Club Safety Updates

Safety is our #1 Priority.

Boys & Girls Clubs are a safe place for kids and teens to go during out-of-school time. To maintain a safe environment, it’s important to monitor and update our spaces, as well as stay proactive about safety procedures among the staff and members.

Our Youth Program Quality Initiative (YPQI) is based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, in which a safe environment is the first building block necessary to achieve a supportive environment, interaction, and engagement. Through the YPQI method, we’re able to nurture and support youth to reach their full potential.

Boys & Girls Clubs of King County’s Safety Director, Tanya Larkin, recently led an All-Staff Annual Safety Training Day. At the training, Club employees refreshed their knowledge on disaster procedures; bathroom policies; and anti-harrassment, anti-discrimination, and de-escalation strategies.

At Clubs, youth development professionals prepare our young members for dangerous situations through drills and thoughtful programming.

For example, at the Federal Way Teen Center, middle school boys in Fly Guys learn about respect and boundaries.

At the Smilow Rainier Vista Club, teens practice driving through a  hands-on simulator with a steering wheel and pedals through the UPS Road Code program. Teens learn about distracted driving, speeding, making safe turns and curves, local vs. highway driving, and traffic laws.

Tanya’s goal is “to be as preventative as possible” and “for every family to feel completely safe with their kids in our care.” She continued, “Safety can be a scary topic, but as youth development professionals, we can find the right balance between helping youth feel comfortable and protected while being proactive about safety procedures.”