SafeSport Child Abuse and Other Misconduct Risk Management Plan for Schaumburg Athletic Association (Non-NGB Organization)

06/18/2019, 5:00pm CDT

By SAA

Sexual Abuse Misconduct Prevention & Crisis Management Policy Summary Schaumburg Athletic Association prohibits and does

Sexual Abuse Misconduct Prevention

& Crisis Management Policy

Summary

Schaumburg Athletic Association prohibits and does not tolerate sexual abuse or misconduct in the workplace or during any organization-related activity. Schaumburg Athletic Association provides procedures for employees, volunteers, board members or any other victims of sexual abuse or misconduct to report such acts. Those reasonably suspected or believed to have committed sexual abuse or misconduct will be appropriately disciplined, up to and including termination of employment or membership, as well as criminally prosecuted. No employee, volunteer, board member or other person, regardless of his or her title or position has the authority to commit or allow sexual abuse or misconduct.

All sporting organizations which make provisions for children and young people must ensure that:

The welfare of the child is paramount;
All children, whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin religious beliefs and/or sexual identity have the right to protection from abuse;
All suspicions and allegations of abuse and poor practice will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately;
All staff (paid/unpaid) working in sport have a responsibility to report concerns to the appropriate officer

Policy

POLICY STATEMENT

The Schaumburg Athletic Association seeks to provide a safe and secure environment for the

children who participate in our programs and activities. By implementing the below practices, our

goal is to protect the children of the Schaumburg Athletic Association from incidents of misconduct

or inappropriate behavior while also protecting our staff and volunteers (workers) from false

accusations.

BACKGROUND

In 2018, Congress enacted a new Federal law, The “Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017” (“Safe Sport Act”), which specifically requires applicable amateur sports organizations which are not part of national governing bodies to:

Duty to Report Child Abuse by Covered Individuals – A covered individual is any adult who is authorized by an applicable amateur sports organization to interact with a minor or amateur athlete. Covered individuals must report suspicions of child abuse, including sexual abuse, within 24 hours to law enforcement. Failure to report may be a criminal violation under state and federal law.
Limit One-On-One Interaction with Minors – Must establish reasonable procedures to limit one-on-one interactions between an amateur athlete who is a minor and an adult (who is not the minor’s legal guardian) at a facility under the jurisdiction of the applicable amateur sports organization without being in an observable and interruptible distance from another adult, except in emergency circumstances.
Training for Adults and Minors – Must offer and provide consistent training to all adult members who are in regular contact with amateur athletes who are minors, and subject to parental consent, to members who are minors, regarding prevention and reporting of child abuse to allow a complainant to report easily an incident of child abuse to appropriate persons.
Prohibit Retaliation – Must prohibit retaliation against any individual who makes a report required under the Safe Sport Act.

An applicable amateur sports organization is one that is not part of a national sports governing body, participates in interstate or international amateur athletic competition, and includes any adult who is in regular contact with an amateur athlete who is a minor. However, even if a sports organization does not have a single team that crosses a state line to compete, the Safe Sport Act establishes a new standard of care that will likely be used in future case law.

Penalties For Failure To Comply: Any minor who was a victim and who suffers personal injury as a result of a violation of the Safe Sport Act, may sue in U.S. District Court and may recover actual damages or liquidated damages in the amount of $150,000 and the cost of the action, including reasonable attorney’s fees and other litigation costs. The court may also award punitive damages

PURPOSE

The purpose of this risk management program is to reduce and/or prevent the occurrences of misconduct in sports as well as to reduce the liability potential for the sports organization.

Misconduct can negatively affect participants, staff members, family, friends, and the sport.

Specifically, our organization will implement policies in the following areas to address all types of misconduct and to set forth boundaries of appropriate and inappropriate conduct: sexual misconduct, including child abuse; grooming behavior; physical misconduct; emotional misconduct; bullying; harassment; hazing; social media and electronic communications; locker rooms and changing areas; travel; reporting misconduct; screening staff; and monitoring for compliance.

This plan will serve as awareness education training for all our staff, members, volunteers, board members and contractors who agree to educate themselves on all forms of misconduct and to refrain from engaging in such misconduct and in violating the policies herein. It should be posted on the organization website and distributed to all adult staff members.

This plan is designed for the Schaumburg Athletic Association, which is considered a non-national governing body (Non-NGB) sports association. Organizations that are members of national governing bodies must comply with a higher standard of care and are subject to oversight from and reporting to the United States Center for SafeSport.

DEFINITIONS

The following definitions or examples of sexual abuse, misconduct or harassment, may apply to any and/or all the following persons – employees, volunteers or other third-parties.

Sexual abuse or misconduct may include, but is not limited to:

Child sexual abuse – any sexual activity, involvement or attempt of sexual contact with a person who is a minor (under 18 years old) where consent is not or cannot be given.
Sexual activity with another who is legally incompetent or otherwise unable to give consent.
Physical assaults or violence, such as rape, sexual battery, abuse, molestation or any attempt to commit such acts.
Unwanted and intentional physical conduct that is sexual in nature, such as touching, pinching, patting, brushing, massaging someone’s neck or shoulders and/or pulling against another’s body or clothes.
Material such as pornographic or sexually explicit images, posters, calendars or objects.
Unwelcome and inappropriate sexual activities, advances, comments, innuendoes, bullying, jokes, gestures, electronic communications or messages (e.g. email, text, social media, voicemail), exploitation, exposure, leering, stalking or invasion of sexual privacy.
A sexually hostile environment characterized as comments or conduct that unreasonably interferes with one’s work performance or ability to do the job or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment.
Direct or implied threats that submission to sexual advances will be a condition of employment or affiliation with the organization.

