Actions you can take

Before placing your child in any school, daycare, or organizational program, you should know at a bare minimum about the organization you are entrusting your child to.

The organization should have:

• A child safeguarding policy that explains how the organization will do all it can to keep your child safe from exploitation and abuse.
• Details of how the policy is communicated to children, so your child understands their right to be safe and how to report abuse if it happens.
• Safe ways of reporting abuse for you or your child to use if they need it.
• A commitment by leaders to always act in the best interests of your child and the other children they work with and for.
• Evidence of a policy of background checks to stop child abusers from getting jobs or volunteering with your child, or other children.
• Mandatory child safeguarding training for all staff and volunteers.
• Written standards for acceptable and unacceptable behavior towards children and for children towards other children.
• The name and contact details of the Child Safeguarding Focal Points.*

If organizations do not have a robust child protection policy as outlined above, do business with someone who does.

*The Safeguarding Policy Focal Points are staff who have the delegated responsibility, from the Office Director, for coordinating the implementation of the Safeguarding Policy within a defined operational unit (National /Regional/ Country/ Program Unit/Headquarter offices).