An Adult Sponsor is an adult participant who attends an event with specific youth and is responsible for supporting those youth at the event. An adult sponsor can sponsor up to the number of youth that meets the youth adult ratio (generally 1 adult to 7 youth....

A process for restoring right relationship should be in place for every youth event. Rather than viewing this through the lens of “punishment” this should be viewed in service of restoring community safety and wholeness. This may include temporary or permanent restrictions. See Appendix for...

All events shall have a designated team, e.g. Spirit Committee or Spirit Corps, responsible for assisting the community at youth focused events in maintaining their community norms (or covenant) and adhering to the rules and behavioral expectations....

Youth have the right to expect confidentiality of their personal stories except in cases where expanding confidentiality is needed to protect youth. This norm is expressed in most event covenants and is something UUA staff and event leaders must hold up. In particular, if a youth participant...

Changes in legal status Increased legal consequences for sexual crimes Increased consequences in UUA programs for sexual misconduct Social changes entering adult world and the change in perception of younger youth’s parents Status as a role model for younger youth, both positively and negatively...

Event orientation must cover at a minimum these items: Inclusion Consensual touch including affirmative consent Recognizing and speaking up when behavior becomes sexualized* Bullying and harassment No retaliation - expressing concerns and complaints is encouraged Limits of confidentiality Medicat...

Training, at least annually, for youth and adult leaders must include their responsibilities for their own personal conduct and these areas: Reporting responsibilities regarding child abuse and harm to self and others as required by the applicable state laws Bullying and harassment policy and...

UUA staff may remove or restrict, temporarily or permanently, any youth from UUA leadership positions if that youth volunteer is deemed no longer safe or appropriate for that role. The reasons for any temporary or permanent removal or any other terms of restriction will be documented and...

For youth involved in a local UU congregation or covenanted community, youth must be endorsed to register at regional and national/international youth events by a religious professional or designated lay leader. The local UU community knows the youth best and therefore knows best if the youth is...

Youth must be active in a UU congregation or covenanted community and be of youth age range (see below). Age Range for “Youth” ‘Youth’ are defined as those in high school grades 9-12 or the equivalent for homeschooled youth. For the purposes of its programs, the UUA defines “youth” as...

Adult orientations at youth events must cover the following areas: Adult role at event Adult responsibilities as sponsor to youth Adult physical and social boundaries with youth Adult supervision responsibilities Any special supervision responsibilities because of guests or off-site trips Actions...

All adults participating in a youth focused event must meet these qualifications. An Adult Sponsor is an adult participant who attends an event with specific youth and is responsible for supporting those youth at the event....

Programs must have an incident report form available to event leaders. Incident reports must be submitted to the UUA staff responsible for the program. The UUA staff are responsible for maintaining secure storage of incident reports, notifying other UUA staff as needed, and providing appropriate...

This applies to youth in formal leadership positions, such as those selected or elected ahead of time as well as leadership positions where a youth has formal oversight over other youth, directs other youth leaders, formally mentors other youth, or has access to sensitive information about other...

The UUA reserves the right to restrict or remove, temporarily or permanently, any adult from contact with youth at UUA events if it determines that the adult worker is no longer suitable for work with youth....

Adults, who are responsible for youth or on-call, should not consume or be impaired by alcohol or other substances that impair functioning for the duration of the event or tenure of their responsibility. This includes not showing up impaired from previous consumption.

Background check requests should include a letter which clarifies that a criminal history is not an automatic disqualification for working with youth, but rather is the opening of conversation about the meaning of the offense and its relationship to youth ministry (e.g. convictions for civil...