Youth Protection Program Requirements and Standards

Program Requirements and Steps to Compliance

Youth Program Directors are required to register their programs on an annual basis and must be approved by Risk Management before program activities can commence. Failure to register programs in a timely manner may cause program delay.

In accordance with the Youth Protection Policy, all overnight programs are required to contact Conference & Event Planning for coordination of their event/activity prior to engaging in any activity involving Youth.

Listed below are the steps to compliance and relevant resources available to program administrators.

1. Program Registration

Program Registration

Youth Program Coordinators are required to register their programs on an annual basis by submitting the Youth Program Registration Form. A new form must be submitted each year, at least 60 days prior to the start of the program to youthprograms@calpoly.edu. Risk Management will follow up with Program Coordinators to schedule an annual Program Coordinator Training. Programs must be approved by Risk Management before program activities can commence. Failure to register programs in a timely manner may cause program delay.

All overnight programs are required to contact Conference & Event Planning for coordination of their event/activity prior to engaging in any activity involving Youth.

Youth Program Registration Form

Program Coordinator and Director Training

After Risk Management receives the youth program registration form, a member of the team will reach out to schedule a 30-minute training with the Program Coordinator and Director to go over requirements of the Youth Protection Program and offer available resources to navigate those requirements better.

View Training Slide Deck

Questions?

Feel free to contact youthprograms@calpoly.edu for all questions related to youth program registration.

2. Screening and Selection

Application

All staff and volunteers must submit an application to the Program Coordinator or Director indicating their request to work with a youth program. All volunteers who are not state employed faculty, staff or student employees are required to submit a complete and fully executed Volunteer Assignment form.

Adult Staff or Volunteer Application EHS Volunteer Form

Interview

Programs should conduct face-to-face interviews with potential employees and volunteers seeking positions that will be interacting with minors. These interviews should include behaviorally based interview questions designed to screen applicants for the potential of abuse. All interviews should be documented with notes from each interviewer.

Interview Questions Interpretive Guide to Interview Questions

Background Checks

Per Executive Order 1083 and CSU Human Resources Technical Letter 2017-17, background checks, to include criminal records check and review of state and federal sex offender registries, are required for all University employees and volunteers for the purpose of identifying past behavior that may disqualify a person from working with minors.

View Executive Order 1083

Reference Checks

Program directors and administrators are responsible for conducting a minimum of three reference checks before an applicant is offered a position, one personal reference and two professional. All reference responses should be documented and considered when making a hiring decision. Reference checks are valuable because they are a source of information that does not come directly from the applicant. References may be used to validate information provided by the applicant or by other references.

VIEW REFERENCE CHECKS

While criminal background checks are necessary, less than 5 percent of offenders have criminal records.

3. Training

Training Platform

All required trainings are available via CSU Learn and the Praesidium Academy platform. Once Program Coordinators provide a list of youth program employees and volunteers, Civil Rights & Compliance Office (CRCO) will assign all required trainings through the platforms. Program Coordinators will have access to the platform to track training steps. All trainings must be completed before employees interact with minors as part of the program.

Log In to CSU Learn

Training Requirements

Offenders often act in predictable ways and effective training can provide employees and volunteers with the information needed to identify high-risk patterns of behavior and high-risk program characteristics. Training must be specific, frequent, and useful and it must teach how offenders operate, how to recognize suspicious or inappropriate interactions or policy violations and suspected abuse, and how to respond effectively.

• Keeping Your Higher Ed Program Safe (Praesidium)
• Preventing Sexual Activity Between Young Children (Praesidium)
• Preventing Bullying (Praesidium)
• Clery Activities for Campus Security Authorities (Clery Center)
• Mandated Reporters of Child Abuse (United Educators)
• Gender Equity and Title IX (United Educators)

Additional training required for camps

• Keeping Your Day Camp Safe (Praesidium)

Code of Conduct

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's Code of Conduct for interacting with minors outlines the minimum expectations we hold for youth program personnel. This form is required to be completed prior to any interactions with Youth.

Download Code of Conduct

4. Reporting and Responding to Incidents

Basis to Report

CSU Executive Order 1083 “Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect” requires all University employees, campus community volunteers and independent contractors, regardless of their status as a mandated reporter as defined by California law, who, in the course of their University business or volunteer activity, have reasonable suspicion of child abuse, as defined by California law, must make a report as outlined in this policy.

View Full Executive Order

Reporting Resources

• Who is required to report
• What is required to be reported
• How to report
• And more...

Learn More

Reporting Serious Concerns, Incidents or Policy Violations Related to Youth Programs

These types of concerns related to youth programs at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo can be reported by contacting Youth Protection Programs at (805) 756-0842 or by emailing us at youthprograms@calpoly.edu.

Youth Protection Program Incident Reporting form

5. Program Tools