The following documents are intended for UNG Minors Program/Activity leaders and staff to serve as best practices on key areas of creating and managing safe and effective programs. Program/Activity Administrators must recognize that all Programs/Activities are unique, and these best practices may or may not apply equally to each Program/Activity.
In addition to these guides please also review information on Programs Serving Non-Enrolled Minors, including forms and other resources.
For more information on best practices or requests for additional guidance, contact the Office of Compliance
Ensuring the safety of minors and always providing effective supervision should be the primary concern of program administrators. Implementing strong accountability procedures is a key step towards safe program operations. All program staff should be properly trained on accountability and supervision requirements.
Effective communication within programs is critical to safely run operations. Communication needs to occur up, across, down, and out to external organizations and individuals. A culture of continuous communication is key to well-run minors programs.
All programs should be prepared to handle situations where minors violate the Participant Code of Conduct. Minors, for various reasons, may act inappropriately, including disrespectful actions and words towards fellow program participants and/or staff or bullying behavior. Programs should have procedures in place to handle discipline correctly.
All minors programs should have some degree of medical preparation and training as part of their program planning. At a minimum staff should understand basic first aid responses and have access to a first aid kit. More extensive training and plans should be implemented for residential or extended day programs.
Medication management should be considered for all minors programs, especially overnight programs where participants share rooms. This ensures the overall safety of minor participants by limiting the sharing or taking of someone else’s medication. There are several measures programs can implement to ensure all medication is taken appropriately and that medication usage is recorded.
There are many medical and legal aspects to medication management that program administrators should be aware of; if assistance is needed, contact the Assistant Director of Compliance at universitycompliance@ung.edu
Misconduct Reporting is critical to safe programming. It is essential that all program staff, participants, and parents/guardians understand misconduct reporting and the process to make a report. Staff especially should be observant for any potential misconduct within the program and be vigilant in reporting.
Effective communication and interaction with parents/guardians should be a component of all minors program planning. Pre-program information, as well as updates during programs on significant incidents, are critical elements of successful operations. Effective parental engagement will result in much smoother program operations.
Many programs involve minors staying overnight at a university residence hall. Residential program planning and supervision are critical to program safety. Ensuring the overall well-being of minors during evening and overnight hours should be a key component of planning.
Programs should develop well planned safety and security procedures to ensure the well-being of minor participants. Safety and security can encompass many areas from accountability of minors to awareness of potential internal and external risks to program participants. Program administrators should develop effective plans, document plans, and train all program staff on their role in safety and security areas.
All staff and minor participants should know who to notify in the event of a significant safety or security event, including program and department leadership and, if needed, UNG Police or other emergency response authorities
While criminal history background investigations are a key component of staff hiring and are required by the Programs and Activities Serving Minors Policy, programs should also utilize other methods to ensure potential staff and volunteers are properly screened appropriate to the level of contact they are expected to have with minors. Effective screening options are provided below.
One of the keys to a well-managed and safely run minors program is effective staff training. Program leaders need to ensure that program plans and procedures are effectively communicated to all staff so that program safety is maintained at all times. Whether programs are for a few hours or weeklong and residential, staff training should be incorporated into program plans.
These are the minimum requirements for all UNG minors programs but should not be considered the only training required.
Programs that provide transportation to minors should ensure they are following all UNG motor vehicle use requirements. Additionally, all program staff who drive or ride in vehicles with minors should perform their duties in a safe manner at all times.