Participant: Any athlete or non-athlete participant who participates in any tryouts, practices, drills, instructional sessions, competitions, camps, clinics, tournaments, or non-sport outings including travel, lodging, and health or medical treatment sponsored by the organization.

Child, Children, Minor, and Youth: Anyone under the age of 18. These terms are used interchangeably throughout this program.

Coach: Any adult who has or shares the responsibility for instructing, teaching, schooling, training, or advising athletes of the organization.

Misconduct: Behavior that results in harm, the potential for harm, or the imminent threat of harm. Age is irrelevant to misconduct. There are six primary types of misconduct in sports: sexual (including grooming behavior), physical, emotional, bullying, harassment, and hazing.

Organization: The sports organization that has adopted this misconduct risk management program.

Staff Member: Any paid or unpaid member providing service to the organization including but not limited to officers, directors, administrators, coaches, assistant coaches, trainers, and team parents

RESPONSIBILITY

All SAA Executive Board members, sport board members, staff, and independent contractors participating in any programs of the SAA.

TYPES OF MISCONDUCT AND EXAMPLES

The following six types of misconduct are prohibited by the organization:

Sexual Misconduct, including Child Sexual Abuse

Sexual misconduct is defined as:

Any sexual interaction, whether non-touching or touching, that is forced or perpetrated in an exploitative, harassing, aggressive, or threatening manner.
Any sexual interaction between a participant and an individual with direct, indirect, or evaluative authority. Such relationships usually involve power imbalance; disparity in age, development, size, or intellectual capabilities; the existence of an aggressor; and are likely to impair judgment or be exploitative.
Any conduct or acts defined under state or federal law as sexual abuse or misconduct.

Sexual misconduct can be between adults, between adults and minors, or between minors. Minors don’t have the legal capacity to consent to sexual activity with an adult, and as a result, any sexual interaction between a minor and adult is strictly prohibited.

Types of sexual misconduct include:

Sexual assault
Sexual harassment
Sexual abuse
Any other equal intimacies that exploit an athlete

Touching offenses include:

Fondling a participant’s breasts or buttocks;
Providing a sports-related reward (ex: playing time, position, lessons, award, praise) in exchange for sexual favors;
Sexual penetration and sexual touching;
Genital contact whether or not either party is clothed
Any intimacies or sexual relations between a staff member and participant when the staff member is in a position of authority, trust, control, or evaluative decision making over the participant.

Permissible Physical Contact

Some level of physical contact between a coach and a participant may be appropriate, such as in instruction, celebration, or consolation of a distraught participant who has been injured or after losing a competition. Appropriate physical contact in training and instruction consists of the following elements:

The physical contact takes place in public.
There is no potential for or actual, physical, or sexual intimacies during the physical contact.
The physical contact is for the benefit of the participant and not to meet an emotional or other need of an adult.
Physical contact should be appropriate for the development of a sport skills
Permission from the player/participant should be sought
Player/participants should be congratulated or comforted in public not in an isolated setting

Prohibited forms of physical contact include:

Lingering or repeated embrace that goes beyond acceptable physical touch.
Tickling, horseplay, or wrestling.
Continued physical contact that makes a participant uncomfortable.

Non-touching offenses include:

Making innuendos, comments, or jokes of a sexual nature about a participant or other behavior that is sexually harassing.
A staff member referencing his or her sexual activities with a participant.
Questioning a participant about his or her sexual activities.
A staff member requesting or sending a revealing or nude photo to a participant.
Exposing participants to pornographic material.
Voyeurism
Sending participants communications or photos, whether electronic (e.g. sexting) or otherwise, of a sexually suggestive or explicit nature.
Intentionally exposing a participant to sexual acts.
Intentionally exposing a participant to nudity (exception for shared changing areas or locker rooms).
Non-verbal or verbal communication of a sexual nature; physical advances; or sexual solicitation.

The following are not defenses under any circumstances to an allegation of sexual misconduct: the consent of a minor, mistaking the age of a participant, or that the interaction did not occur during a sanctioned event of the organization.

Peer-to-Peer Child Sexual Misconduct

Approximately one-third of all cases of sexual abuse are child peer-to-peer. Whether or not sexual interaction between children constitutes child sexual abuse turns on the existence of an aggressor, the age difference between the children, and/or whether there is an imbalance in power and/or intellectual capabilities. Allegations or suspicions of peer-to-peer child sexual abuse must be reported to the child abuse officer or a board member.

Grooming

Grooming is an intentional and effective strategy that sexual predators use to set up and prepare victims, parents, and staff to gain a position of trust and lower their defenses, which assists in the perpetration of misconduct.

