How might safety impact a youth’s ability to engage in a program or organization??(CAD guide) How might a teacher or youth worker’s approach to e

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C N Y D Y O U T H D E V E L O P M E N T G U I D E 3 29

What is Safety? As caretakers, we generally think of safety in terms of the pre-

cautions we must take to ensure the physical safety of the

young people under our care. This includes minimizing dan-

gers within the surrounding environment, providing adequate

adult supervision, and being well prepared to address emer-

gencies, such as fires, earthquakes, and medical crises. There

are established standards addressing these safety issues and

excellent resources to guide program leaders in ensuring that

program facilities are safe and that adults working with young

people can ensure the physical safety of participants in case of

emergencies.

3 C H A P T E R

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C N Y D Y O U T H D E V E L O P M E N T G U I D E30 3

P R O M O T I N G S A F E T Y

(For guidelines and resources on physical safety, see the appendix at the end

of this chapter, as well as the Resources section at the end of this guide.)

However, promoting a sense of safety in a program serving young people

goes beyond creating a physically safe environment. A program can provide

a safe physical environment and still be experienced by young participants

as an unsafe place. For young people to experience a program as safe, they

must feel personally safe—both physically and emotionally. The experience

of physical safety means that young people feel safe from physical harm,

confident that the surrounding adults will protect them from harm and

assist them if they are feeling threatened—whether by their peers or by

other adults. Further, young people know that there are rules that govern

behavior and that these rules will be consistently and fairly enforced.

The experience of emotional safety means that young people feel secure

that they will be valued and accepted by the group; that they can participate

fully without fear of teasing, harassment, or ostracism; that racial and cultur-

al differences between individuals are embraced. Individual differences, such

as body type, or differences in ability or interests are also accepted and young

people know that they will be treated with respect. In an environment that

promotes emotional safety, young people feel safe to try and sometimes fail

because positive risk-taking is supported and “mistakes are OK.”

“In CBB they teach people

not to make fun of you if you

make a mistake, so now more

people that were shy before

and didn’t want to work with

people, they’re more used to

it, they’ll be like, ‘Yeah, I

want to work in groups, come

on let’s work in a group.”

—D.D., 12 years old,

Community Bridges Beacon,

San Francisco, CA

Young people must:

• Feel secure that adults will protect them from harm.

• Know that they are protected by a set of fair and consistently

applied rules.

• Feel secure that they will be valued and accepted by the group.

Safety means that young people feel both physically and emotionally safe.

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C N Y D Y O U T H D E V E L O P M E N T G U I D E 3 31

P R O M O T I N G S A F E T Y

Why is Safety Important? The research on child development and resiliency identifies the experience

of physical and emotional safety as critical to supporting young people’s

healthy development. Young people must experience a sense of personal

and emotional safety if they are to learn important life skills and competen-

cies they will need in adulthood. Karen Pittman writes,

The experience of safety is basic and critical to young people. Its absence

can have profound effects on their choices and decisions; [without a

sense of safety] they can doubt the prospect of a future at all and devel-

op the ‘learned helplessness’ often associated with victimization. When

young people do feel safe, they are less likely to participate in the high-

risk behaviors that can derail or delay healthy development i.

Programs that hold increasing or enhancing young people’s learning as an

important outcome should be particularly interested in promoting a strong

sense of safety. Recent research into brain function reveals that the experi-

ence of safety is an important component in a person’s readiness to learn.

When people feel unsafe, their brain activity actually changes.ii Higher-level

brain functions such as learning, cognition, and language ability are reduced

or shut down as attention is diverted to a “fight-or-flight” response. Thus,

feeling unsafe can actively interfere with learning and the integration of

new information.

As Tribes authors note:

It is no wonder that Eric Jensen, author of Teaching with the Brain in

Mind, states that excess stress and threat in the school environment may

be the single greatest contributor to impaired academic learning. He also

considers poor student relationships as a salient stressor. We need to

provide our students with places of learning that the brain perceives as

non-threatening iii.

