Step 4: Determine Policies and Procedures
Develop written policies and procedures that address the following:
Sexual Misconduct: Policies and procedures that prevent as well as remediate sexual misconduct. Policies should at minimum address appropriate touch, isolation of adults with students, the training of volunteers, background checks, and reporting (Resource Available Below—Sexual Misconduct Policies and Procedures and Training Manual)
Volunteer Training: Policies and procedures that create expectations for volunteer involvement (Resource Available Below—Policies for Working with Children and Youth).
Parental Engagement: Although programs can be offered free of charge, a holistic afterschool program is more effective when it engages parents through volunteerism and monthly meetings. Consider placing a small weekly monetary fee for students to participate. Parents can be exempt from the fee by volunteering (i.e. $10 fee per student per week; $5 exemption per volunteer hour). Additionally, engage parents by creating clear communication through monthly parent meetings. Find creative ways to incentivize participation in these meetings (Resource Available Below—Afterschool Handbook).
Emergency Action Procedures: Create policies and procedures in the event of an emergency. Consider requiring first-aid/CPR certification for at least one adult leader. Create incident reports to document any incident (Resource Available Beloiw—Emergency Action Manual).
Pick-up and dismissal: Develop policies and procedures for students to arrive and dismiss from the program. For after school programs, consider not allowing students to arrive or be dismissed on their own, but instead, pick up students from school and require parents to pick up from the program. Requiring a parent to pick-up provides another opportunity to increase parental engagement. Develop a system to ensure student is only dismissed to individuals with permission to pick-up (Resource Available Below—Afterschool Handbook & Sports Camp Policies and Procedures).
Resources Available
**Sample resource materials are available for all bold items. Materials are branded with Graffiti 2 Community Ministries’ logos and location-specific information. These materials can be reproduced or serve as a starting point in developing materials specific for the local ministry or church.**
**Sample resource materials are branded with Graffiti 2 Community Ministries’ logo and location-specific information. These materials can be reproduced or serve as a starting point in developing materials specific for the local ministry or church**