Dundee Jr Vikings Safe Sport Act Compliance Policy
On February 14th, 2018, the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 was enacted by Congress and became federal law. It is more commonly referred to as the Safe Sport Act. This law affects all youth sports organizations and teams this includes travel teams, recreation sports clubs, and any other youth sporting activity.
- Mandated reporters: Any adult affiliated with a sports team, whether it be a private or public organization, is required to report any physical or sexual abuse of a minor to law enforcement and their association promptly, which is defined in the act as within 24 hours. Organizations also need to have a way for an adult to confidentially report any suspected child or sexual abuse with their organization as well.
- Primary Mandatory Prevention Policy: one-on-one interactions between an adult and an amateur athlete who is a minor without being in an observable and interruptible distance from another adult is PROHIBITED.
- Additional Prevention Policies:
- More than one adult is required at every activity
- If a child is awaiting pick up after practice, a coach may not wait alone with a child. The coach must seek out another parent/adult to wait together
- Touching a child should be reserved to safety or practice situations and only in observance of other adults
- Teams should avoid overnight sleepover social functions
- Abuse prevention training. Any adult who wishes to coach or help minors in sports must go through training to be able to recognize and report child abuse, as well as to inform them of who to report any suspected abuse to.
- Other Helpful Resources: