Participant Safety

The safety of young people at Grow a Future is always our top priority.

Youth who are mentally and physically safe are better able to learn, grow and thrive. Grow a Future works continuously to enhance safety policies, practices and training to ensure they are centered on the needs of young people in the program. There is nothing more important to us than keeping children safe and protected.

Grow a Future does not tolerate inappropriate behavior of any kind, including child sexual abuse or misconduct. From strict adherence to Grow a Future and staffing structure, to equipping young people with the critical thinking and social-emotional skills needed to make healthy, safe choices, to ensuring GAF members are safe is the first step to their success.

Grow a Future works continuously to enhance robust safety policies and actions to ensure young people remain safe. GAF implements safety policies and guidelines to keep our kids safe including:

• Background Checks: Mandatory annual criminal background checks for staff and volunteers.
• Mandatory Reporting: Members are required to immediately report any suspected abuse or victimization to the appropriate authorities and then to GAF.
• Mandatory Safety Assessments: We require a mandatory annual safety assessment.
• Reference Requirement: Any employee looking to move to another Club, MUST have a reference from the previous Club to be eligible for rehire.
• Continuous Enhancement: Continual updates to Clubs’ sexual abuse prevention polices, practices, and trainings that align with best practices of healthcare and school-based settings.
• Resources for Families and Staff: Impactful training and resources for Club youth and families focused on mental health and social-emotional development.
• Resources for Youth Members: Clubs are required to prominently display key safety resources and information, including the Child Safety Helpline and Crisis Text Line
• Policy Communications: Clubs must inform parents and guardians of safety policies when they receive a youth membership application.

The youth in our program are our number one priority and we will always strive to ensure their safety and provide peace of mind to parents and care-takers.

We are always looking for suggestions and input on how we can improve our programs and welcome any positive feedback you may have.