Because so much of the learning in after-school programs occurs in a social

environment, a sense of safety is key. If we are expecting young people to

take the positive risks needed to practice newly learned skills and take on

leadership roles and responsibilities, we must provide them with a setting

where they feel safe. Young people are more willing to take the risks neces-

sary for learning and growth when they know that their “falls” will be

cushioned by the acceptance of the group. A sense of safety is also a

prerequisite for building the kinds of positive relationships with adults and

peers that help young people learn (See Chapter 4, Encouraging

Relationship Building).

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C N Y D Y O U T H D E V E L O P M E N T G U I D E32 3

P R O M O T I N G S A F E T Y

Immediate Benefits Establishing your after-school program as a safe place in the eyes of your par-

ticipants brings numerous immediate benefits, both for program participants

and for the adults managing the program. When programs are designed to pro-

mote a sense of safety, young people feel more secure and trusting of others.

Promoting a sense of safety and acceptance serves to reduce “acting out”

behaviors and underlying anxiety. When staff members make it clear that every-

one is included in the emotional safety net, young people feel safe sharing

their whole selves with the group. As they interact authentically and respect-

fully with others, they learn acceptance of difference and gain the ability to

work and play with people from backgrounds different from their own.

When all the young people in your program feel safe, they are more likely to

tell adults what they are really thinking and feeling. As you gain a deeper

understanding of their opinions and wants, you can better meet young peo-

ple’s needs. A feeling of safety among participants reduces conflicts among

young people; and when conflicts do arise, they are resolved more readily.

It also enables adults to reap the rewards of authentic relationships with

young people.

“If something happens you

can tell the security people

or any adult and they will

help you.“

—5th grader, East Oakland

Youth Development Center

Oakland, CA

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C N Y D Y O U T H D E V E L O P M E N T G U I D E 3 33

P R O M O T I N G S A F E T Y

How Do You Know if Your Program is Promoting a Sense of Safety?

What You See You can tell that a program has placed importance on promoting a sense of

safety among its participants when you walk into the room, even before the

participants arrive, because the environment is clearly a place where all are

included and respected:

• Program ground rules and schedules are printed in multiple languages

when appropriate, so all young people and parents can read them.

• You might also see signs created by young people that reflect the

values of the program, like “RESPECT YOURSELF; RESPECT OTHERS”

and “MISTAKES ARE OK.”

• If there are displays celebrating young people’s accomplishments,

every young person is represented at one time or another.

• The images on the walls represent the participants’ racial and eth-

nic diversity, and present diverse role models (in terms of race, cul-

ture, age, gender, sexual orientation, family structure).

• Books on the shelves and other program materials are equally rep-

resentative of the participants’ diversity.

After the adults and young people arrive, you can see that staff have worked to

promote a sense of safety in the way everyone interacts.

• As people enter it is clear that they know what to do and where to go

and they demonstrate a shared understanding of the behavioral expec-

tations.

• Young people of different backgrounds, ages, and genders , as well as

adult staff members, interact comfortably with one another.

• Adults on staff represent the diversity of the young participants, and

adult staff appear well informed about the cultural backgrounds of the

young people in the program.

• Young people and adults speak respectfully to each other even when

disagreeing.

• All young people make comments, ask questions, and share ideas with-

out the fear of ridicule or censure; there are no hurtful “put downs.”

“They [staff members]

give you a chance

to tell your story if

something happened—

If you give the first push,

they’re not gonna just

punish you for starting it.

They ask why [the fight

started] to both people.”

—J.C., 12 years old, Visitacion

Valley Beacon Center,

San Francisco, CA

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C N Y D Y O U T H D E V E L O P M E N T G U I D E34 3

P R O M O T I N G S A F E T Y

• Each participant appears to have a positive role in the group.

• There is a consistent, predictable response when ground rules are

broken or ignored.

• Conflicts are managed with words, and young people help each

other or ask for adult help in managing conflict as necessary.

