Student organizations often want to host camps, events, programs, etc. for minors, both on and off The University of Texas at Austin campus. Student organizations should be aware of the additional varied time and financial demands placed upon the officers, members and sponsors of the organization to facilitate a quality pre-college event. The student organization must also be aware of the university and state of Texas mandated policies and rules that must be followed.
- Definition
- Types of Programs Involving Minors
- With Parent/Guardian Programs
- Without Parent/ Guardian Programs
- Sponsoring University Program/Department Procedures and Requirements
- Appendix 1: Child Protection Training
- Appendix 2: Background Checks
Definitions
Camper: A minor (under age 18) who is attending a campus program for minors (program or programs) on University premises or attending a program sponsored by the University. This definition does not include University students who are under the age of 18.
Campus Program for Minors (Program or Programs): Any program or camp held on University premises in-person or virtually that offers recreational, athletic, religious, or educational activities to minors, or one that is University sponsored. This excludes programs for University-enrolled students under the age of 18.
Camp Director (Responsible): University college, school, unit, or department employee who owns, operates, or supervises a campus program for minors, regardless of profit. The camp director is directly involved in every aspect of the camp, including but not limited to hiring all designated individuals, ensuring all designated individuals have had training, criminal background checks, and the program has been registered with the youth protection program director.
Custodial Responsibility: When a program assumes “custodial responsibility” of a minor, the program has the responsibility for taking care of and ensuring the well-being of a minor. The program is also legally accountable for all that happens to that minor while the minor is within the program’s custody. When a program voluntarily assumes custodial responsibility of minors, they also assume liability and thus risk. It is a manageable risk when the university’s Youth Protection Program Policy is followed. Student organizations cannot host events or programs where they take custodial responsibility of minors. If a student organization hosts an event where minors will attend, custodial responsibility must remain with teachers, parents, legal guardians, and chaperones.
Designated Individual(s): Any person involved in a campus program for minors (program or programs), who has contact with a minor. This includes those programs held on campus or one which is sponsored by the University. Examples of designated individuals include but are not limited to faculty, staff, student workers, volunteers, and contracted employees.
Minor: An individual under the age of 18. For purposes of this policy, this definition does not include University-enrolled students under the age of 18.
Unsupervised Access: Means either of these situations which are prohibited:
- an individual has access to a minor and there is no other designated individual present
- a designated individual is alone with a minor
University of Texas System Child Protection Training: A Texas Department of State Health Services training module for designated individuals working a campus program for minors.
Youth Protection Program Director: The University employee responsible for the oversight of any camp or program involving minors held on University property or sponsored by the University.
Types of Programs Involving Minors
The following types of programs involving minors will be approved provided:
- All university policies are followed.
- The organization’s faculty/staff advisor and the programs sponsoring university program/department approve.
- There is a responsible camp director (applies to without parent/guardian one-day programs).
- With Parent/Guardian One-Day Programs: Teachers, parents/legal guardians stay with the minors AT ALL TIMES for the duration of the program. Program may occur on or off campus for any length of time on a single day. Student organizations must follow the With Parent/Guardian Programs Procedure below.
- Without Parent/Guardian One-Day Programs: The student organization and the University assume responsibility for the minors. Teachers, parents, or legal guardians are not with the minors for the duration of the event. Program may occur on or off campus for any length of time on a single day. Student organizations must follow the Youth Protection Program Policy.
With Parent/Guardian Programs
There are fewer requirements for this program as the hosting organization IS NOT
assuming responsibility of the minor. The minor is with his or her responsible party for the duration of the program. AT NO TIME during the program should any volunteer/staff with the student organization be responsible for ANY of the participating minors.
Examples of this type of program include Explore UT, Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day and Engineering Day at the Museum.
This does not apply to off campus events where UT Austin students may be volunteering such as classroom visits to area schools, First LEGO League competitions and the Austin Energy Science Fair. Student organizations must follow the rules and policies set forth by the hosting organization in these situations.
Procedures and Requirements
This type of program involving minors will be approved provided:
- All university policies are followed.
- The organization’s faculty/staff advisor and programs sponsoring university program/department approve.
The following additional measures must be taken with these types of programs:
- Communications with parents/guardians should clearly state the following:
- The student organization is not assuming responsibility of the participants and that the minor’s parent/guardian/teacher should remain with the participant for the duration of the program.
- Wording for chaperoned events: The University of Texas at Austin (insert name of college/school/unit/department) will not take custodial responsibility of minors while participating in (insert name of program). Custodial responsibility will remain with teachers, parents, legal guardians, and chaperones.
- Acceptable/unacceptable behavior by participants and the minor’s parent/guardian/teacher for the program
- The student organization is not assuming responsibility of the participants and that the minor’s parent/guardian/teacher should remain with the participant for the duration of the program.
- Written procedures must be shared with volunteers that define:
- Operations of the program
- Emergency procedures
- Acceptable interactions with minors by volunteers/staff before, during and after the program
- Prohibited behavior by volunteers/staff
- Volunteer/staff training so all involved understand program policies and procedures they must follow to ensure the safety and security of all participants.
Without Parent/ Guardian Programs
There are many requirements for this program as the student organization IS assuming responsibility of the minor. If at ANY TIME during the program the minor is NOT with a parent/guardian/teacher, this process in conjunction with HOP 3-1710 Youth Protection Program Policy must be followed.
