protecting children and minors

Effective date: July 24, 2017
Preamble
Because Darcy Jeda Corbitt Foundation, Inc. ("us", "we", or "our") values the safety of the minors who contribute to or benefit from our services, either as personnel, donors, community members, and the users (“you” and “yours”), we have adopted this policy to endure a safe, affirming, and ethical experience with us.

By interacting with us through our Affirmation Stations, websites (www.darcycorbitt.org; www.mytransitionpartner.com; www.pathwaysmag.blog), by phone, email, or mail, on third-party social media sites  (www.facebook.com/transhelper; www.instagram.com/transhelper; www.twitter.com/transhelper), mobile applications, products, and programs (the “Service”), you are agreeing to abide by this policy
 
This policy may be subject to changes, from time-to-time, and we will take reasonable steps to update you to those changes when they take place.
 
Unless otherwise defined in this Child Protection Policy, terms used in this policy have the same meanings as in our Terms for Acceptable Use and General Privacy Policy, both accessible from https://www.darcycorbitt.org/legal.

1. Definitions
  • Service: Service is any in-house or affiliated program operated in whole or in part by Darcy Jeda Corbitt Foundation, Inc., carrying our branding, including but not limited to: Affirmation Stations, MyTransitionPartner, Pathways Magazine, OneThousand Buttons, DJC Fund, all websites, social media, mobile applications, products, and programs.
  • Personnel: Personnel refers to any natural or legal person officially authorized to conduct business on behalf of Darcy Jeda Corbitt Foundation, Inc.
  • Community Member: Community Member is any natural or legal person who has shared personal identifiable information with us, as outlined in our privacy policy.
  • Donor: Donor refers to any Community Member or other legal entity who has made an identifiable financial transaction with us in the form of a charitable donation.
  • Visitor: Visitor refers to any natural or legal person or entity who has accessed our services but not provided any identifiable information. 
  • Personal Data: Personal Data means data about a living individual who can be identified from those data (or from those and other information either in our possession or likely to come into our possession).
  • Responsible adult is defined as a person having reached the age of majority who is of an age and maturity to, in good faith and in loco parentis, ensure that the rights of the minor are protected and they are not at-risk for harm resulting from volunteering with the Foundation.
  • Minor: Minor is defined as any natural or legal person below the age of 18, or who has not reached the age of majority in their legal jurisdiction.
  • Child: Child is defined as any natural or legal person below the age of 13.

Any use of the above terminology or other words in the singular, plural, capitalization and/or he/she or they, are taken as interchangeable and therefore as referring to same.

2. Access to Services
It is our policy to not knowingly provide active services (i.e., active interaction between two natural or legal individuals on any platform or setting) to minors, or passive services (i.e., interaction between one natural or legal individual and content publicly available on our websites, applications, or third-party sites or apps) to children, without the express written permission or direct supervision of their parent, legal guardian, or a competent adult who can be reasonably assumed to be operating, in good faith, in loco parentis, and who has reasonable ability to assess the safety of that child in using our Service and who can ensure their rights and privacy are respected.

If we become aware that a minor or child is using our services without permission or supervision from their parents or legal guardians or a responsible adult, then we will discontinue the provision of services. Because our websites are public, we cannot restrict access to them.

It is our policy not to notify parents or legal guardians that their child or minor is accessing our services without their permission (or without any permission or supervision of a responsible adult). We have this policy because of the tenuous nature of the caregiver-child relationship when that child identifies as LGBTQ+. To ensure that the appropriate steps have been taken, we will outline those steps in a sealed memo that will be signed by the CEO, Executive Vice President, supervising trustee, and a responsible adult not affiliated with our personnel and sent by certified mail to the Chair of the Board of Trustees for safekeeping. This policy does not apply when a child's rights and/or safety has been violated and appropriate legal authorities must be contacted.

3. The Privacy of Children and Minors
We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 18. If you are under the age of 18, you should not provide us with personally identifiable information.
 
If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with Personal Data, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Data from children without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers.

4. California Privacy Rights for Minors
If you are a California resident under 18 years old and a registered member of our online community, you can request that we remove content or information that you have posted to our website or other online services. Note that fulfillment of the request may not ensure complete or comprehensive removal (e.g., if the content or information has been reposted by another user). To request removal of content or information, please call Community Relations at (844) 673-2729.

5. Employment and Volunteering
Minors are not eligible for employment.

Minors 16 years of age or older may seek volunteer assignments and participate in Foundation programs but must have a legal parent or guardian, or responsible adult sign a written permission form.

The Executive VP provides oversight over the supervision of volunteer minors and serves as the officer of the Foundation responsible for ensuring the protection of minors. All internet communications between minors and adult supervisors must be carbon copied to the Executive VP.