• Young people are not teased if they are unable to accomplish a

task, but instead receive peer support and encouragement.

What Young People Say Young people can tell you if they feel safe in the program. The most reliable

way to assess for emotional safety is to ask the young people about their

own experience of the program. Would young people in your program agree

or disagree with these statements?

• I feel safe when I am here.

• If someone wanted to hurt me or beat me up here someone

would stop him/her.

• Rules about how to treat each other here are enforced.

• It’s okay for me to make mistakes here.

• There is at least one thing that I do well in this program.

• I learn things here about people who are different from me.

Reflection: What are some things you see in your program that indicate young people

experience safety when they are there? What are some things you would

like to see?

S N A P S H O T

Gateway After-School Enrichment Program Richmond, CA

Young people who

don’t follow the

ground rules at

Gateway may face a

“jury of their peers.”

Program Director

Verna Springer says,

“We really follow our

ground rules and take

seriously our pledge

that everyone has a

right to feel safe in

this environment.” If a

young person is

violating others’ rights

and the usual

consequences aren’t

effective, that young

person may agree to

face a jury of their

peers. These young

people are taking

responsibility not just

for creating the

ground rules, but for

making them

meaningful.

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C N Y D Y O U T H D E V E L O P M E N T G U I D E 3 35

P R O M O T I N G S A F E T Y

Promoting a Sense of Safety in Your After-School Program Making Safety a Priority For young people to feel safe, they need to know that there is a set of clear

rules that govern behavior, and that these rules will be applied consistently

by adults who are committed to treating young people fairly. Make safety a

priority by making sure everyone is familiar with everyday rules, procedures,

and agreements about how staff should respond when young people break

the rules. This includes all program staff, security, administration, janitorial

staff, volunteers, and any other adults who might come in contact with

young people in the program.

Plan how you will respectfully develop and review the rules with your young

program participants and how you will secure their agreement. (The best

way is to invite them to help in creating the rules. For help doing this, see

Tribes, cited in the Resources section at the end of this guide.)

It is critical that young people in your program know where to turn if some-

one —whether a peer, staff member, or someone outside the program—is

making them feel unsafe. Staff members need to take seriously any reports

of bullying, teasing, abuse, harassment or other unsafe behavior and let the

young person who feels unsafe know what steps will be taken to ensure his

or her safety. It is important to raise this issue in group discussions from

time to time by asking, “What would you do if a bully tried to bother you on

your way here?” and “Who could you talk to if one of the staff members did

something that you thought was unfair?”

Also begin to plan ways to ensure that a wide variety of young people can

experience success in your program. One way to do this is to make sure that

your program includes a wide range of activities that draw on different skills,

knowledge bases, and abilities. It is also important to pay respectful attention

to the individual participants, learning what motivates them and better under-

standing the context in which they have formed their beliefs.

While it is essential for program leaders to plan how best to promote safety, the

policies, procedures and resources of the larger organization (whether a

school, school district, or agency) must be in concert with the work of program

staff members. There are certain structural features a program needs to have

in place if it is going to consistently provide physical and emotional safety.

Consider how to engage your organizational leaders in reviewing this chapter,

especially the section on Organizational Practices.

S N A P S H O T

Girls, Inc. Alameda County, CA

At Girls Inc. of

Alameda County,

California, girls feel

safe because they

are encouraged

to be powerful.

Staff members pay

attention to details

that send a big

message, from posters

on the walls of strong,

accomplished women

of diverse

backgrounds, to staff

members focusing

compliments on what

girls do, rather than

on how they look.

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C N Y D Y O U T H D E V E L O P M E N T G U I D E36 3

P R O M O T I N G S A F E T Y

Helping Young People Resist Bias Creating emotional safety is about creating a climate that values diversity.

The goal is for every child to feel comfortable with and accepted for who he

or she is. Children are born loving, curious, and open to the world. They

start to notice differences in gender, race, class, and family structure as early

as age three, and they turn to the adults around them for clues about what

those differences mean. In the absence of positive, affirming cues from their

role models about difference, they learn what they can on the playground

and from mass culture. Sadly, many of the messages they receive are full of

subtle and not-so-subtle biases and stereotyping.

