Safety Policies & Procedures

As the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Holyoke operates programs that serve over 3,000 youth a year that run across 5 site locations in Holyoke, the Club’s absolute top priority is the safety of children. HBGC’s Child & Club Safety Team is composed of safety experts who provide support to local organizations on a variety of issues, including physical and emotional safety, facilities management, emergency management, child sexual abuse prevention, disaster preparedness and other child safety-related trainings. HBGC has taken extensive action to equip local Clubs to provide safe and secure environments for children, as outlined below.

SAFETY POLICIES: Boys & Girls Club of Greater Holyoke is required to have safety policies in place that protect youth, including, but not limited to, supervision, transportation, communication and prohibition of private one-on-one contact.

CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS: All Club employees and board volunteers must undergo an annual criminal background check, and all volunteers (including minors) who have direct, repetitive contact with children must also receive an annual background check. The requirement also applies to staff and volunteers from other organizations who may work in local Clubs as part of a partnership or collaboration.

REQUIRED MANDATED REPORTING: All staff are Mandated Reporters and are therefore required to report any suspected child abuse to Child Protective Services as well as any critical incident/safety concern to local authorities immediately. Within 24 hours, they are also required to report to BGCA. This enables the national organization to provide timely support and resources to ensure kids are safe.

TOLL-FREE CHILD SAFETY HOTLINE: Through our partnership with Praesidium, one of the nation’s leading safety experts, Boys & Girls Clubs of America provides a confidential, toll-free Child Safety Hotline to all current or previous Club staff, members or families to report any incident or situation in which they feel unsafe. To access the Child Safety Hotline, call 866-607-SAFE (7233) or email .

MANDATORY ANNUAL SAFETY ASSESSMENTS: Our Club is required to complete a safety assessment each year. If any concerns arise, Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s staff will take action to make recommendations, require changes or to provide additional support.

TRAINING: It is a membership requirement that all staff and volunteers of local Clubs are trained annually on the local Club’s required comprehensive safety policies. Additionally, all Club employees have access to a variety of safety trainings from BGCA and through partner organizations. Clubs participate in a wide variety of child safety training conducted through seminars, conferences, webinars and a semi-annual safety symposium.

NATIONAL CHILD SAFETY ADVISORY TASK FORCE: To ensure BGCA has leading expertise when shaping safety policy and practices, we established the National Child Safety Advisory Task Force, a panel of nationally recognized experts, researchers and thought leaders representing different areas of child safety and protection. The task force meets quarterly, including at least once a year in person, to provide advice and expertise to BGCA leadership and Child & Club Safety Team on safety trends, issues, initiatives and best practices, as well as review and give feedback on BGCA safety strategy.

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: All local Boys & Girls Clubs are required to comply with federal, state and local safety laws, including those impacting facilities and vehicles.

SAFETY PARTNERSHIPS: 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 our over 4,600 sites.

BGCA’s National Child Safety Advisory Task Force, a group of national multidisciplinary experts in various aspects of child safety and protection that meet quarterly to review and advise on national safety trends and BGCA’s safety strategies;
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; and
Crisis Text Line, a confidential text message service for youth in times of crisis.
Locally, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Holyoke partners with experts to review our safety plans and procedures including:
Holyoke Police Department
Holyoke Fire Department
Holyoke Hospital
Goss & McClain Insurance