Between Hebrew school and bar/bat mitzvah lessons, it’s easy to stay connected to Jewish life. But what happens next?
Gesher, USY’s program for pre-teens. Gesher is for middle-schoolers with programming closely tied to USY, including recreational activities, holiday celebrations, leadership development, weekend retreats, community service projects and more.
- USCJ has a zero-tolerance policy toward any inappropriate behavior, including any and all actual or alleged hazing, bullying, harassment or sexual abuse occurrences
- There is a Youth Protection Officer (YPO) at every regional and international USY event whose focus is to promote a culture of awareness concerning USCJ’s zero-tolerance policies
- Each participant is given the YPO’s phone number at program orientation
- All USY staff and volunteers must sign a statement of conduct for working with youth that reads, “USCJ/USY is committed to creating and maintaining the safest possible environment for all participants. It is the duty of the staff and volunteers to safeguard to the best of their ability the welfare of the participants and to prevent physical, sexual or emotional abuse of the participants with whom they come into contact.”
- All USY staff and volunteers must adhere to behavioral guidelines regarding relationships between staff and USYers; guidelines include the below:
- Excepting emergencies and brief room checks at curfew, no staff member should be in any participant’s room unless another adviser is also present
- One-on-one contact between staff members and USYers is not permitted in private. A staff member should never be in a room with any USYer with the door closed. In situations that require personal conferences or discussions, these should be conducted in a separate section of a public area (i.e. the hotel lobby away from the rest of the group)
- All USY staff receive training and agree to abide by all USCJ policies prior to employment; failure to abide by any policy may result in immediate dismissal and termination of employment agreement
- All USY staff and volunteers must clear a National Sex Offender Registry background check
- All USY staff and volunteers, as well as program participants, MUST report any incident of inappropriate behavior to the event YPO