Working with Children
When working with minors through on-campus programs, the assumption is that University of Richmond volunteers are with minors while in the presence of the sponsoring organization staff and or their guardians/parents. If your volunteer activities require you to be in the presence of minors without these individuals, additional policies and resources are provided by Risk Management.
For students working with off-campus (external) organizations, students are required to follow all of the organization's onboarding and pre-volunteer trainings that seek to ensure the safety of minors, elderly individuals, people with dis/differing abilities, and other members of our community. According to Mentor National, a nationally recognized organization that continually evaluates mentoring best practices, these trainings should cover important topics such as:
- screening procedures,
- reporting processes in the event of suspected child abuse,
- relational boundaries,
- crisis management procedures, and
- communication standards between organization staff, mentors, and mentees.