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Our Commitment to Child Protection

The Shiawassee Family YMCA, like all YMCAs, is deeply committed to protecting children by creating safe, nurturing environments where young people can learn, grow, and thrive. Through comprehensive policies and practices, the organization emphasizes child abuse prevention, staff training, and clear accountability standards. YMCA staff undergo regular background checks and are trained to recognize, prevent, and respond to signs of abuse or misconduct. High-access volunteers are also regularly screened and provided with resources that teach them the Know. See. Respond. prevention model. In addition, the YMCA promotes open communication with families and encourages a culture where children feel respected, heard, and empowered to speak up. When we prioritize safety, we demonstrate our unwavering dedication to the well-being and protection of every child we serve.
The Shiawassee Family YMCA was awarded the inaugural Voices for Children Pillar of the Community Award in 2025.
​"The YMCA is a pillar in the community when it comes to providing advocacy, support, and opportunities to foster safety, education and the well-being of children in Shiawassee County."
​-Voices for Children Advocacy Center Shiawassee
​Award Video

Creating Safe Spaces for Children and Teens

All YMCAs in the U.S. are required to implement child sexual abuse prevention practices and policies to remain a member in good standing with the National Council of YMCAs. Requirements include:
  • Completing a comprehensive accreditation process.  The Shiawassee Family YMCA is excited to announce that they are beginning the official cohort for this process in August 2026, however work on updating policies and practices is already underway. 
  • Having a policy that requires criminal background checks for staff and volunteers. This is something the Shiawassee Family YMCA has been doing for many, many years already.
  • Training staff and high-access volunteers annually on preventing and responding to youth-to-youth sexual activity and adult-to-child sexual activity or abuse. Camp and childcare staff have always received mandatory training, but we are now requiring all staff and high-access volunteers to undergo training. In addition, we have two Certified Praesidium Guardians on staff. A Certified Praesidium Guardian is someone who has completed a rigorous training program focused on preventing sexual abuse and other forms of misconduct within organizations. This certification demonstrates a commitment to creating safer environments for vulnerable populations.
  • Requiring all staff and volunteers to report child abuse and all allegations of sexual abuse or victimization of minors involving Y staff, volunteers, members or participants. All YMCA staff and volunteers are considered mandated reporters and receive training in how, when and what to report.
  • Having a policy that requires screening all adults against a national sex offender registry and written protocol for how to respond when adults are identified as registered sex offenders. Our registration system automatically screens everyone entered into it.
  • Implementing policies that define boundaries with youth. Abuse Prevention Policies and Procedures, pages 5-7
  • Implementing procedures for identifying and managing high-risk activities. Abuse Prevention Policies and Procedures, pages 10-15
  • Forming a Youth Protection Committee that is overseen by a lead staff member. The Shiawassee Family YMCA's Youth Protection Committee had its first meeting in July 2025. The committee is made up of staff and board members, and is overseen by one of our Certified Praesidium Guardians.
  • Engaging external experts in abuse prevention. This work includes comprehensive self-assessment, as well as best practices in screening, training, supervision and reporting practices. All YMCAs work with Praesidium toward accreditation.
  • 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys in the U.S. experience sexual abuse by the age of 18.¹
  • 90% of children who are abused know the abuser.²
  • There are more than 42 million survivors of child sexual abuse in the U.S. Yet, many child victims may never disclose their abuse.³
  • 1 in 5 children is solicited sexually on the Internet before the age of 18.⁴
1. Finkelhor, D., Hotaling, G., Lewis, I. A., & Smith, C. (1990). Sexual abuse in a national survey of adult men and women: Prevalence, characteristics and risk factors. Child Abuse & Neglect 14, 19-28. doi:10.1016/0145-2134(90)90077-7.
2.  Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement (2000).
3. National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse.
4. David Finkelhor, Kimberly J. Mitchell, and Janis Wolak, 2000, Online Victimization: A Report on the Nation’s Youth, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: Arlington, VA. Darkness 2 Light. Statistics Surrounding Child Sexual Abuse.

Resources

Y-USA Five Days of Action® Partners:
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