Youth Protection Program

Safeguarding positive engagement with minors at UC Davis

Policy PPM 290-31, Activities and Programs with Minors, was developed to provide consistent guidance and a structure that helps prevent untoward actions against minors, as well as allegations against the organization.

Common activities and programs that require registration:

  • Youth Sports Athletic Camps and Clinics
  • Day Camps and Programs (non-sport)
  • Overnight Camps and Programs
  • Mentoring and Tutoring Programs
  • Outreach Programs
  • Community Service Activities
  • ALL internships for minors (labs, field, office, etc.)
  • Recruitment Activities

This policy does NOT apply to minors enrolled at UC Davis, nor does it apply to situations when minors participate in campus events under the supervision of a chaperone (e.g., K-12 school teacher). 

Requirements

Required ANNUALLY and BEFORE an activity or program with minors begins.


1.  Register Your Activity or Program

2.  Complete for Employees, Students and Volunteers PRIOR to working with minors

3.  Minors and Parents/Legal Guardians complete PRIOR to program

Abuse Reporting Guidelines

Suspected Abuse of Minors MUST Be Reported

Any suspected abuse or neglect of a minor participant—whether on or off campus property or whether perpetrated by employees, volunteers, or others—must be reported to state authorities. Reports may be made confidentially or anonymously. A person who mistakenly reports suspected abuse is immune from civil or criminal liability as long as the report was made in good faith and without malice.

  • Reports of suspected or known abuse must be made to the following:

  • If an imminent threat, contact UCD Police Department immediately or local law enforcement if off campus to intervene. Report to immediate supervisor. Immediately contact the local child protective agency.

    • Yolo County: (530) 669-2345 
    • Sacramento County: (916) 875-5437 


    The report can also be made to any police or sheriff’s department. To reach campus police, call (530) 752-1230.

    A written report must be mailed or faxed to the child protective agency within 36 hours of learning of the incident. Use the Suspected Child Abuse Report Form and the Definitions and General Instructions for Completion of Form SS 8572.

    File an internal report with the University by first reporting observed or suspected child abuse or neglect to their supervisors or through the University Whistleblower Hotline. Supervisors who receive reports should promptly forward those reports to the Hotline. These internal reports may be made anonymously. After reporting to Hotline, immediately notify Chief Compliance Officer at (530) 752-9466 (wjdelmendo@ucdavis.edu). When two or more persons are aware of an instance of abuse or neglect, and when there is an agreement among them, the report may be made by one of them. The duty to report is individual. No one shall impede the reporting duties. No one shall be subject to any sanction for making a report.

Screening: Background Checks & Sex-Offender Registry

  • Employees - Staff, Faculty and Student

  • Departments are responsible for ensuring that a background check is completed for all those employees who have direct responsibility for the care, safety and security of minors (refer to policy PPSM 21, Exhibit D). The following requirements are in addition to those addressed in the policy. 

    >> Authorized Persons who have a break in service for less than 6 months must disclose any arrests that occurred during the break before commencement of participation in activities and programs with minors. If a break in service is longer than 6 months, a new screening is required.

    >> Authorized Persons without a break in service -- who do not have an active LiveScan on file -- will be screened every three years.                                                                                                                                                                                  
    For employees who do not require a background check, the department must search the National Sex Offenders Public registries. For those employees who require a background check, the department does the following: 
                                          
    STAFF AND FACULTY - LiveScan Fingerprinting
    1. Department emails the Background Check Coordinator (backgroundchecks@ucdavis.edu) to inquire if there is an active LiveScan on file. 
    2. If no active LiveScan on file, Department helps the employee complete the Background Check Authorization and Authorization to Release Information Form (Department completes p. 1; employee completes p. 2-3). 
    3. Employee schedules an in-person fingerprinting appointment by scheduling online or calling the LiveScan appointment desk at (530) 752-6859 (Davis) or (916) 734-3841 (Sacramento). 
    4. Once the background checks are complete, the Background Check Coordinator notifies the requesting department of clearance status. 

    LiveScan fingerprinting is active for the duration of employment and provides subsequent arrest monitoring and notification to UC Davis. Therefore, the LiveScan does not need to be repeated unless there is a break in service. 

    STUDENTS - Universal Background Screening 
    1. Department emails a background check request to backgroundchecks@ucdavis.edu, indicating the reason for the background check (e.g., program name) and the following student information: First Name, Last Name, Email Address. If the request includes 10 or more students, please provide this information in a simple, three column spreadsheet. 
    2. Student receives an email directly from Universal Background Screening requesting confidential information (date of birth, social security number, and past addresses for previous 7 years) and disclosures needed to complete the screening. 
    3. Once the background checks are complete, the Background Check Coordinator will respond to the requesting department to verify clearance. 

    Universal does not provide subsequent arrest monitoring and notification to UC Davis. Therefore, the Universal background check must be completed every three years.                          

  • Volunteers

  • Before volunteers can start, they must complete and clear a background check in accordance with PPM 380-08 Volunteer Service and PPSM 21, Exhibit D. 

    Departments email a background check request to backgroundchecks@ucdavis.edu, including the following information for each volunteer: First Name, Last Name, Email Address. If the request includes 10 or more volunteers, please provide this information in a simple, three-column spreadsheet. 

    Volunteers receive an email directly from Universal Background Screening requesting confidential information (date of birth, social security number, and past addresses for previous 7 years) and disclosures needed to complete the screening. Once the background checks are complete, the Background Check Coordination will respond to the requesting department to verify clearance. 

