I. General Policy Statement
Syracuse University is strengthening its commitment to the safety of minors (children under 18 who are not matriculated University students) invited to its campus, or participating in programs operated, controlled, or sponsored by the University. This policy builds upon existing University practices by confirming all such programs or activities must register with the University, and that all program staff (including University faculty, staff, students, and third-parties) and volunteers undergo background checks and training about how to interact with minors and identify and report suspected child abuse. This policy reaffirms that all University employees—including any individual participating in programs or activities involving minors on campus or sponsored by the University—must report suspected child abuse.
II. Reason for Policy/Purpose
This policy will enhance and better integrate existing practices promoting safety of minors on campus and in University programs. It will also ensure the University continues to meet its legal obligations in this area.
III. Policy
A. Program Registration
The person responsible (Responsible Program Person – more fully defined below and including any faculty or staff who invite minors to campus) for a University program hosting or involving minors (Minors Program or Program) must register the Program with Risk Management and Regulatory Compliance Services (Risk Management) at least thirty (30) days prior to the proposed start date. Recurring Programs must re-register every fiscal year. A Minors Program will not be permitted if it does not first register, or Risk Management denies approval.
As defined in this policy, Minors Programs include those that meet the following criteria:
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- They are sponsored, overseen, supervised, operated, controlled, or managed by the University or an Affiliate (defined below);
- They are funded in whole or in part from any University or Affiliate account;
- They are related to any academic credit-bearing, certificate-earning, or other activity within the scope of the official University or Affiliate mission, including faculty research;
- They are hosted on University owned, operated, or controlled property.
Minors Programs do not include the following:
- Recruited athlete visits, which are subject to separate procedures;
- Official University Admissions tours, which are subject to separate procedures;
- An activity in which the only participants are matriculated students of the University;
- An activity in which the only participants are 18 years or older.
B. Background Checks
Responsible Program Persons are responsible for (a) identifying and documenting all Minors Program staff and volunteers (including University faculty, staff, students, and third-parties); and (b) ensuring all staff or volunteers pass a background check performed within the 6-month period immediately prior to the Program start date.
Risk Management and Human Resources will procure all background checks, which will include criminal history record checks at the state and federal level, and sex offender registry and child protective services checks at the state level. Human Resources and Risk Management will review the results of any background check. Risk Management will determine the eligibility of staff and volunteers for participation in Minors Programs, with appropriate consultation from the Office of University Counsel, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Human Resources. Individuals who refuse to submit to a background check may not participate in a Minors Program.
C. Training
Minors Program staff (including University faculty, staff, students, and third-parties) and volunteers are required to participate in minors safety training provided by Risk Management prior to the start of the Minors Program. The training may consist of online or in-person training. The training shall be completed annually before Minors Program staff and volunteers begin working with minors, and the training shall be documented and tracked by Risk Management.
Training shall be designed to fulfill N.Y. Soc. Serv. § 413, which requires institutions, schools, or organizations that employ Mandated Reporters (defined below) to provide employees with written information explaining child abuse and maltreatment reporting requirements. Training should also address identification and prevention of child abuse and maltreatment; child abuse and maltreatment reporting obligations under New York law and University policy; maintaining healthy, professional and appropriate boundaries; reporting obligations under Title IX; and reporting obligations for responsible employees and campus security authorities under the Clery Act.
D. Third-Party Minors Programs
Third-party sponsors of Minors Programs taking place on property owned, operated or controlled by the University are responsible for procuring and reviewing background checks and conducting training consistent with the requirements of Sections III.B and III.C above. Any license or other agreement governing a third-party’s use of University property for a Minors Program must include these background check and training requirements, and give the University the right to audit background check results and training records.
E. Operational Requirements
Any Minors Program must comply with certain minimum operational requirements promulgated and maintained by Risk Management. It is the responsibility of the Program Sponsor to ensure compliance with all operational requirements set by Risk Management. The Program Sponsor must distribute a copy of the written operational requirements to all Program staff or volunteers.
F. Behavioral Expectations
All Minors Program staff and volunteers must adhere to behavioral expectations promulgated and maintained by Risk Management. It is the responsibility of the Responsible Program Person to ensure compliance with all behavioral expectations set by Risk Management. The Responsible Program Person must distribute a copy of the written behavioral expectations to all Program staff or volunteers.
G. Reporting Abuse or Maltreatment
Under New York law, certain University employees have a legal obligation to report suspected child abuse or maltreatment, both externally to child protective services and internally to the University. These employees are known as Mandated Reporters. University community members who are not considered Mandated Reporters may report suspected child abuse or maltreatment at any time. The University encourages the immediate reporting of suspected abuse or maltreatment, regardless of whether there is a legal obligation to do so.