The steps taken in the grooming or seduction process are:

Identify a child and determine his or her vulnerable areas (ex: being misunderstood, lack of attention from parents, lack of spending money, absent parents, etc.)
Through careful observation of the target, determine their needs to fill what is missing.
Fill the needs to create a special bond and to gain their trust. Examples are providing gifts and spending money, helping with homework, providing transportation, special consideration on the team such as more playing time, special attention, sharing secrets, etc.
Spend a disproportionate amount of time with the family to gain their trust.
Isolate the victim from their peers to create situations where they are alone.
Gradually introduce sexual interplay that may start with conversations of a sexual nature (in person, texting, and social media), providing alcohol and drugs to lower inhibitions, watching pornography, sharing nude photos, tickling, horseplay, massages, and other boundary invasions that lead to sexual touching and nudity.
Maintaining control and silence to continue and keep the sexual abuse hidden.
Use shame or fear as motivating factors to continue the relationship.

Staff and parents who understand the grooming process and the policies that are meant to prevent it through education are likely to identify it and notify the MO or a board member of suspicious behavior.

One-on-One Interactions

Two-Deep Leadership: Two adults (ex: any combination of coach(es)), volunteer(s), parent(s)) should be present at all times so that a minor cannot be isolated one on one with an unrelated adult. This also helps to protect the staff member from false accusations.

Individual Meetings: An individual meeting to address a participant’s concerns may be necessary on occasion. During such meetings, the following guidelines should be observed:

Any individual meeting should occur when others are present and where interactions can be easily observed.
Where possible, an individual meeting should take place in a publicly visible and open area, such as in the corner of a building.
If the meeting takes place in an office or a locker room, the door should remain unlocked and open.
If a closed-door meeting is necessary, the staff member should inform another staff member and ensure the door remains unlocked.
Individual Training Sessions: When necessary or requested, parent/guardian written consent should be obtained and a parent/guardian encouraged to attend.

Prohibited One-on-One Interactions: Except as provided above with regard to individual meetings, individual training, or emergency situations, any one-on-one interaction between an adult and a minor participant should be avoided. A possible exception may occur if the minor is stranded and the adult must be present so that the minor will not be left unattended or unsupervised. In such cases, the adult and minor should remain in the open until another adult arrives.

Physical Misconduct

Physical misconduct includes:

Intentional physical contact or threat of such that causes or has the potential to cause personal injury or bodily harm to the participant
Any act or conduct described as physical abuse under state or federal law, such as assault, child neglect, and child abuse

Examples of prohibited physical misconduct:

Contact offenses

Punching, beating, biting, striking, choking, or slapping an athlete
Intentionally hitting an athlete with objects or sporting equipment
Providing alcohol to a participant who is under the legal drinking age
Providing non-prescription or illegal drugs to any participant
Encouraging or permitting an athlete to return to play after an injury (e.g. concussion) or sickness prematurely or without clearance from a medical professional
Prescribing diet or other weight control methods for humiliation purposes and without regard for the health of the athlete (e.g. public weigh-ins or caliper tests)

Non-contact offenses

Isolating an athlete in a confined space (e.g. locking an athlete in a confined space)
Forcing an athlete to assume a painful stance or position for no athletic purpose (e.g. requiring the athlete to kneel on a hard surface)
Withholding, recommending against or denying adequate hydration, nutrition, medical attention, or sleep

Physical misconduct does not include physical contact that is a professionally-accepted coaching method for teaching skill enhancement, physical conditioning, team building or appropriate discipline.

Emotional Misconduct

Emotional misconduct involves a pattern of intentional, noncontact behavior that causes or has the potential to cause psychological or emotional harm to a participant. Physical acts, verbal acts, or acts that deny support or attention are included in these behaviors.

Examples of prohibited emotional misconduct:

Verbal Acts: A pattern of verbal behaviors that personally attack a participant (e.g. calling them disgusting, worthless, or fat) or repeatedly screaming at participants in a way that does not serve a legitimate motivational or training purpose
Physical Acts: A pattern of physically aggressive behaviors, such as throwing or punching sports equipment or other objects in the presence of participants.
Acts that Deny Support or Attention: A pattern of ignoring or excluding a participant during practice or team discussions for an extended period of time

Emotional misconduct does not include generally-accepted and age-appropriate coaching methods of skill enhancement, physical conditioning, motivation, team building, appropriate discipline or improving athletic performance. Note that a single incident such as a verbal outburst may be inappropriate but does not constitute emotional misconduct, which requires a pattern of harmful behaviors over time.

Bullying

Bullying involves an intentional and repeated pattern of committing or intentionally allowing or not preventing behaviors that are intended to cause physical harm, fear or humiliation in an effort to socially isolate, diminish or exclude another participant physically, emotionally, or sexually.

Bullying can occur through verbal, written or electronic communications or by means of a physical gesture or act.

Examples of prohibited bullying behavior:

Physical: Hitting, pushing, punching, beating, biting, striking, kicking, choking, spitting, or slapping; throwing objects such as sports equipment at another participant.

Verbal: Teasing, ridiculing, taunting, name-calling, or intimidating, or threatening to cause someone harm.

Social, including Cyberbullying: Using electronic communication, social media or similar to harass, frighten, intimidate, or humiliate someone; using rumors or false statements about someone to diminish that person’s reputation; socially excluding someone and asking others to do the same.

