Our Commitment to Child Safety at Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Shore
The safety and well-being of young people is our top priority here at Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Shore. We believe that mentorship changes lives and ensuring a safe space is fundamental to our programming.
Relationship Between Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada and the Agencies
Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies are independent charities operating within a federation structure. Agencies provide programming directly to children and families in their local communities. All Agencies are members of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada.
BBBS of Canada is a federally registered charity that provides services to agencies, which includes assessing each agency for compliance with BBBSC National Standards.
National Standards
The National Standards are formal guidelines designed to ensure agencies provide quality programming, while protecting young people from harm. The standards are informed by peer-reviewed research, legislation and decades of practical experience. Standards describe the requirements for programming and child safety practices, which include ⬇️;
Comprehensive Screening
➡️ Every agency volunteer, staff member, and board member must undergo an extensive screening process, including interviews, references, and police record checks with vulnerable sector screening.
Training
➡️ All program participants must receive mandatory child safety and youth development training prior to being matched.
Monitoring/Support
➡️ Each match is closely monitored and supported by our professional caseworkers. Regularly scheduled check-ins ensure the matches remain safe, healthy, and beneficial to all participants.
Qualifications
➡️ All staff responsible for monitoring and supporting matches must have related education and experiences to fill the responsibilities of their position as a Mentor Coordinator.
Clear Policies and Reporting Procedures
➡️ Clear policies for reporting any concerns, ensuring that all children, families, volunteers and staff understand how to recognize, prevent and respond to unsafe situations.
Quality Assurance
The BBBS of Canada Quality Assurance Department oversees the Standards and how they are applied locally. Each agency follows a full, four-year Quality Assurance review cycle, which measures compliance with the standards.
Additionally, critical elements related to child safety are monitored annually and continuously throughout the four-year cycle. Any compliance issues identified in the review cycle are reported to the senior leadership of both the agency and BBBSC, along with requirements for improvement.
Our goal is to work together when resolving issues. If any issues have the potential to affect child safety, Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Shore will take swift action to suspend programming while the issues are corrected.
Reporting
A report of suspected abuse in our programming will result in the suspension of the match by the local agency. It also initiates an immediate notification to the relevant authorities, which may include the local Child Protection agency and/or police department.
➡️ If you suspect abuse is occurring to a child enrolled in Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Shore agency programming, please contact us.
➡️ If you have questions about our child safety measures or our quality assurance process, please contact us.
➡️ If you would like to learn more about the child safety practices at Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Shore, please contact us.