For those located in Region 8, you may or may not be aware of the newest Child Welfare Law that potentially impacts both the WTSDA and your individual school(s). For purposes of general education here’s what it boils down to: in Pennsylvania, those adults who are charged with care of children (e.g., our overnight Youth Dan Camps), or regular contact such with children (e.g., during classes on a weekly basis) are required by law to have a background check conducted every five (5) years. There are also requirements around the mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse. You should check with your attorney and/or insurance company for details.
How is the WTSDA impacted? Well, for a number of years, Region 8 has required those counselors attending the Youth Dan Camps to provide copies of completed background checks. Region 8 did this because it believes this is a best practice for an organization like ours. Now, it will be mandatory (reminder, the camps are currently held in Pennsylvania so all counselors, regardless of which state they reside in, are impacted by this). And the check must be renewed every five (5) years.
If you are in Region 8 and you need to have the check performed, please visit the page with the information on where to go to get your background checks completed. It may be found here.
Some other helpful resources:
Some FREE general information about the requirements and the applicable law (from the University of Pittsburgh Child Welfare Resource Center): http://www.pacwrc.pitt.edu/
Some FREE on-line training regarding the reporting of child abuse: https://www.reportabusepa.pitt.edu/webapps/portal/execute/tabs/tabAction?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1
More FREE information on child welfare and training programs to benefit children (includes information on bullying and a broad array of other topics): http://www.yftipa.org/pages/pa-child-welfare-resource-center
WTSDA and WTSDF Legal Affairs Committee 