Child Protection

One of the things I like most about Kiwanis International is the volume and variety of website content available to members. They go out of their way to provide us all with the tools we need to make our volunteer experience a great one and help those who we serve. The Kiwanis International content engine has now turned its focus to the Youth Protection Program.
There are a few tools I recommend that you take advantage of as soon as possible:

• Online Youth Protection Training - In this well done, self paced video presentation you can easily get a great overview of the Youth Protection Program. It really does a fine job of all of the ins and outs including important topics such as adult to child ratios when adults are staying overnight or travelling with children, important rules for children who need to take medication when under Kiwanis supervision and guidance when it comes to interaction with kids on social media such as Facebook. To access this training, go to the "member login" icon on Kiwanis.org. Once you log-in click the "education" icon on the left side of the screen and select "Youth Protection Guidelines".
• There is also a pre-recorded webinar at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/658553970 where members can learn even more entitled, "Youth Protection Guidelines and You."
• Youth Protection Club Policies - Check out this page www.kiwanis.org/clubpolicybasics to better understand club best practices related to background checks, information security, record retention and criminal records.
• Liability Insurance - Review the optional insurance resources guide at http://www.kiwanis.org/kiwa nisone/lead/risk-management on this topic to make sure directors and officers are protected. The best protection is to make sure your club follows the Kiwanis guidelines, but proper insurance coverage is a prudent step to take as well.

With the tools Kiwanis provides there is no reason not to be educated on a topic which is of importance to your club. It is all there for the taking and it only takes a little bit of time to make sure we are protecting our kids and our members.
There will also be a Youth Protection training forum at the upcoming Mid-Winter Conference, which will take place Feb. 21-23 at the Holiday Inn in Albany. I look forward to seeing you all there so we can dive into this all too important issue of protecting our youth.

Column Posted on Web Site January 29, 2014