Frequently Asked Questions for SYS 625: Youth Protection and Compliance

Frequently Asked Questions for SYS 625

Last Revised: February 19, 2024

Question 1: Where can I get additional information about this policy? (SYS 625, section 2)

Response: We encourage everyone to communicate with their Precollege Liaison for more information about this policy, or contact the Office of Compliance & Integrity.

Question 2: When does this policy become effective?

Response: March 1, 2023

Question 3: If my program is already planned, budgeted, and staffed prior to the policy coming out, will I need to change my program to comply for 2023? (SYS 625, section 8)

Response: Yes, programs are encouraged to anticipate the March 1, 2023 date when planning programs that begin after the effective date of the policy.

Question 4: Does this policy apply to dual-enrolled students? (SYS 625, section 5)

Response: If the dual-enrolled student is part of a youth activity that also happens to give credit, this policy applies. If the youth are not part of a program and come to campuses to take a course and return to their respective high schools, this policy does not apply.

Question 5: What activities are required to be registered with the Precollege Liaisons? (SYS 625, section 6.C)

Response: All youth serving activities whether individual lessons, conferences, field trips, third parties, residential programs, and camps should be registered with the Precollege Liaisons. Childcare programs and research programs under IRB are not required to register with the Precollege Liaison. However, we do encourage all youth-serving staff to discuss their plans with their Precollege Liaisons.

Question 6: What is a “third-party activity” and what are the basic requirements for those entities to conduct a youth activity? (SYS 625, section 6.P)

Response: An organization or individual engaging in covered activities that is operating outside of and/or not affiliated with the institution.

Question 7: What is the definition of a “designated individual”? (SYS 625, section 5)

Response: A designated individual is an authorized adult who is counted in the supervision ratio for a covered activity. Designated individuals are responsible for ensuring the care and safety of youth participants in covered activities. Additional training is required for authorized adults serving as designated individuals.

This role operates in a supervisory capacity and has extended contact with minors. For example, an independent contractor who makes up the adult-to-minor ratio at a youth program. Institutions must complete the following for designated individuals:

  • Criminal Background Check (CBC) – every 4 years in alignment with RPD 20-19
  • Reference Checks – upon hiring in alignment with SYS 1275

Individuals must complete the following trainings:

  • Executive Order 54 Mandated Reporter – every 2 years
  • Sexual Harassment/Sexual Violence reporting – every 3 years
  • Responsible Employee – as directed and designated by campus policy
  • Clery Campus Security Authority – every year as directed and designated by campus policy
  • Youth Mental Health – as directed and designated by campus policy
  • CPR/First Aid/AED – as directed and designated by campus policy

Question 8: What is the definition of an “authorized adult”? (SYS 625, section 5)

Response: Authorized adults are individuals, age 18 and over, paid or unpaid, who are authorized to interact with youth participants as part of a covered activity, following completion of screening and training requirements. This category includes, but is not limited to, faculty, staff, volunteers, graduate and undergraduate students, student athletes, interns, and individuals associated with third parties. Authorized adults cannot have unsupervised access to minors unless they are also indicated as a designated individual.

Question 9: Will volunteers, interns, and student staff require the same level of training, vetting, and screening as regular program employees?

Response: Yes. Training, screening, and vetting is based on how the person interacts with minors and not their affiliation with the institution.

Question 10: Does my program have to have insurance to run? (SYS 625, section 6.K)

Response: Yes. All programs must be properly insured. Please work with your risk managers to determine if your program or activity must have Camps and Clinics insurance.

Question 11: If I am already employed by the UW, will I still be required to have a reference check? (SYS 625, section 6.D)

Response: No. Reference checks are only required for new youth-serving staff and employees whose positions are indicated as a “designated individual.”

Question 12: What type of background checks are required and who must complete them?

Response: Institutions must follow applicable institutional screening policies and procedures for authorized adults, including, but not limited to criminal background checks (CBCs) pursuant to Regent Policy Document 20-19, University of Wisconsin System Criminal Background Check Policy. Authorized adults should receive checks equivalent to the Human Resource category of Positions of Trust with Access to Vulnerable Populations. VolunteerMatters was launched in November 2023 to centralize documentation (training competition, programs they have been a part of, criminal background checks, and other required credentials) and to monitor youth-serving volunteers. The UW System Office of Human Resources and university HR partners continue to work on processes to streamline reference checks for this population. An anticipated solution for reference checking is anticipated to be available in Fall 2024.

Question 13: What type of registration/program monitoring tools are available for institutions to use to identify, track and monitor youth activities on campus? Who pays for that?