Sexual: Teasing, ridiculing, or taunting based on gender or sexual orientation (real or implied), gender traits or behavior (e.g., taunting someone for being too effeminate or too masculine), or teasing someone about their looks or behavior as it relates to sexual attractiveness.

It is often not the staff, but other participants who perpetrate bullying. However, it is a violation if a staff member knows or should have known of bullying behavior but takes no action to intervene on behalf of the targeted participant(s).

A participant or parent/guardian who participates in any act of bullying is subject to appropriate disciplinary action including but not limited to suspension, permanent ban, and referral to law enforcement authorities.

Difference between Mean, Rude, and Bullying Behavior

Mean is defined as purposefully saying or doing something to hurt someone very infrequently. Rude is defined as inadvertently saying or doing something that hurts someone else. Bullying is defined as intentionally aggressive behavior repeated over time that involves an imbalance of power. Mean or rude conduct does not rise to the level of bullying absent the imbalance of power but may otherwise be a code of conduct violations and treated as such.

Bullying does not include group or team behaviors to encourage a culture of team unity and/or harder training effort.

Harassment

Harassment is a pattern of physical or nonphysical behaviors that cause annoyance, fear or humiliation; degrade or offend; reflect a discriminatory bias; or create a hostile environment for the purpose of creating superiority, dominance, or power over an individual participant or participants based on gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, culture, national origin, race, or physical or mental disability. It also includes any conduct or acts defined as harassment under state or federal law.

Examples of prohibited harassment:

Name-calling, taunts, threats, belittling, stalking, unwelcome advances and requests for sexual acts, as well as undue threats to perform or succeed.

Sexual harassment is conduct towards a participant that includes sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical behaviors of a sexual nature and is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive and objectively offensive that it negatively affects an individual’s performance.

Hazing

Hazing includes any behavior which is physically harmful, humiliating, intimidating, or offensive. Hazing typically is an initiation activity that is a precondition for being socially accepted or joining a team. It also includes any act that is described as hazing under federal or state law.

Examples of hazing include:

Using force or peer pressure to require the consumption of alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs
Restraining a person through tying or taping
Requiring simulations of acts of a sexual nature.
Depriving one of sleep
Withholding water and/or food
Requiring public actions that are illegal, embarrassing, or socially unacceptable (e.g. public nudity)
Paddling, branding, beating or other forms of physical assault
Requiring excessive training

Hazing occurs even when the participant agrees to cooperate.

Adopt Positive Language and Behavior

Adopt positive language when talking with children and in the presence of children. This includes avoiding bad or aggressive language that could intimidate a child or set a poor example.

Willfully Tolerating Misconduct

It is a violation when a staff member knows of prohibited misconduct but takes no action to intervene to protect participants or other staff members. It is also a violation to observe illegal and prohibited misconduct and not report it in a timely manner to the appropriate entity or law enforcement authorities.

Social Media and Electronic Communications

Electronic communications and social media interactions between staff and participants and their parents/guardians is essential with regard to activities, schedules, and administrative issues. Furthermore, social media touting the positive aspects of competition and club promotion should be encouraged. However, the potential for misconduct exists including sexual abuse, emotional abuse, bullying, harassment, and hazing.

Social Media, including, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.

The organization may create an official social media account which may connect with other staff, participants, and parents/guardians for the purpose of official organization communications about activities, motivation, team building, and answering posts from staff, participants, and parents/guardians.

Staff and minor participants should not connect on social media outside of the organization’s official social media account.

Email, Texts, and Instant Messaging

A staff member and minor participant may communicate via email, text, or instant message if the communication is about official organization activities. A parent/guardian of minor participants or another staff member should be copied on all such communications sent by a staff member.

Digital Photos and Videos

Organizations frequently publish photos and videos of activities on their website and social media accounts and transmit via email to various media outlets. Before publishing a photo or video of any participant, the organization should obtain an image release agreement signed by the parent/guardian. Also, all photos and videos should be taken in public view and should be appropriate and in the best interest of the participant and the organization.

Be aware that there are some people who visit sporting events to take inappropriate photographs or video footage of children. You need to be alert to this possibility and report any concerns to an official in the organization.

Staff should immediately honor any request from parent/guardian to discontinue all digital communications or imagery with a minor participant without any repercussions.

Violations of the organization’s electronic communications and social media policy should be reported to the MO or a board member for appropriate disciplinary action including but not limited to suspension, permanent suspension and/or referral to law enforcement.

Locker Rooms and Changing Areas

Participants are particularly vulnerable to misconduct including bullying, harassment, and hazing in locker rooms/changing areas due to various stages of undress and less direct supervision. The Schaumburg Athletic Association strongly recommends the following guidelines:

Before going into change rooms knock or announce that you will be coming in and try to have at least one adult with you in a change room with children. Do not isolate yourself and a child from others in the change room
Sufficient staff supervision that is not overbearing. Staff should always be located just outside of the room to be on call if a problem arises and should make periodic sweeps inside. The sweeps should be conducted by staff who are the same sex as the minor participants.
Prohibit parents/guardians from entering unless it is truly necessary. In such cases, the parent/guardian should inform staff in advance and should be the same sex as the minor participants.
Prohibit the use of all recording devices including smartphones.
Comply with all misconduct rules.
If a minor participant enters a bathroom/locker/changing during a competition, staff should be aware and check to that such minor participant returns within a reasonable time.

