Since the first pilot of the America Learns Performance Measurement & Learning Network in 2003 and 2004, we found that volunteer tutors and mentors sometimes have valid concerns about the safety of the children they serve; however, despite being told about mandatory reporting requirements during pre-service trainings, some of those volunteers do not report their concerns. 

Individuals who attended our 2008 webinar on this issue spent 30 minutes learning about the steps that we've taken to help ensure that volunteers not only report safety concerns as soon as possible, but that staff members receive those reports immediately.

Takeaways
Following the webinar, participants received two takeaways:

1. Language to include on their own tutoring and mentoring session logs to track the safety concerns of volunteers who are hesitant to share their concerns in person, or who write about their concerns in portions of their session logs that are not intended to for child safety discussion; and
    
2. The description of physical, emotional and mental safety that we developed with the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, which can be shared with volunteers during trainings and can be attached to paper-based or electronic session logs.

Note on What this Webinar Did Not Cover
The webinar did not:
- Dive into the details of mandatory reporting laws;
- Discuss the intended and unintended consequences of making reports; and did not
- Involve a thorough tour of our main service for tutoring and mentoring programs, the America Learns Performance Measurement & Learning Network.
 

Please contact us with your questions and comments.