Bias is often subtle, and is communicated thoughtlessly if we are not care-

ful. It is as much about what we don’t say as what we do—tolerating loud-

ness from boys but not from girls, making assumptions about a child’s inter-

ests or skills based on his/her race, or posting images on the walls that leave

some young people out. It is important for everyone at the school or agency

to have a good understanding of bias and how it works if you are going to

work to eliminate it in your program. A good first step is anti-bias training

for all program staff.

Learning bias hurts young people, and they try to resist it—they want to

remain open, loving, and kind. Help them by modeling acceptance and by

addressing all types of slurs and stereotypes whenever they occur. Remember

also to be mindful of the young person displaying the bias, striving to respect

the context in which they developed their beliefs, while making it clear that

behavior and words that hurt others are unacceptable. In an age-appropriate

way, you can also help them learn how bias works and how to recognize it.

(See Hate Hurts, cited in the Resources section, at the end of this guide.) An

after-school program can provide a safe space by clearing the air of bias and

stereotyping, and providing a strong message of inclusion. There are some

excellent resources at the end of this guide to help you.

One of the most challenging, and frequently unacknowledged, issues that

many adults face is helping young people deal with societal homophobia

and heterosexism. The toll intolerance takes can be devastating: it is esti-

mated that gay and lesbian adolescents account for one-third of teens com-

mitting suicide îv. Homophobic environments are especially hurtful to

young people who sense that they might be “different” in some way or who

have gay or lesbian family members. You can help create a sense of safety for

all the young people in your program by using inclusive language and by rec-

ognizing and refusing to tolerate homophobic stereotypes and slurs. As one

experienced youth worker put it, “challenging heterosexism creates safety

not only for young people of these identities and others who are question-

ing their sexuality, but also for heterosexual young people being pressured

to be violent to “prove” their identities.v

S N A P S H O T

Project Yield Oakland, CA

Project Yield keeps an

ongoing focus on

safety with a Safety

and Support Team

comprised of parents

and older youth who

are graduates of the

after-school program.

“We are located in an

area where there is a

lot of gang activity, and

where there are very

strong neighborhood

identities, so we made

sure these various

groups had balanced

representation on the

safety team, and we

made sure we had

accounted for turf

issues,” says Nancy

Netherland, Director

of Community

Programming. Parents

and young people are

paid for their

involvement in this

important work.

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C N Y D Y O U T H D E V E L O P M E N T G U I D E 3 37

P R O M O T I N G S A F E T Y

Permission to use granted by Jeanne Gibbs, author of Tribes: A New Way of

Learning and Being Together, CenterSource Systems, Sausalito, CA.

Matrix for Achieving Equity in Classrooms

What to look for

Policy: What to do

Instructional Strategies

Current Curriculum

Management (School & Classroom)

Family & Community Involvement

Language which is dehumanizing or denies the existence of females or males; e.g. Japs, mankind

Members of a group portrayed in one role or with one characteristic.

The lack of representation of a group

Misinformation about a group, event or contribution.

Single interpretation of an issue, situation or condition.

Separating contributions of females and ethnic groups from the mainstream

Review policy for biased language.

Ensure non- discriminatory discipline policy

Recognize teaching performance which fosters equity.

Design proactive mission statement which corrects past bias.

Earmark money for equity classroom materials.

Design staff evaluations inclusive of equity criteria.

Pluralize subjects to avoid a gender pronoun.

Encourage males and females to express a wide range of feelings, responses and sensibilities.

Encourage contributions from females and ethnic minorities.

Discuss controversial topics of discrimination and prejudice.

Engage students in analyzing and debating an issue.

Call on students equitably.

Set expectations for students to use non-sexist language.

Select readings that have the females and ethnic minorities in responsible, exciting leadership positions.