This does not apply to off campus events where university students may be volunteering such as classroom visits to area schools. Student organizations must follow the rules and policies set forth by the hosting organization in these situations.
Procedures and Requirements
This program involving minors will be approved provided:
- All university policies are followed.
- The organization’s faculty/staff advisor and programs sponsoring university program/department approve.
- There is a responsible camp director.
Student Organization Procedures and Requirements
Student organizations must ensure the following are completed for the program:
| Timing | Procedure or Requirement |
|---|---|
| At Least 2 Months Prior to Program | Obtain approval by organization’s faculty/staff advisor and programs sponsoring university program/department. |
| Due 30 Days Prior to Program | Obtain the Child Protection Training certificate of completion from all designated individuals. Child Protection Training must be repeated every 2 years. See Appendix 1 for additional information. |
| Due 14 Days Prior to Program | Written procedures must be shared with designated individuals that define:
|
Sponsoring University Program/Department Procedures and Requirements
The student organization’s sponsoring university program/department camp director must ensure the following are completed for the program:
| Timing | Procedure or Requirement |
|---|---|
| At Least 2 Months Prior to Program | Approve the program. |
| Due 30 Days Prior to Program | Obtain the CW514: Child Protection Training certificate of completion from all designated individuals. Child Protection Training must be repeated every 2 years. See Appendix 1 for additional information A complete list of all designated individuals must be provided to the sponsoring university program/department camp director for criminal background checks. |
| Due 30 Days Prior to Program | Background checks must be completed for all designated individuals. Background checks are required annually. See Appendix 2 for additional information. The camp director must submit the following forms to the appropriate university contact or office as described on the form:
|
| Due 14 Days Prior to Program | Confirm the following written procedures have been shared with designated individuals that define:
|
Appendix 1: Child Protection Training
An approved training module by the Texas Department of State Health Services is required. Any designated individual who has not completed the training cannot work in a program.
The training module (including the exam) will take approximately one (1) hour to complete (as mandated by state law) and is derived from Texas State Statutes as well as University policy. The camp director is responsible for ensuring designated individuals complete the child protection training 30 days prior to the start of the program. The training information is documented on the Campus Program for Minors (CPM) Form and emailed to the youth protection program director.
Information about accessing the online child protection training module and how the camp director can access the list of those who have completed the module can be found below.
The University of Texas System Child Protection Training
The provided training, The University of Texas System Child Protection Training online class, can be accessed via the UTLearn website (http://utlearn.utexas.edu). UT Austin provides this module at no cost.
Note: If you are unable to access UTLearn, please contact either your camp point of contact to verify that all your paperwork is complete, or contact the ITS Service Desk (512-475-9400 or help@its.utexas.edu) for assistance.
Who uses this training?
All designated individuals (employees, volunteers and third party personnel) who are working with campus programs for minors.
How do I access this training?
- Log in to UTLearn with your UT EID and password, via the UTLearn website: http://utlearn.utexas.edu.
- Search for Child Protection Training via the Global Search box in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
- Click the training title and then the Request
- Click the Launch button in your Active transcript and complete the training
Note: Your browser must have pop-ups enabled, and you may need to verify that your Flash plug-ins are up to date. - Once the training is complete, the module shows a Completed status and appears in your Completed transcript. Employees can retake the test as needed to achieve a passing score.
Note: An employee is certified for two years and must repeat the training before the end of the second year if they wish to continue employment in a camp.
How to obtain a list of individuals that have completed this training?
The Youth Protection Program Director or camp/program directors can access UTLearn reporting or individuals’ transcripts to examine the records for a single individual or request a list of all employees who have completed the training. To request access to UTLearn reporting, or for assistance with reporting, please contact the Youth Protection Program Director (LeeKeshia Williams) or the ITS Service Desk (512-475-9400 or help@its.utexas.edu).
Appendix 2: Background Checks
Background checks must occur each year of the program for all designated individuals working a campus program for minors without teachers, parents/guardians present for the duration of the event. This does not apply for session presenters, panelists or guests participating in a limited capacity and short duration (such as “lunch with an engineer” volunteers) and who will not have unsupervised access to minors.
Designated individuals must have a successfully cleared criminal background check prior to the start of the program each year.
There is a cost associated with the background check and the student organization or sponsoring organization must assume these costs. The cost of background checks varies state-to-state, and internationally. The camp director is responsible for ensuring background checks are completed through the Human Resource department.
Required background checks include:
- Workers/Volunteers who live in Texas
- State of Texas (DPS)
- National Sex Offender Registration check
- Workers who have lived outside of Texas in the past seven years (since the age of 17)
- State of Texas (DPS)
- Vendor check (Includes National Sex Offender Registration check)
- International workers
- International background check through the vendor only if the worker has resided outside of the United States at some time since age 14 and the worker’s visa was issued or reviewed prior to 10/24/11.
For more information, refer to the university policy HOP 5-1140 Criminal Background Checks.
The vendor check is required if the person has lived outside of Texas at any time since age 17. The vendor will collect information for the State of Texas and any other state in which the person resided.
- State of Texas (DPS) check costs $6.50
- Vendor check costs $32.50, plus any additional charges from the states or agencies that provide information
- National Sex Offender Registry check costs $4.00.