1. Purpose: Street Law, Inc. believes that the safety of vulnerable people is of vital importance. Some of Street Law, Inc.’s programs may involve audience members or participants who are children or vulnerable adults [1]. This policy demonstrates Street Law, Inc.’s commitment to a set of safeguarding standards for employees, members of the board of directors, consultants, and volunteers.
  2. Scope of applicability: This policy directly applies to Street Law, Inc. employees, interns, independent contractors, and office volunteers (team members) who are employed by and/or work at the Street Law, Inc. office. Members of the Street Law, Inc. board of directors (directors) are provided a copy of this policy as a part of their orientation materials and acknowledge their compliance on an ongoing basis. To the extent reasonably practicable, Street Law, Inc. will incorporate the contractual obligation to comply with this policy into its written agreements with consultants, partner organizations, and organizations who are responsible for recruiting volunteers (related individuals).
  3. Policy statements:
    1. Street Law, Inc. is committed to preventing any harm to children and vulnerable adults.
    2. Street Law, Inc. believes everyone—particularly children and vulnerable adults—should be treated with respect and dignity and prohibits conduct that could be perceived as abusive or exploitative.
    3. Street Law, Inc. requires reporting and appropriately responding to any actual, alleged, or possible harm to children and vulnerable adults.
    4. Street Law, Inc. is committed to minimizing the risk to children and/or vulnerable adults.
  4. Code of conduct:
    1. Street Law, Inc. requires all team members, directors, and related individuals to behave in a safe, non-offensive, and respectful manner at all times.
    2. Street Law, Inc. prohibits any conduct that is or could be reasonably perceived as abusive (i.e., physically, emotionally, or verbally abusive or sexual in nature) or exploitative.
    3. Street Law, Inc. will develop a safeguarding code of conduct, as appropriate, for the unique facts of the administration of certain programs involving children and/or vulnerable adults.
  5. Required process and procedures to ensure compliance: Street Law, Inc. ensures compliance with this policy through the following actions:
    1. Street Law, Inc. will perform criminal records checks on all potential new team members whose work on behalf of Street Law, Inc. will bring them into direct, unsupervised contact with minors. Direct, unsupervised contact means the team member will be in the presence of one or more minors without the presence of another adult.
    2. Street Law, Inc. will inform and train all team members on this Safeguarding Policy. This orientation will cover the conduct this policy requires and team member responsibilities under this policy, including what is child abuse and how to report it. All team members will certify that they have understood this policy and agree to abide by it.
    3. For each program, Street Law, Inc. will identify the risk of harm to children and vulnerable adults and incorporate reasonable risk mitigation measures into the design and operation of the program to ensure the risks of harm to program beneficiaries are minimized to the extent reasonably possible.
    4. Contractual agreements or memoranda of understanding between Street Law, Inc. and program partners will include obligations to adhere to this policy. Program volunteers, staff, and consultants who participate in Street Law, Inc. programs as a result of these MOUs may receive an initial orientation to this policy as part of the volunteer on-boarding process. The level of influence that Street Law, Inc. has in the execution of volunteer training varies and, in some instances, Street Law, Inc. may have limited or no role in the training or on-boarding process.
    5. Images, interviews, and videos of children and vulnerable adults will only be taken in a manner that ensures respect for the subject(s), including respect for their privacy, and in compliance with applicable laws.
    6. Identifiable images and stories of children are only obtained and used after receiving informed consent from their parents/guardians provided in writing, when possible.
    7. Street Law, Inc. team members, directors, volunteers, and program beneficiaries can anonymously (if they choose) report all forms of abuse or exploitation by Street Law, Inc. team members, directors, or volunteers to Street Law, Inc. at [email protected].
    8. All reports received by Street Law, Inc. will be reviewed by Street Law’s senior management team and reported to the proper authorities, including the administrators of the program site (if applicable) and law enforcement in the event of criminal conduct.
    9. Violations of this policy by Street Law, Inc. team members can be grounds for disciplinary action, including termination, in accordance with Street Law, Inc.’s policies and procedures.
    10. Fundamentally, most volunteers and related individuals for Street Law, Inc. are subject to other independent sources of safeguarding standards and codes of conduct. For example, many volunteers for Street Law, Inc. programs are licensed attorneys. As such, these individuals have passed at least one state character and fitness review and are bound by the ethical rules of the legal profession. Street Law, Inc. will work in conjunction with these other governance organizations to address any complaints or allegations.
  6. Policy administration:
    1. Street Law Inc.’s chief administrative officer will serve as the internal person responsible for child safeguarding. They will monitor [email protected] and respond to and ensure proper investigation and reporting of reports of violations of this policy.
    2. Street Law, Inc. will review this Safeguarding Policy at least once every three years.
    3. This policy will be discussed with the board of directors as a part of the annual review of the legal health of Street Law, Inc.

Policy last updated: 06/25/2019

[1] A child is anyone under the age of 18 years, irrespective of the age of majority in the country in which the child lives. A vulnerable adult is a person, 18 or above, who, by reason of disability, age or illness, the context they are in or as a result of social and other inequalities, is or may be unable to take care of or to protect themself against significant harm or exploitation.