Under this policy, a program is any activity, event, clinic, mentoring, party, meeting, camp, or other organized interaction involving minors. Programs may be one-time or recurring. If a student organization can advertise its occurrence, it is a program.

All programs involving minors are required to register prior to the program start. Online training and background checks are also required for programs in which the VCU individuals are the supervising adults. If the minors in your program are accompanied by a supervising parent, legal guardian, or chaperone (teacher, coach, etc.), registration would be the only policy requirement. See the policy for all exceptions to additional requirements.

All VCU employees are mandated reporters. VCU students may be mandated reporters if they meet any of the qualifications under Virginia law. Mandated reporters must, and anyone who suspects child abuse or neglect should, report their suspicions as soon as possible and not later than 24 hours after to Virginia DSS at 800-552-7096.

No. VCU students, faculty, or staff who interact with minors outside of their VCU capacity are not covered by the Safety and Protection of Minors policy. However, if you wanted to volunteer with Richmond Public Schools as part of a registered student organization’s “Volunteer Day,” that program would be covered by the policy and would need to register.

No. You may be a staff member within a program and interact with other minors, but a minor may not be in a supervisory role over other minors.

Supervision is most important when interacting with minors. Ensure you are not alone with a single minor, both for their safety and to protect you from false accusations or misinterpretations. Follow the Rule of Three and have at least two adults and one minor or two minors and one adult together at all times. Always make sure your interactions with minors are observable and interruptible by others (no closed doors or private conversations).

If the program is conducted by a student organization without partnership by a university department, the responsible department is Student Commons. Student organizations are Non-University Programs and the Point Person would be the VCU employee who grants permission to use facilities- typically the reservationist from the Commons. If the program is not reserving VCU facilities, the Point Person would be the faculty advisor.

Your student organization must use its own funds or members’ personal funds to pay for a background check. You have three options for background checks when registering: 1) The organization can create a Sterling Volunteers VCU subaccount, which will send a monthly invoice to the provided email. Contact youth@vcu.edu for help in connecting this account. 2) You may choose “We have an account with Sterling Volunteers” and choose the “VCU Parent Account- Level 2 Advanced- Volunteer Pays All” package. Each program staff member will receive an email from Sterling Volunteers to initiate their check, and will be asked to pay $13 via credit or debit card. 3) If a program staff member has completed a background check through another organization or vendor within the 24 months prior to the program start date, contact youth@vcu.edu.