Standards for Working with Youth

The following guidelines represent broadly accepted standards of care for youth.  Deviation from these best practices requires clearly documented justification and approval from the program sponsor or department head. See Appendix C for current Youth Safety Standards of Behavior Form.

  1. Employees and volunteers who perform functions or duties that regularly require interaction with minors in a private setting or without direct supervision on-site must successfully complete a criminal history check through OSU’s Office of Human Resources. A link to the form can be found in Appendix A.
  1. Employees and volunteers who meet the above criteria and work with youth on an ongoing basis must have a new criminal history check every two years.
  1. Faculty, staff, and volunteers who work with youth must have adequate training to perform their duties. Adequate training will vary depending on the duties of the position. For more information and examples, see the Orientation and Training section of this manual.
  1. The use of physical contact for disciplinary measures is NOT allowed.
  1. All youth program faculty, staff and volunteers are required to report suspected child abuse. See the Responding to Suspected Child Abuse section of this manual.
  1. Registered Sex Offenders (RSOs) are NOT allowed to have contact with youth in the context of a university activity. See Appendix A – Conditions of Volunteer Service.
  1. Sponsoring units must register youth activities with the Office of Youth Safety & Compliance. The Youth Program Registry can be accessed at youth.oregonstate.edu/register.

content edited 10-23-2019