In the special case of co-ed locker rooms, male and female athletes should use separate changing areas. When separate areas are not available, the male and female participants should take turns using the areas.

Collection by Parents/Guardians

Let parents/guardians know about policy on the collection of children. A list of action items that could help include:

Letting children, parents/guardians know the times of practices and games, when they can expect to collect their children and that it is not your responsibility to transport children home if parents are delayed
Have a policy that the second to the last child and their parent/guardian will wait with the coach and the child. This will also enable the coach to concentrate on making contact with the parent/guardian
If there are other people at the facility, wait for the parent/guardian closer to those people. In the meantime, try to make contact with the parent/guardian
Avoid the risk of being alone with a child by having a parent/guardian or support person assist you with the training. Require that person to wait until all children have left.

Travel

Travel to and from practices and competitions subject’s participants to risk not only from auto accidents, but also makes them more vulnerable to misconduct, particularly during overnight stays. During overnight stays, participants are away from their families and support networks and find themselves in unfamiliar and less structured settings, such as locker/changing rooms, sports facilities, autos, and hotel rooms.

Local travel is not planned or supervised by the organization, but parent/guardian for each participant is responsible for making the travel arrangements. Local travel occurs when minor participants are driven to and from practices and local competitions, usually by parents/guardians in a carpool setting. Ideally, all players/participants should have their own transportation to and from sporting events.

You should only provide transportation when:

The driver is properly licensed
Other players/participants/parents/guardians are in the vehicle
The ride has been approved by parents/guardians
The ride is directly to/from sports or recreational activities
You should also call someone and tell them what you are doing, the exact time you are leaving – so that you are accountable for your time

The guidelines for local travel are as follows:

Drivers should have a valid driver’s license, meet state insurance requirements, and operate a well-maintained vehicle in accordance with state laws.
Staff drivers providing local transportation should not ride alone with an unrelated minor participant. There should be either at least two other participants or another adult in the vehicle at all times unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the parent/guardian of the participant.
Staff drivers who are also the parents/guardians of a minor participant may provide shared transportation but should always pick up their own child first and drop him/her off last.
Staff drivers should have the parent/guardian of participants sign a parental authorization and release form.

SAA strongly recommends that managers and coaches steer clear of being the designated driver for rides to and from practices and games. Ask kids to contact each other if rides are necessary.

Team travel usually requires overnight stays and occurs when the team plans and supervises transportation for local, regional, national, or international competitions. For greater travel distances, staff and chaperones will often travel with the participants in order to provide adequate supervision.

Always have more than one adult with children on an overnight trip/camp and do not separate yourself and children from another adult/s. There should always be more than one adult with a group of children, even if the number of children is small. Mixed gender is preferable. Options to consider on an overnight trip/camp include obtaining separate sleeping accommodations from the children (adults in separate rooms). There must be emergency procedures in place to enable supervising adults to be able to respond to any alarm raised by a child. If an alarm is raised by a child, more than one adult should respond

The following are guidelines on team travel:

All drivers should have a valid driver’s license, meet state insurance requirements, and operate a well-maintained vehicle in accordance with state laws.
Be sure to maintain appropriate adult-to-minor ratios, which will vary with the age of the participants.
Hotels and air travel should be booked in advance with schedules published for all staff and parents/guardians.
Participants should share rooms with 2 to 4 participants per room depending on room size. Participants should be grouped according to sex and age group.
Attempts should be made to have one chaperone of the same sex for each group.
No chaperone or other staff members should spend the night in the same room with any unrelated minor participants.
Chaperones must be cleared by a criminal background check and undergo awareness training before having any appropriate one-on-one interactions with a minor participant.
The organization should ask the hotel to block pay-per-view channels in the rooms of each participant.
Meetings should not occur in rooms and a large room or suite should be rented so that staff can meet and socialize as a group with minor participants.
Family members attending the event should be encouraged to stay in the same hotel as participants.

Staff/Volunteer and Chaperone Responsibilities for Supervising Children

The number of staff/volunteers needed will depend on the age and number of children involved, and whether there are disability considerations.

Being alone with a child: Do not isolate yourself and a child and avoid being alone with any child. If a child approaches you and wants to talk to you privately about a matter, do so in an open area and in the sight of other adults (e.g. other coaches, officials or parents/guardians). Ideally advise another coach or official and ask them to stay within sight while you have the discussion and to come to your assistance if the child becomes emotional and/or you indicate support is required in dealing with the child. Avoid unaccompanied and unobserved activities with children.

The following practices are never sanctioned. You should never:

Engage in rough, physical or sexually provocative games, including horseplay
Share a room with a child
Allow or engage in any form of inappropriate touching
Allow children to use inappropriate language unchallenged
Make sexually suggestive comments to a child, even in fun
Reduce a child to tears as a form of control
Allow allegations made by a child to go unchallenged, unrecorded or not acted upon
Do things of a personal nature for children that they can do for themselves
Invite or allow children to stay with you at your home unsupervised

The following practices are recommended:

Brief participants and parents/guardians prior to travel on policy guidelines, expectations, and travel and competition schedules
Follow all policies on preventing misconduct including travel, locker/changing rooms, and two-deep leadership
Assist participants in preparing for competitions
Encourage minor participants to engage in daily communications with parent/guardian.
Set curfews based on age and competition schedule
No use of alcohol or drugs by chaperones in the presence of minors and they should not be under the influence while performing duties
Chaperones should make sure that staff complies with all travel and other misconduct policies
Immediately report any violation of travel or misconduct policy to MO or a board member
Notify parent/guardian not traveling with the minor participant of any injuries, discipline problems, or any other concerns

Injuries and Illness

Have guidelines for handling injuries that occur during sporting activities. Personnel should avoid treating injuries out of sight of others.

