Youth Protection Program Requirements and Standards

Program Registration

Youth Program Directors are required to register their programs on an annual basis by submitting the Youth Program Registration Form. A new form must be submitted each year before program start. Enterprise Risk Management will follow up with Program Directors if additional information is needed. Programs must be approved by Enterprise Risk Management before program activities can commence. Failure to register programs in a timely manner may cause program delay. 

Administrator Training

After ERM receives the youth program registration form, a member of the team will reach out to schedule a 1-hour training with the program directors to go over requirements of the youth protection program and offer available resources to navigate those requirements better. 

Questions?

Feel free to contact ypp@sfsu.edu for all questions related to youth program registration or administration. 

1) Interview

Programs should conduct face-to-face interviews with potential employees and volunteers seeking positions that will be interacting with minors. These interviews should include behaviorally based interview questions designed to screen applicants for the potential of abuse. All interviews should be documented with notes from each interviewer.

2) Background Checks

Per Executive Order 1083 and CSU Human Resources Technical Letter 2017-17, background checks, to include criminal records check and review of state and federal sex offender registries, are required for all University employees and volunteers for the purpose of identifying past behavior that may disqualify a person from working with minors. 

3) Reference Checks

Program directors and administrators are responsible for conducting a minimum of three reference checks before an applicant is offered a position. All reference responses should be documented and considered when making a hiring decision. Reference checks are valuable because they are a source of information that does not come directly from the applicant. References may be used to validate information provided by the applicant or by other references.

Training Platform

All required trainings are available via CSU Learn and the Praesidium Academy platform. Once Program Directors provide a list of youth program employees and volunteers, Enterprise Risk Management will assign all required trainings through the platforms. Program Directors will have access to the platform to track training progress. All trainings must be completed before employees interact with minors as part of the program.

Training Requirements

Offenders often act in predictable ways and effective training can provide employees and volunteers with the information needed to identify high-risk patterns of behavior and high-risk program characteristics. Training must be specific, frequent, and useful and it must teach how offenders operate, how to recognize suspicious or inappropriate interactions or policy violations and suspected abuse, and how to respond effectively. 

Code of Conduct

SF State's code of conduct for interacting with minors outlines the minimum expectations we hold for youth program personnel. 

Basis to Report

CSU Executive Order 1083 “Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect” requires all University employees, campus community volunteers and independent contractors, regardless of their status as a mandated reporter as defined by California law, who, in the course of their University business or volunteer activity, have reasonable suspicion of child abuse, as defined by California law, must make a report as outlined in this policy. 

Report Suspected Child Abuse or Neglect

If you need to report an emergency situation involving child neglect or sexual abuse, please call 911.

Otherwise, please contact the appropriate local and state authorities to report suspected incidents of child sexual abuse. You can find contact information for child abuse and neglect authorities for your particular state here.

Reporting Concerns, Incidents or Policy Violations Related to Youth Programs

These types of concerns related to youth programs at San Francisco State University can be reported by contacting Enterprise Risk Management at (415) 405-3522 or by emailing us at ypp@sfsu.edu.

Reporting Resources

Visit this page to learn more about:

• Who is required to report
• What is required to be reported
• How to report
• And more...