6. Guidelines for Safe Child Interactions
Personnel, community members, donors, visitors, and any consumer of our services are required to conduct themselves in a safe manner in front of minors who are in our care through the use of our services.

Minors in our care through the participation or use of our services:
  • May not stay overnight with adults unless they are related;
  • May not room or change in front of others who are outside of their developmental stage;

Minors 16 years of age or older and adults who are personnel or are participating or using our services:
  • May not work one-on-one with a minor. Two adults must be present for every 1-10 minors.
  • Must maintain reasonable boundaries with minor personnel. Reasonable boundaries are defined as physical contact limited to side-hugs, pats on the head or shoulder or upper back of no more than ten-second in duration; foundation-related communication limited to supervised in-person contact as described herein, Foundation email, or Foundation phone systems; and appropriate language.
  • Must not under any circumstances engage in inappropriate conversations with minors including non-educational, unscheduled discussions of sexual behaviors or practices and the use of lewd profanity or phrases; providing illegal substances or materials to minors; engaging in inappropriate below-the beltline touching or touching the breast area within the context of Foundation work or activities.

7. Previous Convictions for Child Abuse or Sexual Crimes Against Children
We take reasonable precautions when making personnel decisions. The following precautions are taken to ensure the protection of children and minors:
  • We make a check of the sex offender registry for any personnel joining our volunteer staff. This does not include individuals who are volunteering as an Ambassador.
  • Any personnel who will be working directly with children will be required to undergo a criminal background check at their own expense prior to the start of their assignment.
  • While we do not support "checking the box" style applications, we do ask applicants invited for interviews to disclose any convicted criminal behaviors related to children or minors, as well as hate crimes, sexual assault, or physical violence.
  • Personnel who will be working directly with minors will undergo a Child Safety Training no later than December 31, 2018, and after this date this training will be mandatory.

We do not discriminate against individuals who have been convicted of criminal behavior and completed the sentence handed down by a court. Previous convictions and/or current legal status will not necessarily be an impediment to employment or volunteer assignment but will be a factor considered when offers of employment or volunteer assignments are considered.

Personnel who have been previously convicted of any form of abuse against a minor must report this information and any probation terms to the Executive VP or acting officer prior to the start of employment or volunteer assignment. A sealed memo shall outline the information disclosed to the Foundation and will be signed by the Executive VP, CEO, supervising Trustee, the personnel member, and the appropriate judicial supervisor or chaperone. In most cases, these individuals will not be assigned to a task where they work directly with children or minors. Restrictions to contact between this personnel member and children/minors shall be outlined within the memo and shall be adhered to strictly. Deviations from this memo will be cause for immediate dismissal.

8. Reporting of Inappropriate Behavior and Related Actions
All personnel are mandated to report inappropriate behaviors involving program participants or personnel and minors to the Security Unit of the Executive Office Immediately by calling 1-844-673-2729 and dialing extension 9. Any person or entity in a relationship with us can make a report at any time to the Security Unit.

Adult personnel and program participants who actively engage in inappropriate relationships or contact with minors outside of Foundation work or activities are prohibited from employment or volunteer assignment within the Foundation or participation in its activities. Should the Foundation be made aware of such relationships or that a minor known to the Foundation is being harmed, it shall report the same to Cass County (ND) Social Services as the legal jurisdiction within which the Foundation is headquartered. Internal reports should be made to the Executive VP who shall be responsible for making such reports to Social Services. Personnel will be placed on administrative leave until a determination has been made by Social Services. Should Social Services recommend charges, employment or volunteer assignment shall be terminated.

6. Additional Rights
Children and minors are covered by and bound to the Terms for Acceptable Use and General Privacy Policy.

7. Disclaimers
In addition to the disclaimers provided in the Terms for Acceptable Use, the following disclaimers apply:
  • Disclaimer of Reasonable Notice: Because of the sensitive nature of the content and services we provide, we do not require our visitors or community members to provide more personal information that they feel comfortable providing. As such, we cannot ensure that community members or visitors meet the age requirements for using our websites or services We take reasonable steps to notify all community members and visitors of our Terms for Acceptable Use, General Privacy Policy, and Child Protection Policy on all websites, social media sites, and produced printed or digital content. We are not liable for any physical, psychological/emotional, or social harm that results from a minor using our services in violation of our Terms for Acceptable Use by failing to a) notify us of their age, and b) seeking the appropriate permission and/or supervision from their parent, legal guardian, or responsible adult.

9. Changes to This Policy
We may update our Child Protection Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Child Protection Policy on this page.

We will let you know via email and/or a prominent notice on our Service, prior to the change becoming effective and update the "effective date" at the top of this policy.

You are advised to review this policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this policy is effective when they are posted on this page.
 
10. Contact Us
If you have any questions about our Child Protection Policy, please contact us: