All Programs involving Minors must register with the Protection of Minors Office, Equity and Access Services. EAS will assist you in determining whether the other requirements of the policy apply to your Program and, if not, provide recommended guidance. Good practices for activities with Minors are that they be 1) conducted in the presence of two or more university employees or adult Volunteers who are trained and authorized to interact with Minors, 2) in open and public environments, and 3) age and developmentally appropriate. Additional factors to consider in determining supervision requirements include the type of activity and age/experience of staff members. The American Camp Association Guidelines also provide good practices, including  ratios of staff to Minor participants. The wide variety of University and Non-University Programs involving Minors may necessitate Safety and Protection plans that go beyond the policy requirements in order to cater to the specific needs of a Program. 

See section 2(i) of the Safety and Protection of Minors on Campus policy.

Incidents and concerns can be reported through the VCU Integrity and Compliance Office at vcuhelpline.com.

Additional procedures concerning medical treatment, administration of medicines, emergency services, media photos & video releases and liability releases are available for consultation from Equity and Access Services upon request (email youth@vcu.edu). Some resources include the Center for Community Engagement and Impact’s Youth Programs Manual and this Program-Specific Safety & Protection Checklist. For additional resources related specifically to medical forms/procedures, consider the UVA Office of Youth Protection Resource Library (click on Health and Wellness in Youth Programs).

Yes, if you ever have One-on-One interaction with a Minor, then the policy applies to you. You must satisfy the requirements of the policy for a Tier I or Tier II Individual. Whether you are acting as a solo mentor with a Minor or as part of a group providing mentorships to Minors, the policy applies to you. If you are providing mentorships to Minors, register your activity with the Protection of Minors Office, Equity and Access Services.

You must register under the policy. However, you are exempt from the additional requirements of the policy if all of the following are true:               

1. You host shadowing more than once or for longer than a single eight-hour period;
2. You and the Minor remain within the sight and sound of other adults at all times.

If you provide more than one eight (8) hour shadowing opportunity, even to different Minors, then you will need to meet the requirements for a University Program, including registering with the Protection of Minors Office, Equity and Access Services. Those faculty/staff allowing shadowing will be identified as Tier I Individuals. 

Yes. If your Program involves Minors, and does not fit into one of the exceptions noted in the policy section, then the policy applies to you.

If Minors are eligible to participate in the Program, then you must prepare for the presence of Minors in compliance with the policy. Please consult with Equity and Access Services for further information regarding how to best proceed.

If you will be interacting with Minors outside of the presence of their parents,  legal guardians, or Chaperones then you must either be under the Direct Supervision of a Tier I or Tier II Individual or be appropriately screened and trained as a Tier I or Tier II Individual.

Contact Equity and Access Services via email at youth@vcu.edu.

Contact VCU Student Commons and Activities via email at uscaevent@vcu.edu or call (804) 828-9502. For Residential Life and Housing Conference Services, email conferences@vcu.edu or call 804-828-7666. For RecWell, contact recsportevent@vcu.edu or call 804-827-0321. Individual departments can be reached using the contact information on their respective websites.  

Information on conducting background checks is available through Equity and Access Services.

Additionally, when completing the Registration Form for a Program on our registration system, Ideal-Logic, you will be asked, What Background Check package does your Program use? Please use the following information to inform your response.

PLEASE NOTE: If you do not have a Sterling Volunteers account connected to your Program through Ideal-Logic during the registration process, there are additional steps to ensure background checks are entered into the system

We have an account with Sterling Volunteers

If you have a University Program

A list of potential Sterling Volunteer background check packages will appear on the registration form. Select the package applicable to your Program. This will prompt the system to connect with Sterling to send background check requests to Program Staff. Once the check is complete, it will automatically feed to Ideal-Logic. 

Please note, there is a 24 hour holding period for the connection to Sterling to allow for changes in Staff, etc. 

Additionally, if you have some Program Staff who have completed a background check already in the last two years that is not already reflected in the system, it would be best to advise them not to follow any emails from Sterling. Instead, you can reach out to youth@vcu.edu to provide their information and have it manually entered in the system. 

To request a background check be manually entered, the Program Supervisor and/or Activity Contact must email youth@vcu.edu with the following information:

• Program Staff member’s name
• Attestation that the background check they received fulfills the Safety and Protection of Minors on Campus policy requirements (includes at least both a multi-state criminal background check and National Sex Offender Registry screening)
• The name of the vendor that provided the background check
• The date the background check was completed

If you have an account with Sterling Volunteers that is not appearing on the list provided, please email youth@vcu.edu to troubleshoot.

If you have a Non-University Program

Select the background check package that applies to your Program. Once the registration is complete, email youth@vcu.edu to see if your Sterling Volunteers account can be connected to the Program on the backend. If it cannot, you will have the opportunity to provide the dates the checks were completed per Program Staff member so that the information can be manually entered into the system.

We need to create an account with Sterling Volunteers

To create an account with Sterling Volunteers, please follow the following steps:

• Email mary.mendoza@sterlingvolunteers.com stating your interest in Sterling Volunteers. Please include the following:
• Indicate that you are part of VCU
• Program supervisor's name
• Name of the program or activity
• Name of your department
• Sterling Volunteers will send an activation packet.
• Complete the required forms in the activation packet and return to Sterling Volunteers.
• Your account will be set up within 48 hours. You will receive a welcome email from Sterling Volunteers with your credentials and dates for web-based training sessions.

Once your account is created, email youth@vcu.edu to see if your Sterling Volunteers account can be connected to the Program on the backend. If it cannot, you will have the opportunity to provide the dates the checks were completed per Program Staff member so that the information can be manually entered into the system.

We have completed background checks through a different platform in the last two years (either through the VCU hiring process or another background check vendor).

If you have Program Staff who were hired by VCU in the last two years, or completed a background check through HireRight in the last two years, email the name(s) to youth@vcu.edu - we will be able to confirm the completion through HR.

If you have Program Staff who completed a background check through a different vendor in the last two years, email youth@vcu.edu to have it manually entered in the system.

To request a background check be manually entered, the Program Supervisor and/or Activity Contact must email youth@vcu.edu with the following information:

• Program Staff member’s name
• Attestation that the background check they received fulfills the Safety and Protection of Minors on Campus policy requirements (includes at least both a multi-state criminal background check and National Sex Offender Registry screening)
• The name of the vendor that provided the background check
• The date the background check was completed

If a Program Supervisor and/or Point Person receives a flagged background check for a Program Staff member, they should consult EAS by emailing youth@vcu.edu. The Program Staff member should also be made aware that their information will be shared with EAS, and potentially VCUPD and VCU’s Threat Assessment Team.

Complaints or concerns may be reported to the Program Supervisor, Equity and Access Services, or VCU Helpline at http://www.vcuhelpline.com or by calling 1-888-242-6022.

If the Program is not being conducted by a VCU department or unit, student organizations must contact the Division of Student Affairs to provide a Point Person, and this activity should comply with the policy as a Non-University Program, where the Program Supervisor is an officer of the student organization.

VCUHS is not a part of the university, but if the university hosts a Program operated by VCUHS, the policy applies. Similarly, if university employees or dual university-VCUHS employees are responsible for the Program or the Program is on university property, the policy applies. Youth Programs run by VCUHS employees who are not also university employees and are not on university property do not fall under this policy.

Yes. Any facility or property leased by VCU is university property for the purpose of the policy, and compliance with the policy is required for youth Programs at these locations.

Tier I Individuals who are VCU employees and have worked for the university for more than two years will need to undergo a biennial screening process. The Tier I Individual’s immediate supervisor is responsible for conducting these screenings.

Tier I Individuals not affiliated with VCU should consult with their organization’s human resources professionals or legal counsel for advice on conducting biennial screenings related to the policy. VCU does not have a role or responsibility in reviewing or interpreting background check results for outside entities.

 

Yes.

 

The policy does not apply to non-degree seeking students when they are in the course for which they have been admitted.

 

If the Minor is 16 years or older and shadows a Matriculated Student in the classroom, this would be considered an exception to the policy (Exception v. Minors of at least 16 years of age as guests of Matriculated Students). The visit will need to be registered with the Protection of Minors Office but will not need to comply with the rest of the policy. If the Minor is under 16 years old, all compliance requirements of the policy will need to be followed.