Other considerations include:

The comfort level and dignity of the players/participants should always be the priority
Only uncover the injured area, or drape private parts of the player/participants body
Always report injuries and any treatment provided to parents and document an incident
If necessary, seek medical attention as soon as possible.

“Blood rule”

Coaches and officials are to remove any child that is bleeding from a practice or game and stop the flow of blood before he or she can rejoin the activity

PROCEDURES

Training

All SAA Executive Board members, sport board members, staff, and independent contractors who regularly interact with children enrolled in any sports program operated within the SAA must complete SafeSport awareness training or an equivalent. Documented proof of course completion must be retained by the individual and presented before any position at the SAA is granted. The cost of the required training will be paid by the sport program.

Reporting Child Sexual and Child Physical Abuse

Any SAA board member, coach, commissioner, staff member or contractor who has a reasonable suspicion of child sexual abuse or child physical abuse committed by another board member, coach, commissioner, staff member or contractor or participant, must within 24 hours:

Notify law enforcement authorities as required by state and federal law; and
Notify the sport Head Commissioner, SAA VP responsible for discipline and the SAA President.
Where applicable for individual SAA sports, meet additional reporting requirements which may be mandated by their National Governing Body.

Under the Safe Sport Act, covered individuals must report suspicions of child abuse, including sexual abuse, within 24 hours to law enforcement. Failure to report may be a criminal violation under state and federal law. A covered individual is any adult who is authorized by an applicable amateur sports organization with a minor or amateur athlete.

Once notified, the SAA President should separately report such allegations to the appropriate law enforcement authorities as required by state and federal law. Failure to report such misconduct may be a violation under state and/or federal law. An attorney should be consulted prior to reporting for advice on currently applicable state and federal law.

Participants and parents are also encouraged to report any reasonable suspicions of child sexual and child physical abuse to the sport Head Commissioner, SAA VP responsible for discipline and the SAA President.

Resources for assistance with state and federal reporting requirements:

Child Welfare Information Gateway: www.childwelfare.gov
Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/manda.cfm
State Statute Search: http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/state/

After Reporting to Law Enforcement

After a report of reasonable suspicion of misconduct to law enforcement has been made, whether for reasons of child sexual abuse, child physical abuse, or other illegal reportable misconduct, the SAA President and VP in charge of discipline should take the following actions:

Do not engage in any internal investigations or attempt to investigate the credibility of any such allegation. An independent investigation may interfere with the investigation of law enforcement. Allow law enforcement to conduct its own investigation. However, the SAA President and VP in charge of discipline may ask a few clarifying questions of the complainant or minor(s) involved to adequately report the suspicion to law enforcement.
To the extent permitted by law and appropriate, all parties involved should protect the names and confidentiality of the complainant (if requested), the accused, and the victims.
Immediately remove the accused SAA member, staff member or contractor from his/her duties. No disciplinary hearing is required, and the accused has no right to defend himself/herself at this point because the safety and wellbeing of the participant is of utmost importance. The VP in charge of discipline may simply notify the accused staff member that he/she is no longer eligible to participate in the organization’s activities
After consulting with legal counsel, the SAA President and the VP in charge of discipline may decide at their discretion to inform other SAA members of any child sexual abuse or child physical abuse allegations that law enforcement is actively investigating, in an effort to find out if there may be other cases of child abuse that should also be reported to law enforcement.
Once the investigation by law enforcement has concluded, the Executive Board may reconvene to determine whether the accused can be reinstated or reassigned. Even if the investigation is inconclusive, the Executive Board may use its discretion in deciding on reinstatement or reassignment.

Reporting Other Misconduct, including Emotional Abuse, Bullying, Harassment, Hazing, or Grooming Behavior

Any SAA member, staff member or contractor who has a reasonable suspicion of emotional abuse, bullying, harassment, hazing, or grooming behavior should report within 48 hours such misconduct to the sport Head Commissioner, SAA VP responsible for discipline per the SAA Disciplinary Policy.

Depending on the severity and nature of the allegations, the SAA President and the VP in charge of discipline should determine whether to report such allegation within 48 hours to the appropriate law enforcement authorities as required by state or federal law.

How to Report All Misconduct to the Organization

Reports of all misconduct may be made orally and in writing per the SAA Disciplinary Policy. An incident report must be completed. The information required is the name of complainant(s) making the report, the type of misconduct alleged, the name(s) of the accused staff members who allegedly engaged in the misconduct, the approximate dates of misconduct, and any other relevant information.

Responding to Misconduct and Policy Violations

Upon receiving a report of emotional abuse, bullying, harassment, hazing, or grooming behavior that is not reportable to law enforcement under state or federal law, the Head Commissioner and VP in charge of discipline will follow the SAA Disciplinary Policy.

