We need to protect all youth involved in Rotary Youth Programs, for example Interact, RYLA, Youth Exchange, Children at Risk, Mentoring Programs, ELC, and local club projects.
 
Youth Protection is extremely important to Rotary.  Headlines blast the latest abuse of children by adults in schools, teams, churches, and youth organizations.   Good intentions alone cannot protect youth, and they cannot protect Rotarians in our litigious environment.
 
Rotary District 5170 is committed to doing the hard work necessary to keep our young people, volunteers, and members safe.  For us this includes Club Certification for every club, individual certification for all volunteers who have more than casual contact with youth, training for all volunteers, and the Rotary Statement of Conduct for Working with Youth.  
In order to make compliance as simple as possible, we have created a roadmap for each type of volunteer in Rotary Youth Protection Programs. 
  • Club President
  • Club Youth Protection Officer / Youth Services Chair
  • Any Rotarian requiring Full Youth Protection Certification
Statement of Conduct for Working with Youth
Rotary International is committed to creating and maintaining the safest possible environment for all participants in Rotary activities. It is the duty of all Rotarians, Rotarians' spouses, partners, and other volunteers to safeguard to the best of their ability the welfare of, and to prevent the physical sexual, or emotional abuse of, children and young people with whom they come into contact.
 
Adopted by the RI Board of Directors, November 2002
 
Protection of Data
Our youth protection data is maintained in two different systems:  The Youth Exchange Administration Hub (YEAH) for Rotary Youth Exchange Programs; and the Youth Volunteer Management System (YVM) system for all other Rotary Youth Programs.  Data is periodically transferred from YEAH to the YVM system so that Rotarians have one view of a club's youth protection certification status. 

ROTARY DISTRICT 5170 ABUSE AND HARASSMENT PREVENTION POLICY
Rotary clubs place great emphasis on their work with people in the community, including young people, through its many Youth Services programs including Rotary Youth Exchange, RYLA, Rotaract, Interact, Speech Contest, and mentoring. These volunteer efforts are vital to the quality of life in our communities and to the good reputation of Rotary and Rotarians. For these good works to continue it is extremely important that our Rotary clubs protect the interests of everyone involved, and create and maintain a safe and respectful environment for all participants in Rotary activities. Fulfilling this duty safeguards the interests of Rotary Clubs and Rotarians by minimizing their risk of liability, including legal liability, should any participant in a Rotary activity become a victim of abuse.

Clubs with involvement in any youth program must complete these minimum requirements for Club Certification:
  1. At least three club members must be completely screened and trained to respond to problems or concerns that might arise, including responding to and reporting allegations of abuse or harassment (this requirement is met by completion of the four steps in the Youth Protection Certification process).
  2. The club's fully certified volunteers must include at least one member of each gender.
  3. The Club Youth Services Certification Application must be viewed online and acknowledged by the Club President, Youth Services Chair and Youth Protection chair. The Club President is sent a link to the Youth Services Certification page and they select the Rotarians who are the Youth Services and Youth Protection chairs.  All three individuals receive an email link to the document and agree to comply with it.
If a club receives an allegation of abuse or complaint involving a youth in any Rotary sponsored program, the club should immediately contact the District 5170 Youth Protection Officer (DYPO) Scot Smithee, for assistance with resolving the situation.

Links on the left side of this page provide information, online training links, forms and instructions for ALL Youth Service volunteers.
 
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the District Youth Protection Officer:
Scot Smithee
Cell: (408) 968-8687