Response: Currently UW-System has funded the creation and implementation of the Youth Activity Registration System (YARS). This is a compliance documentation application that allows campuses to document which youth and activities are on their campus, and the adults involved in the activities. This application also documents compliance requirements like supervision plans, emergency plans, and orientation documents.

Question 14: What is the role of the Precollege Liaison? 

Response: Precollege liaisons are designated by your campus leadership to support your institution in the work of youth protection, programming, and compliance. The role of these liaisons is to advocate and implement youth protection policies and best practices on your campus. They should also be involved in the determination of whether your institution is ready to bring youth back to campus for in-person programs in a COVID/post-COVID environment.

Question 15: Who is my Precollege Liaison? 

Response:  Visit our website for the most up-to-date list of Precollege Liaisons.

Question 16: What are the Third Party Compliance Requirements?

Response:

  • SYS 625 Policy Third Party requirements only apply to Third Party activities that fall under the definition of Covered Activities. (Change to be made in the next revision of the policy in Q1 of FY2023.)
  • Third Party participant data collection is no longer required. (Change to be made to section 6.p.iii in the next revision of the policy in Q1 of FY2023. We will remove the verbiage “and youth participants.”)
  • Third Party Staff documentation is to include names, and DOB for all authorized adults within the 30 days following the end date identified in the contract.

Question 17: What program registration information are campuses required to document?

Response: Covered activities providing custodial care that are organized, sponsored, and/or operated by the Institution must have a designated Institutional Sponsor and require registration of youth participants. Registration information collected includes but is not limited to:

Participant Data

  • Name *
  • Contact Information *
  • Emergency Contact Information  *
  • Permit to Treat
  • Photo Release
  • Medical Needs
  • Pick-Up Drop Off Authorization

Program Data

  • Date
  • Location
  • Time
  • Supervision Protocols*
  • Safety /Emergency Protocols*
  • Director Contact Information *

Staff Information

  • Name*
  • DOB*
  • Contact Information*
  • Criminal Background Date*
  • Reference Check Info (If applicable)*
  • Completed Trainings*
  • Hire Date*

* indicates required by policy, and the other are strongly encouraged best practices

Question 18: Are activities tied to recruitment and admission of prospective college students considered “covered activities” under SYS 625?  How are these activities different from field trips?

Response: Any activity that is planned or held for the direct purpose of recruiting or admitting minors as prospective students (e.g. admissions visits and campus tours) is not considered a “covered activity.”  This includes minors participating in events such as preview days, pre-enrollment/registration visits, and campus tours, as these activities are also “events open to the general public” under Section 3.A of SYS 625.  Additionally, minors participating in pre-enrollment visitation or recruiting activities governed by the NCAA are also exempt from the SYS 625 policy under Section 3.G.

However, an activity or event open to the public through a registration process that focuses on exposing a minor to an activity, lesson, or event (music or soccer) but not for the specific purpose of recruiting or admitting the minor to college would be considered a covered activity and subject to SYS 625.

Field trips that focus on firsthand observation and or participation on or off campus do fall in the scope of SYS 625. Typically, the university isn’t taking on custodial care for field trips and is utilizing a field trip agreement form for specific audiences/K12 school groups.

Some of the factors that indicate an event is “open to the general public” are as follows:

The event has no cost to attendees.

Parents and guardians are encouraged to attend with their minor children.

If the number of spots available in a planned session is exceeded, another session is made available or is opened for potential attendees.

There are no prerequisites or qualifications attendees must meet to attend, including, but not limited to, age ranges, grade levels, and registration at a specific school, among others.

Question 19: What is considered “contact information” to collect under the policy?

Response: For camps licensed by DATCP, a list of “contact information” required to be collected is provided in ATCP 78.28(1) and is as follows:

  • Legal name.
  • Home address.
  • Phone number.
  • Email address.
  • The name, phone number, and email of persons to notify in case of an emergency.

For all other minor activities or events, universities should collect the same information as required for licensed activities (see above).  Additional information may be collected at the discretion of the university.

Question 20: What is the university’s responsibility for determining 3rd party emergency protocols?  Do we have to define emergency protocols for a 3rd party or just ensure the 3rd party knows they must have one? Do we need to collect, from the third party, evidence of the minimum requirements?

Response: The SYS 625 states “institutions must require third parties… sign a contract that includes, at minimum… state that third parties engaged in covered activities meet the minimum requirements outlined… Emergency Preparedness: Third parties must document minimum emergency preparedness protocols based on the covered activity’s level of risk and as advised by the institution’s risk management authority or other relevant institution stakeholders.” The Third-Party Agreement (Facility Use Agreement) template does include this.

