FIRST Youth Protection Program

[Tungrus]

"It's not me! I think it's the other guy!" or "It's not me! Oh! it's the other guy!"

Well, since this happens every time there is a bad situation, I would rather have that "other guy" checked out well before something bad happens! If I want the other guy checked out, what are the chances that the "other guy" must be thinking same about me? So why not check out everyone and make sure that the kids that we take responsibility to inspire and be a role model, are safe? I cannot suspect everyone, and also cannot trust everyone! End of the day I just don't want any kid to go through any kind of abuse.

About information sharing, yes, my personal information is all around the world, unfortunately! But I am not willing to give a blanket permission for everyone to share (not sure how to stop them sharing though). But I considered FIRST as our FIRST, and I expect them to not share personal info except for the third party background checking. I think that's what FIRST intended (I don't see any reason why FIRST will sell it to telemarketers or scammers), wording is probably coming from lawyer. Also I hope that FIRST ensures the third party is not going to misuse our information.

About team members signing up, did anyone notice that main or alt contact must invite the parents and they would in turn do some magic to allow students to sign up, or was it just me that got tired of reading that stuff?

[FrankJ]

Yes one of the contacts has to invite kids & parents. Parent must register & consent before the kid can register. Every year. Not new. It has to do with the waiver not so much the YP.

[Daniel_LaFleur]

Originally Posted by mklinker

How many students being molested by an Adult is too many?

One is too many

Originally Posted by mklinker

Do you really think that this has never happened in FIRST?

I doubt many here believe that this has never happened in FIRST.

Originally Posted by mklinker

Is it really not worth your time to further guarantee the safety of the youth involved?

Nothing in the YPP guarantees the safety of the youths involved. The YPP protects FIRST from some lawsuits, nothing more.

Originally Posted by mklinker

Yes, the video is long and asking for your SSN in intrusive but the SSN is what is used to do a limited criminal history check. This has been done in other youth organizations for some time (Boy Scouts for example). Ask BSA how much it cost them when they did NOT have a solid youth protection program implemented.

For those concerned with the selling of data the opt out process is simple.

SSNs are, by law, not to be used as a national ID. They are to be used only for tax and employment reasons.

And as far as selling of my personal information goes ... it is my information to give. I should inform someone when they can use it (opt in), not have to tell someone when they cannot use it (opt out).

I've had many background checks in my time. Never have I had one where I've had to opt out of allowing them to use it for solicitation. FIRST has, while trying to protect itself, sold out it's greatest resource ... the mentors.

JM(NS)HO

[mklinker]

Originally Posted by Daniel_LaFleur

Nothing in the YPP guarantees the safety of the youths involved. The YPP protects FIRST from some lawsuits, nothing more.
JM(NS)HO

Really? The training discusses safety for both the student AND the mentor. I suggest watching the video once again. YP training ALSO protects FIRST from some lawsuits and also provides you a small amount of protection as well. More importantly following the suggested guidelines will protect students and prevent you from being falsely accused of inappropriate behaviors. In addition, the youth protection programs makes it harder for known offenders to gain access to the youth.

[jee7s]

I'm going to join the cynic choir here:

The FIRST YPP is a largely redundant program designed to protect FIRST from lawsuits, as others have said. Most of the organizations that sponsor teams (schools, 4H, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc) have these programs and safety mechanisms already in place. YPP covers FIRST for things that may (but hopefully never will) happen at events and establishes those same guidelines for teams that don't have sponsoring organizations that already implement those practices.

I do agree the opt-out mechanism is really out of line. When I've needed a background check for employment or other legitimate reasons, every form I've signed includes some language like "the information you provide here will only be used to verify your background for the purposes of the offer of employment." I didn't have to check a box to tell them to not use it for other purposes. And until I had to fill out the W-4 and I-9, I didn't hand over my social security number either.

Practically speaking, YPP can't be doing nearly as thorough a job as the individual sponsoring organizations can do. If I had to guess, it's a cursory criminal and arrest record check. Organizations I have dealt with in the past both as an employee and volunteer had me verify addresses going back to my 18th birthday, and called up every job and educational institution I had attended to make sure I had actually been there. That's the value in the background check: Verify the person's story, and if it doesn't align ask more questions. The cost to do that at a FIRST-wide level would be huge.

So FIRST, please cover yourself legally. But don't pitch it to us like there's any benefit in it for mentors and volunteers.

[Daniel_LaFleur]

Originally Posted by mklinker

Really? The training discusses safety for both the student AND the mentor. I suggest watching the video once again. YP training ALSO protects FIRST from some lawsuits and also provides you a small amount of protection as well. More importantly following the suggested guidelines will protect students and prevent you from being falsely accused of inappropriate behaviors. In addition, the youth protection programs makes it harder for known offenders to gain access to the youth.

discussing safety and guaranteeing safety are two very different things.

Do I believe that a background check is a good idea? Yes, I do, and I'd be concerned if a team did NOT ask for one.
Do I think that the YPP training is a good idea? again yes, it provides a good starting point and informs novice mentors about things that they need to think about (and hopefully never have to deal with).
Does it guarantee a students safety? no, no canned program will.

[Mr V]

One thing that everyone needs to know is that you do not have to give your SSN. That is one thing that they covered in everyone of the sessions on the YPP at the Global Community Conference this year.

Also the secondary contact does not have to be someone who is present at all the meetings. In the case of teams that have a sole coach they suggested that the secondary contact could be someone like a vice principal if you are at a school.

Yes one of the reasons for the YPP is to protect FIRST but following the guidelines can protect us as mentors too. If you are one on one with a student it will be your word against his or hers if the student or their parents were to make unfounded accusations. It is also nice to know that your fellow mentors have also had their background checked.

