Child Safety

Children’s safety is our priority.  To this end, we have licensed the majority of our sites with the State of NH Child Care Licensing Bureau. All of our programs follow strict protocols for staff screening and training as well, including:

• The organization conducts FBI Fingerprint Background Checks on every staff member and volunteer that interacts with members. The only exception to this rule are one-time volunteers who come only once for storytelling, artwork, etc. with a staff monitor.
• The organization prohibits staff members from being alone with one minor, including at service sites, bus rides to and from the Club, mentoring services, etc.
• The organization generally prohibits a staff member from being alone with a child in the bathroom with the door closed. However, some instances may require a staff member to assist children with bathroom needs.
• All staff receive training on preventing sexual harassment, sexual grooming, and recognizing the signs of child sexual abuse.
• All staff receive and are responsible for reviewing policies and procedures, including the employee toolkit, policy manual, safety manual, and child protection policy.
• The organization requires all program staff to complete professional development each year.

24-hour Toll-free Child Safety Hotline

We encourage all staff, members and families to report any incident or situation they feel is unsafe.  Praesidium, one of the nation’s leading safety experts, provides Boys & Girls Club members and staff with access to a confidential 24-hour toll-free Child Safety Hotline, 866-607-SAFE (7233) or email SafeClub@Praesidiuminc.com.

Required Immediate Reporting

Boys & Girls Clubs of Central and Northern New Hampshire staff and volunteers are all mandated reporters.  As a result, the law requires us to report any critical incident/safety concern to local authorities immediately. In addition, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America requires us to report any incident within 24 hours.

Mandatory Annual Safety Assessments

We complete a safety assessment each year to ensure we continually make improvements to safety at our Clubs.

Safety Committee

A dedicated safety committee provides input and guidance on local policies and safety strategies at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central and Northern NH.

Mandatory Employee Reference

Any employee interested in moving to another Boys & Girls Club is required to have a reference from the previous Club, even if the Clubs are within the same community.

State and Local Laws

We comply with federal, state and local safety laws, including those impacting facilities and vehicles.

Safety Partnerships

Nationally, Boys & Girls Clubs of America works with leading experts in the areas of safety, security and technology to develop state-of-the-art solutions for Clubs. Partners include:

• National Child Safety Advisory Task Force, made up of leading experts and organizations
• Blue Ribbon Taskforce, comprised of local Club leaders charged with providing input on the safety direction and key safety initiatives
• Mental Health First Aid, a national program that teaches skills to recognize and respond to signs of mental illness and substance abuse
• Crisis Text Line, a confidential text message service for youth in times of crisis

Nationally, Boys & Girls Clubs of America has advocated the passage of the U.S. PROTECT Act, which improved background screening systems and access. The national organization has also partnered with the FBI, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the Centers for Disease Control to contribute to the development of safety practices that benefit ALL youth-serving organizations.

More Information

America’s young people deserve nothing less than our constant focus on their safety and our firm commitment to protect every child who is entrusted to our care at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central and Northern New Hampshire. To learn more about our national safety policies and actions, please visit Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Child Safety page, here.

Click to hear from our CEO Chris Emond on the importance of safety. Safety Video

Safety concerns can also be directly reported to Chris Emond, CEO (603-568-0923), and the president of the board of directors.

On February 8, 2018 NH adopted Senate Bill 247 “Prevention of Childhood Lead Poisoning from Paint and Water.” This law requires, among other actions, that all schools and licensed childcare facilities test for lead in drinking water at all locations where water is available for consumption by children. In accordance with this the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Hampshire conducted these tests in June of 2019. We uploaded the data collected to the NH DES and is available here for the following sites: Bradley Street, Lakes Region and Suncook facilities. There will also be paper copies posted on site.

The other facilities that are in use by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central and Northern New Hampshire and its extension units are located in schools and can be found on the individual school district websites:

Concord School District SAU # 8 – Broken Ground/Mill Brook, Christa McAuliffe, Eastman

Franklin School District SAU # 18 – Franklin

Kearsarge School District SAU # 65 – Warner, Sutton

Weare School District SAU # 24 – Weare

Andover School District SAU # 46 – Andover

Holderness School District SAU # 48 – Holderness

or at the NH DES website.