With the opportunity to serve so many more children at our facilities, our constant focus on child safety must be reviewed and renewed. We know this at the forefront of everything you do, and hope to always be a resource and support in this important work. We each have our own communities, and provide the unique services they require, but are all united under the YMCA banner.
At the Alliance of New York State YMCAs we are working to provide YMCAs a quick resource to access information on child sexual abuse prevention. Bookmark this page and come back often as we will be updating resources as they become available.
NYS Child Victims Act
In February 2019, New York State signed into law the Child Victims Act. Watch the Alliance’s webinar to learn more about the Act and how it could impact your Y.
Resources For All YMCAs
YUSA CEO Hotline
Did you know YMCA of the USA has a CEO Emergency Hotline (800-822-9622). This hotline connects CEOs to emergency assistance from Y-USA. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to YMCA CEOs.
Crisis Communication Planning Guide (Available on LINK)
Praesidium Helpline for YMCAs
This provides information regarding our free anonymous 24/7 helpline offered free to all YMCAs. All YMCAs can call the Praesidium Helpline at 855-347-0751 at any time to report suspicious or inappropriate behaviors and policy violations and to ask specific questions related to child abuse prevention.
Alliance Member Advancement Team
Our Member Advancement team of Mary Kay Polston and Rob Totaro are available to assist with you with this and other matters. The team is working with Ys and a vast array of Network Partners to connect your Y with the resources needed to build capacity and strengthen your community.
Resources from Praesidium
Through the YMCA’s relationship with Praesidium, we have a wonderful partner in this work, and they have provided us with several tools some of which are attached to this email.
Know Your Score!
This is an online tool that allows you to systematically and privately assess the extent to which your organization employs best practices to ensure client safety. Know Your Score!™ provides a road map to help organizations know exactly what they need to do and how to get started on making their facility or programs as safe for children as possible.
YMCA Praesidium Guardians can click here to log in and begin their next Know Your Score! reassessment. If you don’t already know when your last evaluation was completed, just email Drew Caldwell, dcaldwell@ymcanys.org for the information.
Resources from The Redwoods Group
The Changing Landscape of Abuse Resources
Responding to an Existential Threat