YPP is long overdue so I welcome it despite the inconveniences it causes. I'd rather thousands of us be inconvenienced than one bad person slipping through and something happening. Will it prevent something from happening? No but it will minimize the possibility that something does.

One of the interesting things they shared at the Global Community Conference is that about 40% of the people who had signed up at that point were willing to pay the $2.50 themselves instead of letting FIRST do so.

[Andrew Schuetze]

I will add to the chorus that the simple fact that FIRST has established a YPP program and requires mentors/volunteers to be screened does indeed have a small deterrent effect. Does screening make the risk = 0 not at all. Does it help, YES. Does the YPP program include more than screening = yes and more benefit comes from having all mentors and volunteers raising their awareness level.

Here is just one website which supports what FIRST is doing and my claims of just the fact of having a YPP is an overt act of importance.
http://www.mentoring.org/program_res...kground_checks

Informing Prospective Volunteers

Whatever screening tools you choose, always make sure from the start that prospective volunteers know what you require of them. Have a written checklist that you present to volunteers detailing each of the steps they will need to go through. Often, simply having a thorough screening process in place, including a criminal background check, can act as a deterrent against those individuals who may wish to harm a child.

Some prospective volunteers may seem very eager to join your program, but never complete your screening process. There are many reasons why a volunteer might decide not to mentor. Perhaps they are too busy to fill out the forms; they may have decided that mentoring was not right for them; or they may be embarrassed about having a criminal record. Regardless of the reason, every volunteer should complete every one of your screening tools successfully to be considered for your program.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Daniel_LaFleur

SSNs are, by law, not to be used as a national ID. They are to be used only for tax and employment reasons.

And as far as selling of my personal information goes ... it is my information to give. I should inform someone when they can use it (opt in), not have to tell someone when they cannot use it (opt out).

I've had many background checks in my time. Never have I had one where I've had to opt out of allowing them to use it for solicitation. FIRST has, while trying to protect itself, sold out it's greatest resource ... the mentors.

JM(NS)HO

SSN are not even unique. So it's entirely possible that the check comes up wrong anyway.

I've gone through many background checks and I also second that there's never been a case where I have to tell them that they can't sell my information to people.

[XaulZan11]

If this applies to all mentors, then it will be extremely difficult for former students to come back and mentor their teams until all their friends have graduated.

[Steven Donow]

Originally Posted by XaulZan11

If this applies to all mentors, then it will be extremely difficult for former students to come back and mentor their teams until all their friends have graduated.

Not necessarily, per the document linked in the original post:

Many schools and organizations hosting FIRST programs
already have effective youth protection programs in place.
The conditions in which a particular team operates may be
so unique that applying all provisions of the FIRST YPP is
not necessary or feasible, and alternative measures may
be more effective. Under either of these circumstances,
team Lead Coaches/Mentors may interpret and apply the
recommendations in a manner that best fits their situation
and best protects their team members from injury.

also

Engaging a child in activities that are not related to
the FIRST program, educational matters, or career
concerns; or spending personal time with a child
outside of FIRST program activities (unless the adult is
a family member or family friend).

Unless I missed something (I just quickly skimmed through most of the document), I don't see anything required that would forbid/restrict that.

[who716]

does anyone thing this will make some mentors walk and frankly step away from FIRST.. I know at-least one Mentor is

[Mrcope9]

Originally Posted by who716

does anyone thing this will make some mentors walk and frankly step away from FIRST.. I know at-least one Mentor is

To a minimal degree, yes it will. Our team lost a lot of seniors this year. The ones that stayed in town for college definetly want to come back and mentor. As I am a senior now, i am very close friends with them. With YPP, i don't know what they'll do, but it's none of my business. If you ask me, it's just more proof that lawyers run the world, waiting to sue someone at every moment. Will alot of mentors leave FIRST?- probably not. I give them respect for keeping kids safe, but i just hope it doesn't get out of control. We'll see as time goes on.

[Jon Stratis]

Many teams already have something in place similar to YPP - I know the school ran a full background check on me and had required youth protection training I had to go through to become a mentor. When it comes to the mentors with my team (9 of us currently), YPP doesn't make a difference at all.

Will we lose mentors and volunteers? Yes. When you ask a large group of people for background checks, some will inevitably opt out, for a wide variety of reasons. They may feel the background check is too invasive. They may have something in their past they think would disqualify them. They may just be too lazy to fill out the paperwork. It may seem to them like doing it is a big hassle for everyone, and go back and re-evaluate their ability to commit their time.

I don't think we'll lose all that many, to be honest. Most mentors I've meet with teams are fully involved and really dedicated. They may grumble and groan, but they'll fill out the paperwork and then get caught back up in the build season and forget all about it. Where this probably comes more into play is with recruiting new members. Telling someone up front that there's a background check involved can be a deterrent, and one that people may find harder to overcome if they haven't already "drunk the cool-aid" by being involved for a season.

[PayneTrain]

The YPP is like going to the doctor to get your shots as a kid. It's going to sting a little and you'll go in kicking and screaming, but if you want to play with the other kids (larger, wider reaching organizations) and be healthy, you need to sit through it.

If anything going through the process as an alternate contact made me wonder a)why this hasn't been done sooner and b) why some people seem unaccustomed to these practices working in a school-based environment (which a lot of mentors do).

The idea of having to opt-out of my personal information is silly, but it is what it is. It's not something worthy of pontificating over when there are so many worthwhile topics directly, instead of tangentially, related to FIRST the community can easily beat to death.