Policy for the safety and protection of minors

What is Required by This Policy

This Policy is designed to promote the safety of minors in all areas owned or operated by MassArt. It includes procedures for the reporting of suspected or actual abuse or neglect to the MassArt Public Safety Department. It also requires training and CORI/SORI checks on all newly hired employees, including contract employees; and student employees and volunteers working directly with minors. All third parties bringing or hosting minors on campus must sign a contract attesting to certain safeguards, including CORI screening, of those employees, contractors, representatives, and volunteers working with children on the MassArt Campus.

This Policy establishes minimum expectations for:

• Background checks for employees and volunteers working directly with minors;
• Education of MassArt Community members about recognizing abuse of minors;
• Minimum standards of conduct for interacting with minors attending MassArt programs;
• Reporting of incidents and knowledge of abuse of minors;
• Guidelines for operation of MassArt programs that involve minors; and
• Consequences associated with policy violations and false reporting.

A. Education of community members about recognizing abuse of minors.

In instances where a MassArt employee works with minors as part of their position, they must be trained to work with minors. This training shall include: recommended guidelines for interacting with minors; warning signs for child abuse or neglect; and a review of the process for reporting incidents and knowledge of potential harm to minors, including their obligations as mandatory reporter by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and pursuant to this Policy.

B. Reporting of incidents and knowledge of abuse of minors

Any employee who, in the course of their employment, works or interacts with any minor and suspects the minor participating in any MassArt-sponsored or affiliated program/activity has been abused or neglected, for the purposes of this Policy, is a mandatory reporter and shall take the following step: Contact Law Enforcement: If on campus, notify the MassArt Department of Public Safety immediately at 617-879-7800. If away from the MassArt main campus, call 911 or local law enforcement, and then follow up by notifying MassArt Public Safety. In both cases, if at all possible, one should remain with the minor until help arrives.

Contacting the MassArt Department of Public Safety should always occur when someone knows, suspects, or receives information that a minor participating in any MassArt-sponsored or affiliated program/activity may be at risk of suspected abuse or neglect. Concerns may include a specific incident that occurred on/off campus involving suspicion of abuse or neglect.

C. Consequences associated with policy violations and false reporting.

Failure to comply with the provisions of this Policy and any related campus procedures may result in cancellation of a program or event and/or discipline in accordance with MassArt policies. MassArt may also take necessary interim actions before determining whether a violation has occurred. MassArt reserves the right to terminate relationships or take other appropriate actions against non-College entities that violate this Policy. Knowingly making a false report under this Policy, or knowingly providing false or intentionally misleading information during an investigation, may also result in discipline in accordance with MassArt policies and in accordance with relevant collective bargaining agreements.

D. College-Sponsored Programs Involving Minors

All College sponsored Programs involving the participation of minors must comply with these terms and conditions, as well as any other applicable requirements of federal, state or local laws or regulations. The Program Director or designee of all Programs in which minors will participate, whether located on or

off-campus, has responsibility to promulgate written program procedures identifying the following:

• Program staff serving as authorized adults; including a program director;
• Process for ensuring program staff background checks are complete;
• Procedures for notification of parents, legal guardians or emergency contacts of participants in the event of an emergency;
• Systems for authorization for transport for emergency medical treatment if necessary;
• Plan for adequate program staff supervision of minors in light of the number and average age of participants, the program activity/location and whether overnight accommodations are involved;
• Under what circumstances a minor would be unescorted and process for sharing information about unstructured or unsupervised time made with parents or legal guardians; procedures for pick-up and drop-off of participants, including time/location/individuals authorized to pick-up the minor; and
• Any other specific procedure necessary to protect the safety of minors participating in the MassArt program.

For programs providing transportation of participants by program staff to the Campus or other sites, the program staff member must have a valid driver’s license. Under no circumstances shall program staff be permitted to be alone with a minor in a car or other vehicle.

E. Policy Definitions:

Minors: are persons under the age of 18 who are not: admitted and matriculated at MassArt as a student; or employed by or volunteering at the College. The terms “minors” and “children” are used interchangeably in this Policy.

Mandatory Reporter: For the purposes of this Policy, a mandatory reporter is any employee who, in the course of their employment, works or interacts with any minor at any time.

Authorized adults: means an individual, age 18 and older, paid or unpaid, who supervises, chaperones, or otherwise works with minors in MassArt program activities or College recreational or residential facilities. Authorized Adults include but are not limited to College employees, student employees, volunteers, graduate and undergraduate students, interns, personnel provided by temporary agencies, and independent contractors/consultants.