Everyone shares a responsibility to help keep children safe, ensure that their rights are protected, and that their needs are met.  The safety and wellbeing of the children and youth in our care is our primary concern. 

Old Colony YMCA has zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior involving children, and we take multiple steps to prevent child sexual abuse within our organization, including:

All staff and volunteers undergo screening at hire that includes:

• Criminal background checks
• Check of the sex offender registry (state and national)
• Check into the employee's prior employment and reference checks that include a family member

• Staff must sign a code of conduct that outlines appropriate behavior with children and forbids unauthorized contact outside the YMCA
• Staff working with children receive ongoing training in regard to child sexual abuse prevention, including a mandatory training before their first day of work
• Y staff is not permitted to contact children outside of YMCA activities
• Children should not receive gifts of any kind from individual staff members
• Staff is trained to identify and report rule breaking and other red flags for abuse
• Our child care and camp programs require that a parent or guardian sign their child in and out
• We only release children to pre-authorized individuals
• YMCA staff is not permitted to babysit for member or program participants

Old Colony YMCA will act on any allegation of abuse or inappropriate behavior by informing the parents of the child involved as well as contacting the local authorities.

If you see behavior that concerns you or is not consistent with the standards described here, or if you have concerns about your child, please contact the program director, branch director, or contact the President & CEO, Vincent Marturano, directly at 508 583 2155 x220 or vmarturano@oldcolonyymca.org. 

Even though we take measures within our Y, we need your help to ensure that child sexual abuse cannot occur in our community as a whole.  In order to help us maintain the safe environment at our Y, and to help keep your children safe, we ask you to do the following:

• Talk with your child about safe and unsafe touching.
• Let your child know that it is okay to say "no" to unsafe showing or touching of private parts, and practice saying "no" with your child.
• Talk with your child about their experience with Old Colony Y. Ask if they are aware of any inappropriate actions by Y staff, and let them know that it is important to tell you about these kinds of activities.
• Teach your child to trust their gut feelings. If something feels wrong or uncomfortable, leave and get help.
• Encourage your child to talk with you about anything that bothers them, including unsafe touching. Believe your child. Your child is never to blame.
• If your child relates to you any behavior that you consider to be inappropriate, please contact the Y, and we will help you approach the situation.

Our YMCA has partnered with Darkness to Light, a national organization committed to ending child sexual abuse by teaching adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse.  They offer comprehensive training designed for adults with a strong focus on prevention. 

To learn more the trainings or to find out when one will be conducted locally, please visit www.d2l.org or contact the Y's Senior Child Care Director, Kim Moran, at 508 897 1257 or kmoran@oldcolonyymca.org. 

Vincent J. Marturano, ACSW, MSW
President & CEO