Our Commitment to Child Safety

Breakaway Outreach is fully committed to the safety and well-being of all children and youth accessing our services. We put child protection first in everything we do, instituting policies and practices designed to safeguard kids from harm or exploitation, as well as staying current on educating our staff and volunteers about safety issues.

Some of our safety policies include:

• Performing mandatory and thorough background checks on all staff, volunteers, and members.
• Facilitating adequate training for all staff and volunteers.
• Reporting any inappropriate behavior to the proper authorities.
• Conducting routine safety evaluation assessments.
• Maintaining a safe place void of abuse, bullying, racism, gossip, slander, or defamation (repeatedly briefing adults and children on our Code of Conduct—high standards for respect).
• Modeling openness: During camps, KidVenturez, or overnight retreats, chaperones/staff are not to be alone with a child. Even during individual counseling, the child and staff member must be in the line of sight of others in the group. Children must be together in groups of three.
• Protecting the child from unauthorized contact: Staff/volunteers are NOT permitted to continue a relationship with a child after they leave our camp/program without the expressed permission from the child’s guardian. This includes, but is not limited to, emails and social media friending/following. A counselor may write a letter to a camper after camp, encouraging the child and thanking them for their time at camp with the guardian’s permission.
• Administering medications by authorized staff only, such as the team leader or camp’s registered nurse.
• Minimizing idle time: It’s been said, “Idle time is the devil’s playground.” We aim to keep children active and stimulated, leaving them little time and margin for mischief or infighting.
• Updating and implementing our Safety Standards Manual.