Whistleblower Protection and Bad Faith Allegation

Whistleblowers who report misconduct suspicions in good faith should be protected against any retaliation, punishment, and other harm regardless of the outcome of any investigation. To allow otherwise would defeat the purpose of the child abuse and misconduct risk management plan. Anyone who retaliates is subject to disciplinary action.

Likewise, complainants who act in bad faith in making malicious or frivolous allegations are subject to civil and criminal actions and disciplinary action by the Schaumburg Athletic Association.

Dealing with the Media

In the event of media inquiries involving an allegation of misconduct, a single board member or attorney will be appointed as the sole media contact. All other SAA members should refrain from making comments to the media. Any comment should be based on the following principles:

The organization has notified the proper law enforcement authorities.
The organization is following its internal policies and procedures regarding the allegation(s).
The privacy of all involved individuals should be respected and protected throughout the proceedings.
The identity of any accused perpetrator should not be disclosed unless 1) law enforcement is actively investigating and the name is a matter of public record; 2) law enforcement believes that the accusation is likely valid; and 3) the organization has taken action to sanction or remove the alleged perpetrator.

Screening Volunteers

This mandate is for the protection of children in SAA and will help maintain SAA as an environment in which children are safe from those who would seek to gain access to children and ultimately harm them. It will help protect volunteers and sports from possible loss of personal or program assets because of costly litigation. The criminal background check vendor should, at a minimum, run records from all 50 states to include the National Criminal Database and the National Sex Offender Registry.

1.1. Regulation I (a)

As a condition of service to the organization, all managers, coaches, Board of Directors, sport board members and any other persons who provide regular service to the organization and have repetitive access to, or contact with players or teams, must annually complete a coach registration and background check. Refusal to submit said application will result in the denial of the applicant or immediate dismissal of the individual from the organization. One criminal background screening will be conducted per applicant to cover the duration of that individual’s service to the organization. However, if an individual does not provide any of the above services to the organization for one (1) year or more, another criminal background screening shall be conducted upon re-application

1.2. Regulation I (b)

The Board of Directors and each sport board shall require that all of the following personnel have annually completed a coach registration and background check, prior to the applicant assuming his/her duties for the current season: Managers, Coaches, Board of Directors, Sport Board members and any other persons who provide regular service to the organization and have repetitive access to, or contact with, players or teams. The application must be processed by SAA Office personnel for all personnel named above and maintained at the SAA Office for the duration of the applicant’s service to the organization.

1.3. Regulation I (c)

Conduct a background screening as stated in Regulation I (a) on all personnel that are required to complete a coach registration and background check. The SAA will conduct a search of the applicable government operated statewide sex offender registry on an annual basis on all personnel that are required to complete a coach registration and background check prior to the applicant assuming his/her duties for the current season. SAA shall not permit any person to participate in any manner, whose background screening or criminal history from any verifiable source reveals a felony conviction, jail time, or for any crime involving or against a minor. The SAA may prohibit any individual from participating as a volunteer or hired worker; if the SAA deems the individual unfit to work with minors. If the SAA becomes aware of information, by any means whatsoever, that an individual, including, but not limited to, volunteers and hired workers, has been convicted of or pled guilty to any felony and/or crime involving or against a minor, the SAA must contact the applicable government agency to confirm the accuracy of the information. Upon confirmation of a conviction for, guilty plea to, or prison time served for a felony and/or any crime against or involving a minor, the SAA shall not permit the individual to participate in any manner. http://www.isp.state.il.us/sor/frames.htm (search by name)

1.4. Regulation I (d)

The above mandate is the acceptable policy in SAA, however a sport within SAA may elect to conduct a criminal background screening on an annual basis, which exceeds the minimum requirement by these regulations. The cost of these annual criminal background screenings will be funded by the individual sport.

Note: Certain employees or independent contractors from outside the sports organization may have access to youth. An example would be a janitor employed by the facility owner. Steps should be taken to make sure that a background check has been run on these individuals by their employer.

All SAA members, volunteers, staff and contractors with regular access to youth participants, such as directors, coaches, assistant coaches, and team managers should undergo a background check for acceptability prior to initial assignment of duties. Thereafter, a subsequent background check will be run annually.

The SAA VP in charge of discipline should be responsible for implementing, monitoring, taking corrective action, disqualifying unfit candidates, and working with third-party background check vendors on all issues related to the criminal background check program. The VP in charge of discipline should maintain confidentiality to protect against possible claims of slander or libel. The VP in charge of discipline should work with office staff for assistance in interpreting background check results; sending adverse action notifications required by law; and to protect against possible claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, First Offender Act, and all other state and federal laws protecting those who undergo criminal background checks.

Administration of Criminal Background Checks

Disqualification Criteria: To make sure that all SAA staff, volunteers, members and contractors are treated fairly and consistently, the following disqualification criteria should be used:

Individual SAA members found to be guilty of the following crimes should be disqualified as coaches, assistant coaches and team managers as outlined below.

