Youth Protection

If you manage, participate in, or oversee programs or activities involving minors, please review the Youth Protection Policy and the additional resources below:

Program Personnel Code of Conduct

Media Release Form

Medical Administration Form

Medical Authorization Form

All programs and activities involving minors must be registered using the Program Registration Form here.

Once registration is complete, training is required for Program Directors and Program Personnel.

Program Directors must complete these United Educators online training modules.

Program Personnel must complete these United Educators online training modules.

REGISTER

All Program Directors and Program Personnel are required to clear a biennial background checks before participating in programs involving minors. The screening includes a multi-state criminal background check and a National Sex Offender Registry check. 

To request background checks, email the full legal name and email address of each person to Yahneet Govine at yahneet.govine@richmond.edu.

Background checks can be completed as quickly as one business day or could take longer depending on the number of aliases or residences and the speed of the reporting agency. For these reasons, please allow at least one to two weeks of processing time for each background check.

At this time, there is no charge for background checks.

Third-Party Program Directors must complete all requirements of the Youth Protection Policy and additional requirements that include:

• Secure a Program Sponsor for their program
• Have an approved contract on file with the University through the Program Sponsor (e.g., Facilities Use Agreement)
• Register the program with the Office of Risk Management
• Submit a signed attestation confirming that all Program Personnel have completed and cleared background checks that comply with the screening requirements of this policy prior to the start of the program
• Submit a signed attestation confirming all Program Personnel have received appropriate child abuse awareness training prior to the start of the program
• Maintain the following minimum insurance:
  • Commercial General Liability, including bodily injury property damage, at $1,000,000 per occurrence, $2,000,000 general aggregate
  • Sexual Abuse and Molestation coverage of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence
  • Comprehensive Automobile Liability, including bodily injury and property damage at $1,000,000 combined single limit per occurrence
  • Workers’ Compensation, following Virginia statutory limits and Employer’s Liability of $1,000,000 each accident

Third Party Acknowledgement of Responsibility Form

Third Party Sponsor Certification

The Safety and Protection of Minors policy applies to all youth programs, including virtual programs. All virtual programs should utilize University of Richmond approved software such as Zoom or Canvas, as both are FERPA compliant. The following safeguards serve as guidelines for interacting with minors in a virtual environment:

• Two adults are required in all meetings. One of the adults must act as the “meeting host.”
• Permission forms must be obtained before students can participate in a session and the host must check that all participating students have submitted these forms.
• The host must send the meeting link, call in number, and meeting ID to registered participants and their parents/guardians. Only Program Personnel, participants, and their parents or guardians should receive the link.
• The meeting host should utilize the ‘Waiting Room’ feature until both adult hosts are logged in.
• The meeting host controls all muting, video functions, chat, etc., and should handle the back-end technology troubleshooting (e.g., assisting users who cannot log on) and communication with participants before and during the meeting.
• The meeting host is the first line of defense against inappropriate behavior and must act quickly to advise and/or disconnect participants who violate expectations.
• The private chat function must be disabled.
• Keep conversations professional and focused on programmatic and educational purposes
• Ensure that comments or chat features are limited to participants and personal information is not shared
• Maintain updated online etiquette and cyberbullying code of conduct in the policy
• The meeting host will place students in breakout rooms if they are being used and visit these rooms throughout the session for supervision.

To the greatest extent possible, Program Directors and Program Personnel should avoid One-on-One Interaction with a minor. If One-on-One Intercation is necessary, the interaction must take place in an open, obsevable, and interruptible location.

Supervision needs may vary depending on the nature of the activity or program. In accordance with American Camp Association, the ratio of adults to minors should, at a minimum, adhere to the following standards:

At a minimum, the following supervision ratios must be met for all in-person activities:

Daytime Programs

One (1) Program Personnel for every six (6) minor participants aged 5 years and younger

One (1) Program Personnel for every eight (8) minor participants aged 6-8 years

One (1) Program Personnel for every ten (10) minor participants aged 9-14 years

One (1) Program Personnel for every twelve (12) minor participants aged 15-17 years

Overnight Programs

One (1) Program Personnel for every five (5) minor participants aged 5 years and younger

One (1) Program Personnel for every six (6) minor participants aged 6-8 years

One (1) Program Personnel for every eight (8) minor participants aged 9-14 years

One (1) Program Personnel for every ten (10) minor participants aged 15-17 years

*These ratios are subject to revision to reflect the then-current recommendations of the American Camp Association.