For information about who is a Mandated Reporter at the University, and procedures for reporting, see Section V.A.2. below.
H. Staff and Volunteer Conduct Attestation
All Minors Program staff and volunteers must confirm in writing that they have read this policy, agree to abide by it, and understand the training provided pursuant to Section III.C. above.
I. Violations of Policy
Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from employment, suspension or expulsion from further study, revocation of authority to act as a Responsible Program Person, and termination or suspension of a Minors Program.
J. Administration
Risk Management is responsible for administering this policy and periodically reviewing and updating it as needed. Risk Management and the Office of University Counsel have authority to create procedures to carry out the mandates of this policy. Responsible Program Persons, Program Contacts, and school, college, and unit coordinators are responsible for ensuring Minors Programs adhere to the mandates of this policy.
IV. To Whom Does This Policy Apply
Select all that apply:
☒ Students ☒ Faculty ☒ Staff ☒ Visitors/General Public ☐ Other___________________
V. Appendices (as applicable)
A. Procedures
- Minors Program Registration
Please see the Risk Management website for registration procedures and additional information for Minors Programs.
- Child Abuse or Maltreatment Reporting Procedures
Mandated Reporters must report suspected child abuse or maltreatment by telephone to the New York Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR). The SCR is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The timeliness of the call is vital to the timeliness of intervention by the local department of social services’ Child Protective Services (CPS) unit.
Mandated Reporters are not required to notify the parents or other persons legally responsible either before or after the call to the SCR. In some cases, alerting the parent may hinder the local CPS investigation and adversely affect its ability to assess the safety of the children.
The telephone numbers to report child abuse or maltreatment by a parent or caregiver are:
Mandated Reporter (800) 635-1522
Public Hotline (800) 342-3720
For Abuse by Institutional Staff: 1-855-373-2122
To contact the local department of social services, click here:
http://ocfs.ny.gov/main/localdss.asp
New York law also requires all Mandated Reporters, after making a report in their capacity as a staff member of a public or private institution or school to also notify the person in charge of that institution, school, facility, or agency. At Syracuse University, the units in charge of these matters are the Department of Public Safety and the Office of Equal Opportunity, Inclusion, and Resolution Services.
If a child is in immediate danger, call 911.
a. Who Must Report. Mandated Reporters at the University include administrators, faculty, staff, advisors, counselors, psychologists, social workers, other school personnel required to hold a teaching or administrative license or certificate; directors of children’s overnight or day camps; day care center workers; school-age child care workers; any other child care worker; medical professionals; Health Services personnel; mental health professionals, including therapists and substance abuse counselors; police officers and peace officers; and, other professionals who routinely come into contact with minors.
The New York mandated reporter obligations exclude any confidential communications made to an attorney subject to the attorney-client privilege or a member of the clergy subject to the clergy-penitent privilege.
In addition to any New York state law requirement to report suspected child abuse or maltreatment, the University requires any University employee who volunteers or works with Minors to report suspected abuse or neglect.
b. What Must be Reported. Mandated Reporters are required to make a report when the reporter has reasonable cause to suspect:
- A child coming before them in their professional or official capacity is an abused or maltreated child; or,
- The parent, guardian, custodian, or other person legally responsible for the child comes before the Mandated Reporter and states with personal knowledge facts, conditions, or circumstances that, if correct, would render the child an abused or maltreated child.
An abused child is one whose parent or other person legally responsible for their care inflicts serious physical injury upon the child, creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury, or commits a sex offense against the child. Abuse also includes situations where a parent or other person legally responsible knowingly allows someone else to inflict such harm on a child.
Maltreatment refers to the quality of care a child is receiving from those responsible for the child. Maltreatment occurs when a parent, guardian, or caregiver harms a child, or places a child in imminent danger of harm by failing to exercise adequate care or supervision. Maltreatment can also result from abandonment of a child. A child may be maltreated if a parent engages in excessive use of drugs or alcohol such that it interferes with their ability to adequately supervise the child.
University policy requires that Mandated Reporters report suspected abuse or maltreatment regardless of the role of the suspected perpetrator, including in instances where the identity or the role of the perpetrator is unknown. In other words, University employees are required to report abuse or maltreatment committed by any individual, not just a parent or caregiver.
Reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or maltreatment means that, based on the Mandated Reporter’s rational observations, professional training and experience, the Mandated Reporter has a suspicion that the parent or other person legally responsible for a child is responsible for harming that child or placing that child in imminent danger of harm. The suspicion can be as simple as distrusting an explanation for an injury. When in doubt, the Mandated Reporter should resolve the doubt in favor of reporting.
c. Confidentiality for Mandated Reporters. The Social Services Law provides confidentiality for Mandated Reporters and all sources of child abuse and maltreatment reports. Child protective services agencies are not permitted to release to the subject of the report any data that would identify the source of a report unless the source has given written permission for them to do so. Information regarding the source of the report may be shared with court officials, police, and district attorneys, but only in certain circumstances.
d. Immunity from Liability. A Mandated Reporter who makes a report with earnest concern for the welfare of a child is immune from any criminal or civil liability that might result. This is referred to as making a report in “good faith.”
e. Protection from Retaliatory Personnel Action. New York law provides that no public or private institution shall take any retaliatory personnel action against an employee who made a report to the SCR. Furthermore, no school, school official, child care provider, foster care provider, or mental health facility provider shall impose any conditions, including prior approval or prior notification, upon a member of their staff mandated to report suspected child abuse or maltreatment.
f. Penalties for Failure to Report. Anyone who is mandated to report suspected child abuse or maltreatment—and fails to do so—could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor and subject to criminal penalties. Further, Mandated Reporters can be sued in a civil court for monetary damages for any harm caused by the Mandated Reporter’s failure to make a report to the SCR.
B. Definitions
Child Abuse or Maltreatment – Under New York state law, Mandated Reporters are required to report suspected child abuse or maltreatment, which encompasses the most serious injuries and/or risk of serious injuries to children by their caregivers. An abused child is one whose parent or other person legally responsible for their care inflicts serious physical injury upon the child, creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury, or commits a sex offense against the child. Abuse also includes situations where a parent or other person legally responsible knowingly allows someone else to inflict such harm on a child.
Maltreatment refers to the quality of care a child is receiving from those responsible for the child. Maltreatment occurs when a parent, guardian, or caregiver harms a child, or places a child in imminent danger of harm by failing to exercise adequate care or supervision. Maltreatment can also result from abandonment of a child. A child may be maltreated if a parent engages in excessive use of drugs or alcohol such that it interferes with their ability to adequately supervise the child.
University policy requires that Mandated Reporters report suspected abuse or neglect regardless of the role of the suspected perpetrator, including in instances where the identity or the role of the perpetrator is unknown. In other words, University employees are required to report abuse or maltreatment committed by any individual, not just a parent or caregiver.
Affiliate – Any legal entity that is controlled by or is under common control with the University. Examples include, without limitation, Drumlins, the Sheraton, and Syracuse University Abroad centers.
Mandated Reporters – New York State recognizes that certain professionals are specially equipped to perform the important role of mandated reporter of child abuse or maltreatment.
Those professionals at the University include:
- Administrators
- Faculty
- Staff
- Advisors
- Counselors
- Psychologists
- Social workers
- Other school personnel required to hold a teaching or administrative license or certificate
- Directors of children’s overnight or day camps
- Day care center workers
- School-age child care workers
- Any other child care worker
- Medical professionals
- Health Services personnel
- Mental health professionals, including therapists and substance abuse counselors
- Police officers and peace officers
- Other professionals who routinely come into contact with minors
Minors – individuals under the age of 18, who are not a matriculated University students. For laboratories, Minors under the age of 13 are limited to supervised tours only, and may not participate in any hands-on laboratory activities.
Minors Programs – As defined in this policy, Minors Programs include programs:
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- Sponsored, overseen, supervised, operated, controlled, or managed by the University or an Affiliate (defined below);
- Funded in whole or in part from any University or Affiliate account;
- Related to any academic credit-bearing, certificate-earning, or other activity within the scope of the official University or Affiliate mission, including faculty research;
- Hosted on University owned, operated, or controlled property.
Examples of Minors Programs include sports camps, workshops and other camps, individual research projects within laboratories, individual tutoring or instructional sessions, Summer College programs, visiting high school bands and sports teams, overnight admissions events, and visits from local school classes.
Minors Programs do not include:
- Recruited athlete visits, which are subject to separate procedures;
- Official University Admissions tours, which are subject to separate procedures;
- An activity in which the only participants are matriculated students of the University;
- An activity in which the only participants are 18 years or older.
Minors Program Staff– University employees, faculty, staff, students, or third-parties who are responsible for overseeing, managing, or participating in a Minors Program.
Program Contact – The individual designated by the Responsible Program Person to be responsible for coordinating with the University’s Director of Emergency Management and carrying out emergency protocols and communications plans to notify parents or guardians in case of an emergency.
Responsible Program Person – The person who has primary operational responsibility for managing a particular Minors Program. Responsible Program Persons include individual faculty or staff who invite minors to campus or to a University program including, without limitation, to classes, research laboratories, performances or other events, recreational activities, and educational sessions or lessons. The Responsible Program Person or their designee may also be the Program Contact for purposes of emergency communication and planning.
C. Forms
Forms are available on the Risk Management website.