenly the world turned to Zoom and virtual activities, which provided a whole new landscape of potential dangers to kids, as well as opportunities for abuse in the home to be discovered or go unreported. Youth protection professionals across higher education, myself included, scrambled to educate themselves on vulnerabilities in these online platforms and how to secure them for a younger crowd. We also had to educate the campus about how to respond to potential incidents online. As a result, my first several months in this position involved developing policy guidelines related to virtual camps and webinars, rather than jumping into in-person summer camps. That was not an area that would have gotten as much attention if not for COVID.

What professional development trainings are available for faculty and staff?

The screening process for those working or volunteering for a program for minors involves a series of online trainings, specifically related to identifying and reporting abuse, boundaries training, and being a campus security authority. I have a goal of providing training in different formats and on more varied topics related to youth safety that faculty, staff or students could elect to complete.

As for information about the OYPC, I try to do a meeting with anyone I know will or may be hosting an activity involving minors. I prefer to talk through the policy and guidance, and hear from people about their events or programs so we can figure out how the policy fits around their programs.

What are some of the best and/or most valuable youth protection and compliance resources outside of RIT?

This is also on the OYPC website! Youth Safety Resources | K-12 University Center | RIT. That page has some local support resources for anyone who needs help. For anyone else working at a college or university, the Higher Education Protection Network (HEPNet) is the ultimate resource for finding best practices, benchmarking, and a community to learn from and collaborate with. Darkness to Light is another great educational resource for trainings and other resources. The American Camp Association (ACA) also provides support and resources on youth safety in camp settings specifically, and they have a crisis hotline open to any youth camps, not just ACA members. When it comes to youth athletes, the U.S. Center for SafeSport is an important central resource for screening coaches and best practices for safety.

What are misconceptions that should be clarified?

I think when people hear the term “compliance” they may think “complicated” or “more work,” but that really isn’t the case. It is easier to plan and prepare up front – being proactive, thinking through youth protection, educating yourself and your staff (if you are a program organizer) before a program – than it would be to be forced to react if something happened later. Again, we have that responsibility as adults to do everything we can to help keep kids safe! If we don’t hear about incidents occurring in our programs, it doesn’t mean we don’t need the minors policy but rather that our policy is doing its job.

It’s hard to think about child abuse and neglect, but it does happen and very possibly to a child you’ll encounter, possibly by someone you know. It is on all of us adults to understand our roles in keeping children safe. We have a responsibility to them, not just for what happens during the time they are in our care, but also knowing how to recognize signs of abuse and what to do when we see something or are concerned that something just doesn’t seem right. It’s better to make a call and report a concern than to wonder and hope things are fine.