Count the numbers of male, female & ethnic group members to determine the proportion in relation to the population.

Engage students in conducting research to find if the information is accurate

Introduce alternative ways to solve problems and make decisions.

Stress that events are the result of collaborative efforts and contributions of many.

Engage all members in noticing and correcting biased language

Intervene when slurs or jokes are made at another’s expense.

Nurture cooperation among males, females and ethnically diverse students.

Facilitate shared decision making.

Create a supportive climate for differing perspectives to be discussed.

Establish ways of integrating groups during free time.

Attend council meeting and have students present on use of non-biased language in newspapers, on road signs, etc.

Invite non- traditional role models to teach a lesson on their area of specialization.

Provide students with shadowing opportunities

Examine the history of discrimination within local laws and history.

Establish community advisory groups that are balanced by sex, ethnicity and disability.

Solicit volunteers from diverse groups to work with students.

Linguistic bias Stereotyping Invisibility/ Exclusion

Unreality Imbalance/ Selectivity

Fragmentation/ Isolation

Use the following matrix of the six forms of bias to assess bias in instructional strategies,

management styles, curriculum and communication in the classroom and the community.

Included are indicators of bias and strategy for reducing bias in each component.

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C N Y D Y O U T H D E V E L O P M E N T G U I D E38 3

P R O M O T I N G S A F E T Y

Knowing and Involving Your Community Every community has its own particular issues, history, and cultural heritage. It

is important to know what groups are represented in your program, so you can

be familiar with the history, issues, and relationships between those groups.

This is important for inclusion, so you can be sure that your young people see

familiar images on the walls, that they have some role models that come from

a similar background, and that cultural celebrations reflect the group.

Knowing your community is also important for reasons of physical safety.

For example, is your program located in gang territory? Do young people

have to cross territory of rival gangs to get to your site? Do young people in

your area sometimes carry weapons to feel safe? Are there current events in

local or national news that may have an impact on how students get along

at your program? What is the local history of relationships between different

groups represented in your program?

Parents and community members are wonderful resources for identifying

bias, providing insight into the historical and cultural background of the

community, and creating solutions to a variety of problems. Some programs

have formed parent “safety committees” that look at various safety issues

and work together to find solutions. Be sure that such working groups con-

tain a balance of the different groups represented in your program.

A Word About Confidentiality and Referrals As you get to know young people in the program and they develop trust

with you, many may share personal information, assuming it will be kept

confidential. Older youth in particular may feel safer knowing that you can

and will keep their conversations confidential. However, there are certain

times when you will not be able to keep confidentiality—such as when a

young person lets you know that someone is hurting them, or that they are

going to hurt someone else.

It is important that adult staff understand the legal reporting responsibilities

regarding child abuse and endangerment. If your program is addressing per-

sonal, sensitive issues with young people, it is important to have a clear pol-

icy on confidentiality that you can share openly with participants. It is par-

ticularly important with adolescents that they understand you will respect

their privacy, and that there are limits in regards to ensuring their safety. (For

more on confidentiality, see Helping Teens Stop Violence, listed in the

Resources section at the end of this guide.)

There will be times when a young participant’s issues are beyond the scope of

your program practice. It is important that staff members receive guidance on

how to handle these situations and have access to their program supervisors

to discuss situations where referrals to other professionals may be in order.

S N A P S H O T

Community Bridges Beacon San Francisco, CA

The Community Bridges

Beacon, a school-based

youth and community

center, suggests the fol-

lowing training series for

all Safety and Support

teams.

Prior to opening or within

the first three months,

a one-day training

including:

1. Youth development

philosophy

2. Child and adolescent

development

3. Safe school model

4. Team building

Within the first six months

to one year:

1. Conflict mediation

and resolution

2. Physical intervention

3. Dealing with hostile

situations and

personal safety

4. Anger diffusion

techniques

5. Crisis response training

6. Incident and injury

procedures and

reporting

Annual trainings for

all staff:

1. CPR/Standard First Aid

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