All sex offenses including child molestation, rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, sodomy, prostitution, solicitation, indecent exposure, etc.
All convicted felony violence including murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, kidnapping, robbery, aggravated burglary, etc.
Found guilty within the past 10 years of all felony offenses other than violence or sex including drug offenses, theft, embezzlement, fraud, child endangerment, etc.
Found to be guilty within the past 7 years of all misdemeanor violence offenses including simple assault, battery, domestic violence, hit & run, etc.
Any other misdemeanor within the past 5 years that would be considered a potential danger to children or is directly related to the functions of the staff member, including contributing to the delinquency of a minor, providing alcohol to a minor, theft (if the volunteer is handling funds), etc.

Guilty means the applicant was found guilty following a trial, entered a guilty plea, entered a no contest plea accompanied by the court’s finding of guilty, regardless of whether there was an adjudication of guilt (conviction) or a withholding of guilt. This policy does not apply if criminal charges resulted in acquittal, dismissal or in an entry of nolle prosequi.

Should any of the pending charges described above be uncovered or should any of the above charges be brought against an applicant during the season, the applicant should be suspended from serving until the charges are cleared or dropped and the SAA President approves reinstatement.

Staff/Volunteer Applications: Prior to the running of any criminal background check, the applicant should complete a staff application form giving his or her consent to the running of such check. This form should include a question about the existence of any prior criminal convictions and pending investigations. A “yes” answer should require a detailed explanation including the type of offense, locations, and dates. (Note: some background check vendors require the applicant to directly enter their own application information directly into the vendor’s website.)

The SAA Volunteer Application will include, but not limited to the following information:

Last name as it appears on Driver’s License,
First Name, Middle Initial and Last Name,
Maiden Name if appropriate,
Gender,
Sport Affiliation,
Street Address,
City, State, Zip,
Previous Address if less than 5 years at current address,
Home Phone,
Driver’s License Number, State Issued and Expiration Date,
Date of Birth,
All information deemed mandatory on the application MUST be completed by the applicant.

The information obtained in the staff application/consent form, as well as the results of criminal background checks, should be held in strict confidence to protect the confidentiality of the information. It should be kept in a secure location with access by the MO or MC only. Confidential information should not be disclosed outside of the organization and should only be shared within the organization on a need-to-know basis. However, under certain circumstances, the organization may have a legal duty to disclose certain types of information to government agencies or law enforcement.

Run Criminal Background Check: After collecting the staff application/consent forms, the MO should verify that they are complete and legible. Next, the applications or information therein should be forwarded to the selected criminal background vendor. (Note: some background check vendors require the applicants to directly enter their own information into the vendor’s website.)

Results: The results from the criminal background check vendor should be received by the MO. The MO may need the assistance of the vendor in interpreting the results against the predetermined disqualification criteria. In addition, the MO should ask the vendor about any applicable first-offender acts in a particular state that may disallow the use of the results in making a disqualification decision. All disqualified applicants should be provided with the following documents with the assistance of the background check vendor:

1) Fair Credit Reporting Act: Summary of Rights

2) Letter of disqualification

3) Copy of the criminal background check results.

The vendor should advise if there are any other requirements under state or federal law.

Appeals Process: Staff candidates disqualified due to an unsatisfactory criminal background check should be given a right to appeal if they notify the MO in writing. Such appeals should be heard by a three-person MC. The MC should decide whether to uphold the decision of the MO. As a compromise, the MC may decide to reassign the applicant to a more appropriate position or to place the candidate under a probationary period. The results of all criminal background checks and appeals should be kept confidential.

The written appeal should include:

Full name and address of the appellant
Full name and address of any person making the request for an appeal on behalf of the appellant
The grounds for the appeal, providing a detailed explanation of the appellant’s objections to the decision, additional facts, or factual errors in the decision
The relevant particulars to the appeal, providing any background facts relating to the appeal, including how the appellant is affected by the decision and a detailed description of the requested relief (i.e. what appellant wants the MC to do)
The signature of the appellant or the appellant’s representative, and the date of the appeal.

Monitoring and Supervision Compliance

The organization and its MO and MC should monitor and supervise the implementation and compliance of the child abuse and misconduct plan as follows:

Require all staff to review this risk management plan and agree to abide by its guidelines and requirements.
Require all staff having repeated access to youth to undergo and pass a criminal background check.
Promptly address any reports of child abuse or other misconduct and take appropriate action.
Observe and periodically spot check compliance with interactions at practice and games, locker/changing rooms, travel arrangements, and social media.
Stay in touch with staff members, participants and parents to learn of any potential instances of misconduct.

Child Abuse Training for Minors

The Safe Sport Act requires sports organizations to provide minor training on preventing and reporting of child abuse. The SAA will distribute a document entitled “Abuse Avoidance Training for Minors” or a similar document from another source to each parent with a strong recommendation that each parent should review this document with their minor child.

Distribution/Acknowledgment/Documentation

A hard or electronic copy of this risk management program should be distributed to each staff member prior to the start of every season. Each board and/or staff member should acknowledge in writing (print or electronic signature) that they have received and carefully reviewed the plan and that they will refrain from engaging in misconduct and will comply with the policies within this plan. The organization should maintain documentation on an annual basis that the plan was distributed and as staff agreement signatures collected.

Contact Information

Schaumburg Athletic Association

217 S. Civic Drive

Schaumburg, Illinois 60193

847-352-7422

saasports8@saa-online.com

Related Information

Board Approval Date:

Version 1.0 06/17/2019

Current Section