Committed to Safety
Committed to Safety
Franzine Potts
If you have any concerns about how your child is being treated in any YMCA sponsored program, please call (360)537-9622
Safety and Background Checks
We require a background check for each member of our staff and our volunteers. In addition, all consumers who are 18 years of age and older are required to show valid photo ID upon entry to be screened through a local and national sex offender registry. Members are submitted through a batch scan and no longer need to bring their ID after first entry.
Child Abuse Training
All staff and volunteers are required to participate in and complete a training about inappropriate or suspicious behavior in order to prevent child abuse. This includes identifying signs of potential abuse and how to report suspected incidents. Our goal is to inform all staff and volunteers of the importance of this work and their responsibility to report any suspected abuse.
Program Policies
We supervise and monitor all our programs to support the health and safety of youth. Our policies are designed to limit circumstances in which staff and volunteers are alone with a child or teen where they cannot be observed. We also have policies that actively limit staff and volunteer contact with youth outside of our designated programs. If you see any possible violations of this policy, submit a grievance form or contact a YMCA Director.
How You Can Support Abuse Prevention
There are three key habits the Y advocates and adopts as a part of a national initiative to prevent child abuse: Know, See, and Respond.
SEE
SEE and recognize the warning signs or behaviors that signal abuse or risk for abuse.
RESPOND
RESPOND and take action in response to behaviors or signals that you’ve recognized as being inappropriate or
questionable.
Our values
Praesidium Accreditation® publicly demonstrates to consumers that the YMCA of Grays Harbor has achieved the highest industry standards in abuse prevention. The Y has been awarded Praesidium Accreditation® by Praesidium, the leader in abuse risk management. Praesidium Accreditation® is a prestigious honor that publicly demonstrates the organization has worked to achieve the highest industry standards in abuse prevention.
The YMCA of Grays Harbor will be accredited for three years starting October 2024.
YMCA partnership with Praesidium provides us with access to enhanced tools and services for strengthening Child Abuse Prevention efforts. These customized resources from Praesidium, an industry leader in creating safe environments for kids, can help YMCAs galvanize the culture, practices and behavior needed to prevent child sexual abuse.
ACA Accreditation
ACA is the only national accrediting body for camps of all types. ACA’s accreditation standards focus on health, safety, and risk management, and are used as benchmarks by government entities. ACA accreditation provides public evidence of a camp’s commitment to well-being of campers and staff.
Educational resources and Information for Parents & Caregivers
At the Y, during April – Child Abuse Prevention Month – we participate in a week-long campaign—Five Days of Action—to increase awareness of child sexual abuse and empower and equip our communities to prevent it. You too can commit to the safety of all children in our care.
Child abuse and neglect are serious public health problems that can have long-term impact on health, opportunity, and wellbeing. The CDC works to understand the problems of child abuse and neglect and prevent them. Preventing child abuse and neglect requires addressing risk and protective factors at the individual, relational, community, and societal levels.