Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 35
policies that are inclusive of housing
staff. Federation University Australia
in Victoria has implemented a
comprehensive campus-wide policy
that requires specialized training and
background checks for staff working
with minors, a sweeping effort which
ensures that housing staff are thinking
about best practices. Similarly, the
University of Florida in Gainesville
has implemented campus-wide efforts
that call for regular screening of those
working with minors, completion of
an annual youth protection training,
and central registration of universitysponsored youth activities and those
involved in such activities.
Even when broad institutional
policies are in place, specific policies
and practices can be created that are
focused on housing activities. Recently,
Georgetown University in Washington,
D.C., decided to broaden its youth
protection efforts by implementing
a guest policy for minors visiting
campus housing. "We asked ourselves,
how can we have a comprehensive
protection of minors policy and not
pay attention to our residence halls?"
says Anne Koester, senior compliance
specialist and protection of minors
policy manager. While the primary role
of housing and residence life staff may
never be to act as youth compliance
experts, there are some tenets for
protecting minors that all staff should
be aware of.
Housing professionals must
understand the laws and policies that
are relevant to their involvement with
minors, whether these are enrolled
students, children living in family
and graduate housing, or guests of
students. Special attention should be
paid to how state, federal, and national
laws define who is considered a minor,
what constitutes child abuse, and
who mandated reporters are. This
is a reasonable starting point when
determining whether there are any
specific legal obligations for your
institution or employees. State laws
can vary widely and might contain a
range of institutional and individual
liability. According to an article in The
Huffington Post, in 2012 Florida enacted
what at least one Florida Representative
(Chris Dorworth) refers to as the "most
comprehensive child abuse reporting
law in the nation." The new provisions
impose substantial financial and
criminal consequences for institutions
and individuals that deliberately fail
to report known or suspected child
abuse. Under the new law, everyone is
a mandated reporter, higher education
institutions are subject to a $1 million
fine for each violation, and individuals
who fail to report can be charged with a
Children (WWC) Check. The WWC
check is similar to a national criminal
background check, but it also examines
a list of specific offenses to determine
whether candidates pose a risk to the
safety of children. While the term
"direct contact with children" creates
some room for interpretation, an
argument could be made that this
should always include housing staff. In
the U.S., the Child Welfare Information
Gateway has published a summary
of U.S. laws on mandatory reporters
of child abuse, as well as other child
protection laws.
Education is widely believed to be
the most effective effort in preventing
EDUCATION IS WIDELY BELIEVED TO BE THE
MOST EFFECTIVE EFFORT IN PREVENTING AN
INSTANCE OF CHILD ABUSE.
third-degree felony.
Pennsylvania also recently revised
its child protective services laws in
an effort to strengthen background
clearance requirements for employees,
volunteers, or contractors in schools
(including colleges and universities).
Under the newly amended law (Act
153), which took effect on December
31, 2014, all individuals having "contact
with children" must be screened and
cleared to work with minors every three
years. According to an article in Inside
Higher Ed, many of the adjustments
to the state law are being made in an
effort to address places where staff have
routine interaction with minors as part
of their job responsibilities. Similar
initiatives have been implemented
around the world. Laws in Victoria,
Australia, also require that individuals
in "child-related work" (those in
direct contact with children as a part
of their duties) hold a Working with
an instance of child abuse. Along with
becoming familiar with relevant laws
and legal issues, frontline housing
professionals and those working in
settings frequently visited by minors
would benefit from training on youth
protection. This is precisely what the
University of Florida's Housing and
Residence Education Department
offered in 2013. Employees were
trained on risk reduction strategies,
common warning signs of child
abuse, applicable laws, and reporting
procedures. Gannon University in Erie,
Pennsylvania, has taken a comparable
approach by offering mandated reporter
training to staff working with minors,
including students under the age of
18. According to Sue Majocka, student
conduct officer, resident directors
receive training on the roles and
responsibilities of mandated reporters,
signs and indicators of sexual abuse,
and community resources available to
Student Behavior
Formulate codes, policies, and regulations to ensure a safe
and effective living and learning environment for occupants.
MAY + JUNE 2015
35
Talking Stick - May/June 2015
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - May/June 2015
Contents
Vision
Just In
Calendar
Your ACUHO-I
Transitions
Res Life
Business Operations
Special Focus
Regroup
The Will to LEED
The Gang’s All Here
Conversations
First Takes
Around Student Affairs
New Members
Snapshot
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Intro
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - BB1
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - BB2
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Cover1
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Cover2
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 1
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 2
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 3
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 4
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Contents
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 6
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 7
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 8
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 9
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Vision
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 11
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Just In
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 13
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 14
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 15
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 16
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 17
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 18
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 19
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Calendar
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 21
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Your ACUHO-I
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 23
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Transitions
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 25
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Res Life
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 27
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 28
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 29
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Business Operations
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 31
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 32
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 33
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Special Focus
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 35
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 36
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 37
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Regroup
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 39
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 40
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 41
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - The Will to LEED
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 43
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 44
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 45
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 46
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 47
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 48
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 49
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 50
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 51
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - The Gang’s All Here
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 53
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 54
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 55
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 56
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 57
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 58
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 59
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Conversations
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 61
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 62
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 63
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - First Takes
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Around Student Affairs
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 66
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 67
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 68
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 69
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 70
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 71
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 72
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 73
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - New Members
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - 75
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Snapshot
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Cover3
Talking Stick - May/June 2015 - Cover4
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