Training

  • Mandatory

  • CANRA Training for Mandated Reporters - English   |   Spanish
    Every day children are abused and neglected in the United States. More than three million reports of child abuse are made every year and no one knows for sure how many reports should be made that aren't. And even worse, most abusers are known to their victims. Adults have a moral responsibility--and in many cases a legal responsibility-- to report suspected child abuse or neglect. In this course you will learn: - Why reporting suspected abuse and neglect is critical - What your legal responsibilities are to report suspected abuse and neglect - What types of conduct must be reported - How to report suspected abuse and neglect - How to respond if a child discloses abuse or neglect to you.

    Keeping Your Higher Education Program Safe
    Specifically designed for youth-serving higher education programs, this course teaches learners about appropriate boundaries, how to navigate high-risk situations, and best practices for responding and reporting inappropriate behavior and abuse.
  • Recommended for All
  • Safe Social Media
    Social media safety is a relevant topic for everyone who works with young people. In a short period of time, new technologies have revolutionized the way we all communicate. This course introduces guidelines for protecting the youths in your care when using social media and electronic communication.

    You will learn how to: 
         >  Identify the risks of using social media and other forms of electronic communication
         >  Follow policies and best practices governing the use of social media and electronic communication
         >  Educate youths and parents about online safety
         >  Respond appropriately to improper and illegal use of social media/electronic communication 
  • Recommended for Non-sport Day/Overnight Camps and Programs
  • Keeping Your Day Camp Safe
    Day camp can be a wonderful experience for kids. They make new friends, learn new skills, and increase their self-confidence. But not if they are abused at camp by a counselor or another peer. This course shows you where and when abuse is most likely to happen in a day camp setting and steps you can take to keep kids at day camp safe.

    Keeping Your Overnight Camp Safe
    Camp can be a wonder experience for kids - but it can be a high-risk situation for abuse by an adult staff member or a peer. You will learn the abuse risks at a residential camp, and how all employees and volunteers can make a difference.
  • Recommended for Mentoring/Tutoring and Outreach Programs
  • Keeping Your School Safe
    This course educates learners on where and when abuse is to more likely occur in your schools and the specific steps schools can take to keep students safe. Learners also learn how to keep themselves and their coworkers safe from allegations of abuse.
  • Recommended for Youth Sports, Athletic Camps and Clinics
  • Athlete Protection: Part I   |   Part II

    This two-part course is designed to keep your athletes safe from abuse and to protect you from false allegations. By establishing appropriate boundaries, you can facilitate a healthy coach-athlete relationship. You will learn about six high-risk situations for keeping your athletes safe and how to manage them. This course will also teach you how to recognize and report boundary violations and allegations of abuse. 

Electronic Communication with Youth

When programs could lead to electronic communications between minors and staff (e.g., phone, text, social), it's important to safeguard those communications.

Procedures for Transporting Minors

Transporting minors entails potential risks, such as the heightened risk of abuse or false allegations, as authorized persons may find themselves alone with a minor or make unauthorized stops. In addition, transportation activities may create opportunities for unsupervised minors to engage in minor-to-minor sexual activity. To mitigate these risks, authorized persons must adhere to the procedures below.

When transporting minors:

  • Authorized persons must have a valid driver’s license and submit a current Department of Motor Vehicles Driver’s Record Printout to the Program Directors.
  • Authorized persons must complete the Safe Driver Awareness course on the UC Learning Center website.
  • Program Directors must be notified of all transportation activities.
  • Minors must not be transported without written permission from their parents/guardians.
  • Authorized persons should avoid transporting minors in their personal vehicles.
  • For a single minor, two authorized persons must be present during transportation, or at least two minors must be present if transported by a single authorized person.
  • When transporting minors by bus or van:
  • >  Drivers should not be assigned as supervisors for the minors.
    >  Authorized persons should be strategically seated throughout the bus for effective supervision, with at least on authorized person in the middle of the bus and one in the far rear.
    >  Minors should not be seated behind authorized persons.
    >  Authorized persons should occupy outside seats to facilitate supervision of minors on the bus
    >  Minors should be seated by grade, gender, and behavior. If possible, high-risk minors should be seated alone or next to an authorized person.
    >  Conduct a head count or roll call before entering and exiting the bus or van.
    >  In van transportation, another authorized person should supervise the minors and assist the driver.
  • When using public transportation:
  • >  Minors should ideally remain in one area of the bus.
    >  Authorized persons assigned to a specific group should stay with that group on the bus.
    >  Conduct a head count or roll call immediately after entering and exiting the bus.
  • In emergency situations requiring the use non-program vehicles:
  • >  Program Directors must be promptly notified of the emergency transportation activities.
    >  For a single minor, two authorized persons must be present during transportation, or at least two minors must be present if transported by a single authorized person.

FAQs

  • Who will fund background checks?

  • Background checks for University activities and programs with minors is funded by the Common Goods Assessment. 

  • What is the role of departments to ensure background checks are happening?

  • As defined in the proposed policy (IV.C.2), the Program Director is ultimately responsible to ensure background checks are in place for Authorized Personnel prior to accepting responsibility for minors.

  • Who is responsible if background checks are not completed?

  • As noted above, the Program Director is responsible.

  • What about “simple tours”?

  • The proposed policy governs activities and programs with minors in which parents or guardians are not expected to be responsible for their care, custody, or control. In the example of a tour wherein a minor is chaperoned by a guardian (e.g., school teacher) we, UC, are not in care, custody, or control of the minor and therefore the proposed policy does not apply.

  • What about laboratory activities?

  • The proposed policy complements the existing PPM 290-32, Minors in University Facilities (labs and shops) policy wherein background checks are required (IV.B.d.).

Forms: waivers, emergency contact, authorization, incident report