It is recommended that the institution provide third parties access to the institution’s emergency preparedness protocol through a link or other means to ensure third parties are fully aware of and may immediately access university protocols during an emergency. It is up to the third party to document any minimum emergency preparedness protocols specific to their camp/clinic/activity. For example, if the third party is hosting an ice-skating clinic, what minimum protocols would be advised? Does your institutional slips, trips, and falls protocol cover broadly enough that if there were a slip/fall on/around an ice rink wearing ice skates/normal footwear, the authorized adults would know what to do? If not, what else would be advised that the third-party document at a minimum?

As long as the third party signs the contract and ensures they will meet the minimum requirements outlined, institutions are not required to collect proof of this requirement. As noted above, per SYS 625, the third party must “meet” and “document” the minimum requirements. Nowhere in the policy does it state that the institution needs to “collect” that documentation. SYS 625 section 6. P. IIV. states “…all requirements for covered activities are subject to audits and or request(s) and may occur at any time within seven years”. Which supports the previous language in the policy that the third party must “meet” and “document”. This is included in the Third-Party Agreement, with an addition: “Violations of this agreement and/or associated policies, protocols, or procedures by the Third Party may subject the Third Party to program termination, and its employees, officers, and agents to removal from the authorization to work with minors, in accordance with institutional policies and procedures.”

Question 21: What type of incidents should be reported, tracked, and maintained as a part of the youth protection record-keeping and data collection requirements? 

Response: Universities are required to track, maintain, and report the following incident data in accordance with section 6 of SYS 625:

  1. Any suspected physical abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse of a minor pursuant to the institution’s EO54 reporting procedures,
  2. Sexual harassment or sexual violence as defined by the institution’s Title IX policy,
    1. Minor to Minor
    2. Staff/Authorized Adult to Minor
    3. Minor to Staff/Authorized Adult
  3. Incidents resulting in serious harm requiring professional medical attention, and
  4. Incidents of illegal or unauthorized drug use.

 

Question 22: What is HireRight’s lookback period for checking whether a prior criminal background check (CBC) has been completed for a volunteer?

Response: CBC lookback period in HireRight is currently set for one year (365 days). This means that if VolunteerMatters sends a request to HireRight for a CBC to be run on a volunteer, HireRight will only look back a total of 365 days for a CBC in the HireRight system.  If HireRight can’t find a CBC that has been run within that 365 day period, HireRight will automatically run a CBC on that volunteer. If HireRight finds a CBC that was done in the prior 365 days, no additional check will be run.

Note that employees who volunteer for a youth activity on their own time (no connection to their employment), will be treated as volunteers for purposes of a CBC.

Question 23: May universities take steps to override the 365-day lookback period for volunteers?

Response: Yes, universities may manually set a CBC credential and expiration date in the VolunteerMatters system by setting up an initial contact record for a volunteer as long as the CBC completion dates for that volunteer is verified through HireRight. Note, the CBC credential and expiration date for that volunteer needs to be entered before that volunteer is invited to serve on a project.

If universities have a list of their volunteers who have had previous background checks, VolunteerMatters can do a one-time data load of these volunteers. Universities will need to prepare an Excel spreadsheet with the individual’s first and last name, the email address the individual will be using for VolunteerMatters, and the CBC expiration date. Example of how the spreadsheet needs to be formatted:

First Name Last Name Applicant Email CBC Expiration Date
Samuel Kgjdkgj 5740@UWEC.EDU 1/30/2027
Paige Pfjdskjs 2635@uwlax.edu 1/30/2028
Nyah Dfdksf 3284@UWEC.EDU 3/30/2026
Isabelle Kgjsk 1894@UWEC.EDU 7/30/2027

 

Submit the spreadsheet to the Office of Compliance (compliance@uwsa.edu) and we will coordinate with VolunteerMatters on the one-time data load.

VolunteerMatters will then set up an initial contact record for these individuals, with the CBC credential expiration date as provided from the spreadsheet. When the individual goes to volunteer for a project, he/she will log into VolunteerMatters and complete their registration as well as any other credentials required for that volunteer position. Because they already have the CBC Credential on their contact record, they will not be prompted to initiate another (unless, of course, the CBC expired between the date of the initial data load and the date when they are signing up to volunteer). Note this data load must be completed prior to inviting volunteers to serve on projects.

Question 24: How often are background checks completed for volunteers and employees?

Response: CBCs are conducted for all volunteers and employees involved with youth activities every four years in accordance with Regent Policy Document 20-19, University of Wisconsin System Criminal Background Check Policy.