The following policy details guidelines and legal requirements the Office of Community Engagement expects Muhlenberg students to follow regarding work with children. The guidelines explain proper volunteer behavior and important steps to take to ensure positive experiences for both Muhlenberg students and local children. The subsequent section is based upon the Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law and delineates identifying and handling abuse and reporting responsibilities. Lastly, you will be required to complete appropriate legal clearances according to organizational policy.
Important Guidelines
- Follow the appropriate dress code for the organization/school with which you’re working- be mindful of sayings on shirts, backgrounds virtually, etc.
- Do not be alone with a child in the room- keep the doors open. Children are not allowed in residence hall rooms.
- Do not take children to the bathroom alone- go in pairs of volunteers and children (2 or more of each).
- Do not assume anything about a child’s background- family structures may be different, they may not celebrate holidays, or their home life may be different from yours. Ask general questions (e.g., what do you like to do?) instead of specifics (e.g., How does your family celebrate Thanksgiving?).
- Avoid play-fighting, children climbing on you, and other roughhousing.
- Do not promise children items or bring gifts for specific children.
- Do not try to change situations over which you have no power though you may want to help. (e.g., if the child’s parents say they can walk home from school you should not offer them a ride).
- Consider that students have different learning styles- some children might have a difficult time with recording/writing so be mindful of their various strengths.
- Respect the rules of the organization or program with which you are working. Kids will likely try to test their limits with you and if you bend the rules once you may set yourself up for problems later.
- Most importantly, remember that you are a role model. The kids will watch you closely to see appropriate behavior. Things you do that may seem small and insignificant, kids will notice. Be careful what you discuss with your friends when children are nearby.
- Read and follow guidelines reporting/handling abuse below in accordance with Act 153 and inform site supervisor before leaving the site should an incident need to be reported.
Adapted from Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance- www.pafsa.org Harrisburg, PA and https://keepkidssafe.pa.gov/
Reporting/Handling Abuse
Child Abuse is defined as intentionally, knowingly or recklessly doing or failing to prevent something that causes harm to a child under the age of 18. Harm may take many forms such as bodily injury, mental injury, sexual abuse, exploitation or feigning a medical symptom resulting in potentially harmful treatment to a child. Indications may have explanations that are appropriate or unrelated to abuse. A resource you might use to seek potential indicators is located here: https://pafsa.org/recognizing-abuseneglect/ (Retrieved September 9, 2021). Bring your concerns to the attention of the staff person or teacher at the organization/school with which you are working and work together to address the situation. In accordance with Pennsylvania Act 153, you as a mandated reporter must make an immediate and direct report of suspected child abuse to ChildLine either electronically at www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis or by calling 1-800-932-0313.
Most children don’t go to a parent or adult and deliberately start a conversation about abuse. Disclosures are often accidental. An abuse disclosure isn’t something that happens once. It happens in pieces over time. Disclosures start with behavior that seems unusual for the child’s age or with incomplete information that later becomes more detailed. You probably observed something along those lines, and that’s why you say you suspect abuse. Often, the first step will be a suggestion that something happened but then the child will say they don’t remember. The next step might be a statement that something happened, but it happened to someone else or it was only a dream.
Children often go through a stage where they disclose or minimize what happened. They might say something happened, but it was only one time, or that it happened but “only on top of my clothes.” Sometimes children, will say something happened but insist that they ran away or resisted even if they didn’t. Even when abuse occurred, kids say it didn’t, especially if they realize disclosure will have a big impact on them or their family. At that stage, kids might start to look like they’re lying. They do it because of a lot of pressure from the perpetrator and also family members, who tell them that the perpetrator will be kicked out of the home or will go to jail.
You don’t need to wait for a direct or full disclosure, or even be satisfied in your own mind that abuse occurred to report it. Your job isn’t to determine whether it happened. It is simply to get the case to professional investigators. If a child specifically discloses abuse, the most important thing is to remain calm. Such information and the language used can be very upsetting to hear. The child will be looking to your reactions. “Is this wrong? Am I a bad person?” Your emotional response is key. Listen carefully. Try to remember what the child says and how. Allow the child to go off on tangents and tell you in their own way and time. Do not ask questions. Don’t give the child a vocabulary that they might otherwise not have. Report the incident immediately to your site supervisor.
Tell the child you believe them. Reassure the child that the abuse isn’t their fault. You can tell the child that you are going to tell someone who will be able to help them. If the child asks what will happen next, it’s ok to say that you don’t know but you will find out. Make sure that the child understands that telling you was the right thing and that if something is ever bothering them in the future, you’ll be there to listen.
Adapted from Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance- www.pafsa.org Harrisburg, PA and https://keepkidssafe.pa.gov/.
