Develop Protocols for Responding

The Book of Leviticus teaches the critical notion of being an Upstander rather than standing by while harm befalls another. No matter how committed a youth-serving organization is to safeguarding its children, when faced with an instance of ongoing or historic maltreatment by an individual who is trusted, loved, or simply known, leaders may freeze, enter a state of disbelief, and, even with the best of intentions, respond poorly. This is when response protocols become absolutely critical: they offer leaders a roadmap of actions that was carefully determined through communal introspection and research. Response protocols are also necessary for instances of behavior that do not qualify as “maltreatment” but do violate child protection policies or are otherwise concerning. Because one rarely catches an individual abusing a child, and children often do not disclose their abuse, these behaviors might be the only indicators of wrongdoing.

Best Practice 8: Develop Protocols for Responding includes videos, worksheets, a sample incident reporting form, sample policy language, a facilitator’s guide, and a handout on the following topics: process for filing an incident report; non-retaliation policy; documentation of incident reports; information for reporting and cooperating with relevant governmental agencies; communications; and investigation, disciplinary action, and safe-engagement plans.