Updated November 1, 2023
Minimum Requirements
Colleges and units operating or hosting youth programs must ensure that all youth program personnel complete appropriate training prior to engaging with minor participants, and annually thereafter.
Training content must include, at minimum, the following topics:
a. Recognizing signs of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse
b. Reporting suspected child abuse and neglect in Oregon
c. How to help prevent child abuse
d. All requirements of the Protection of Minors Policy.
To assist sponsoring units with meeting this requirement, the Office of Youth Protection offers the following training resources:
Training Assessment and Outline
The following checklist may be used for planning and evaluation of youth safety training content to ensure alignment with OSU's minimum requirements for youth programs. Sponsoring units may submit this form and any supplemental content to [email protected] for review and consultation.
New! Youth Safety Training Assessment worksheet
Online Training
The following courses from the United Educators "Protecting Children" series are recommended as part of sponsoring units' annual training for youth program personnel. (Note: users must log in to the OSU Youth Program Registry to access content).
For OSU employees and volunteers working directly with minors in university youth programs:
Course: Identifying and Reporting Sexual Misconduct (45 min) - Teaches ways to recognize the signs of abuse, prevent abuse by identifying potential areas where abuse can take place, and how to report specific cases of abuse. With scenarios based on actual cases of abuse, this course will test decision-making skills of faculty, staff and volunteers who engage directly with minors.
For hiring supervisors or individuals responsible for screening and selecting youth program staff and volunteers:
Course: Hiring Staff Who Work With Minors (30 min) - Provides tips on screening applicants, conducting interviews, performing reference checks, and spotting common red flags that can be essential in keeping minors safe.
For support personnel or other (supervised) individuals who will not engage directly with minors:
Video: Shine a Light (10 min) - This short video is intended to bring awareness to the warning signs and "red flag" behaviors of sexual abuse by adults. It also reviews specific locations to keep an eye on and concrete steps for reporting incidents or suspicions. Note: this content is most appropriate for faculty, students or other individuals who are not directly involved with program delivery and not responsible for supervision of minors.
For educators who interact with minors, including off-campus and community settings:
Course: Boundary Awareness for Educators (30 min) - This course uses scenarios and interactive exercises to illustrate how easily educators can find themselves in a situation where boundaries are being approached and how they can safely navigate away from boundary violations.
Other Training Resources
The following links and resources are provided as samples to supplement unit-specific content. Use the Training Assessment and Outline (above) when developing or updating your program's youth safety content.
Disclaimer: Since delivery of training is the responsibility of the sponsoring unit, no single resource or sample provided below should be construed as a 'complete' training. Prospective trainees should contact the program leader or a unit administrator to determine appropriate training for individual youth programs.
Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse - Critical training available to all OSU employees (requires Bridge login)
Quick Overview of Mandatory Reporting at OSU and FAQs from NEO - Training offered to all new employees via OSU's New Employee Orientation (NEO).
Youth Protection at OSU (PowerPoint template) - To be used by sponsoring units to develop unit-specific training content.
Basic Youth Safety Training Outline - Sample handout for training attendees.
Certification Page - Group Training