Purpose
Love Well Spent is committed to creating safe, respectful, and supportive experiences for the children, youth, families, volunteers, educators, and community members who participate in or interact with our programs.
Because Love Well Spent serves children and families, we recognize our responsibility to protect children and vulnerable individuals from abuse, exploitation, neglect, harassment, and other forms of harm.
This policy establishes expectations for staff, board members, volunteers, contractors, facilitators, and others acting on behalf of Love Well Spent.
Scope
This policy applies to Love Well Spent:
- employees and contractors;
- board members;
- volunteers and interns;
- program facilitators and educators;
- consultants and partner representatives acting on behalf of Love Well Spent; and
- other individuals given direct access to children or vulnerable individuals through an LWS program or activity.
The policy applies to in-person activities as well as virtual programs, email, messaging, video conferencing, social media, telephone communication, service-learning activities, and other digital interactions conducted on behalf of LWS.
Our Safeguarding Principles
The safety and well-being of a child or vulnerable person takes priority over organizational reputation, convenience, or program operations.
Participants will be treated respectfully regardless of ability, family structure, socioeconomic circumstances, educational approach, or other personal characteristics.
Reports and reasonable concerns about abuse, neglect, exploitation, harassment, or unsafe conduct will not be dismissed or ignored.
LWS personnel should document and appropriately report concerns, but should not attempt to conduct their own investigation into suspected abuse.
Access to minors, personal information, family records, and sensitive program data will be limited to people who need that access to perform their responsibilities.
Parents and legal guardians are important partners in maintaining safe participation for minors.
Appropriate Conduct With Minors
Adults acting on behalf of Love Well Spent are expected to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with minors.
Whenever reasonably possible:
- parents or guardians should be aware of direct interactions with their child;
- activities involving minors should occur in observable or accountable environments;
- communication should occur through approved LWS channels;
- private one-to-one digital communication with a minor should be avoided unless a parent or guardian is included or has expressly authorized the communication;
- physical contact, if any, must be appropriate to the activity and never sexual, coercive, secretive, or exploitative; and
- photographs, video, testimonials, names, or identifying information involving minors may only be used with appropriate parent or guardian permission.
Prohibited Conduct
No person acting on behalf of Love Well Spent may:
- abuse, neglect, exploit, threaten, bully, harass, or discriminate against a child;
- engage in sexual conduct or sexually suggestive communication with a minor;
- develop or encourage secret relationships with minors;
- ask a child to conceal communications or interactions from a parent, guardian, or Love Well Spent;
- exchange sexually explicit or otherwise inappropriate images or content;
- use corporal punishment;
- provide alcohol, illegal drugs, or other inappropriate substances to minors;
- transport or meet privately with a minor outside authorized program activities without appropriate permission;
- use a participant’s personal circumstances for personal, financial, or sexual gain; or
- retaliate against anyone who raises a safeguarding concern in good faith.
Digital Safety
Because much of Love Well Spent’s work involves technology and remote communication, digital safeguarding is particularly important.
LWS personnel should use organization-approved communication methods whenever practical. Communications with minors must be program-related, appropriate, and transparent.
Passwords, application records, addresses, disability-related information, financial-hardship information, photographs, and other sensitive information collected through LWS programs must only be accessed or shared for legitimate program purposes.
Personal information about children and families must not be posted publicly or shared with donors, volunteers, partners, or other families unless appropriate permission has been obtained or disclosure is otherwise authorized or required by law.
Screening & Volunteer Placement
Love Well Spent will assess safeguarding risk based on the responsibilities of each staff or volunteer role.
Roles involving direct, recurring, unsupervised, or otherwise significant access to minors may require additional safeguards, including:
- application and identity verification;
- reference checks;
- interviews;
- background screening where appropriate and legally permissible;
- safeguarding orientation or training; and
- additional supervision.
Not every volunteer role requires direct interaction with children. Whenever possible, LWS will design volunteer opportunities so individuals receive only the level of access necessary to perform their role.
Reporting a Safeguarding Concern
Anyone acting on behalf of Love Well Spent who observes, receives a disclosure of, or reasonably suspects abuse, neglect, exploitation, or another serious safeguarding concern should act promptly.
If a child or vulnerable person appears to be in immediate danger, contact 911 or the appropriate emergency authority.
The individual should also notify the LWS Safeguarding Lead as soon as reasonably possible.
What to document
Record factual information, including what was observed or disclosed, when it occurred, who was involved, and any immediate action taken.
What not to do
Personnel should not attempt to investigate the allegation themselves, confront the alleged offender, or repeatedly question the child.
Love Well Spent will cooperate with child protective services, law enforcement, and other appropriate authorities.
Mandatory Reporting
Child-abuse reporting requirements vary by jurisdiction.
Love Well Spent staff, volunteers, contractors, and representatives must comply with applicable federal, state, and local reporting requirements, including any mandatory reporting obligations that apply because of their profession, role, location, or circumstances.
Reporting a concern to Love Well Spent does not replace a report to child protective services or law enforcement when reporting is required by law. No individual should delay a legally required report while waiting for approval from Love Well Spent.
Responding to Allegations
When Love Well Spent receives a safeguarding allegation or serious concern, the organization may take immediate protective measures, including restricting or suspending an individual’s access to participants while the matter is addressed by the appropriate authorities.
Love Well Spent will not attempt to determine criminal guilt or conduct an investigation that should properly be performed by child protective services or law enforcement.
Information will be shared only with those who need it for safety, reporting, legal, insurance, or organizational responsibilities.
Non-Retaliation
Love Well Spent prohibits retaliation against anyone who raises a safeguarding concern or participates in a safeguarding process in good faith.
Knowingly making a deliberately false report may violate Love Well Spent policy. A concern that ultimately proves unsubstantiated is not considered a false report merely because it could not be confirmed.
Partner Organizations
When Love Well Spent works with schools, homeschool organizations, nonprofits, churches, technology partners, service-learning sites, or other community organizations, each organization remains responsible for complying with applicable safeguarding and reporting requirements.
For activities involving direct interaction with minors, Love Well Spent may require partners to demonstrate appropriate safeguarding practices or agree to applicable LWS safeguarding expectations.
Training
Individuals whose LWS roles involve direct or recurring interaction with minors will receive safeguarding information appropriate to their responsibilities.
Training may include:
- recognizing possible abuse or neglect;
- appropriate adult-child boundaries;
- digital communication practices;
- responding when a child discloses a concern;
- reporting procedures;
- confidentiality; and
- role-specific safeguarding risks.
Confidentiality & Records
Safeguarding records will be handled as sensitive information and maintained with access limited to individuals with a legitimate need to know.
Confidentiality cannot be promised when disclosure is necessary to protect a person, comply with mandatory-reporting requirements, cooperate with authorities, or satisfy other legal obligations.
Policy Violations
Violations of this policy may result in removal from an activity, suspension or termination of volunteer responsibilities, termination of employment or contractual relationships, removal from program access, referral to appropriate authorities, or other action reasonably necessary to protect participants.
Policy Review
The Love Well Spent Board of Directors or its designee will review this policy at least annually and whenever significant changes occur in Love Well Spent’s programs, safeguarding risks, operations, or applicable requirements.
Material revisions will be reflected by the effective or last-updated date published with this policy.