In 2014, the University issued a new policy for working with minors and it extends to student organizations. One of the most important things is to plan ahead (months, not weeks!) in order to ensure your org has time to complete the requirements and be in compliance. If you have any questions at all, you can contact Kate Killewald, in the Office of Student Affairs. In addition to reaching out to Kate with questions, your organization should be in contact with her consistently throughout the process of working with any minors to ensure that all protocol is followed. The College of Engineering is now separately tracking department and student interaction with minors, so communication with Kate is critical. Lack of communication with Kate may result in shutting down of the student org/program or increased personal liability.
Any program that is sponsored, university-affiliated, hosted on campus, or where university students are otherwise legally liable, must complete the three steps. Additionally, even events that are non-sponsored and on campus must follow certain protocols and complete a Third Party Acknowledgment of Responsibility form. All protocols of such events can be found on the Non-University Sponsored Programs webpage on the Children on Campus website. If a program is completed by a University Sponsored org or for an org that has a Sponsored Event on file with us but will take place off-campus and no UM individual will be supervising children, then at least this Group Program Acknowledgement of Responsibility form must be completed and we recommend that background checks are completed as well.
The Children on Campus website (http://childrenoncampus.umich.edu/) is a great resource for learning about this policy. The website offers checklists for preparing programming or work with working with minors as well as any forms necessary. The Student Organization Canva Site is another resource for students to use during the planning process and at the time of the event. There are three main components parts of the policy that OSA can provide support for your organization:
1. Complete a background check
All students working with minors are required to complete a background check. Information on how background checks can be completed can be found on the Working with Children webpage about background checks or by contacting Kate.
OSA helps with the administration and organization of these checks. Kate should also be contacted anytime someone from your organization submits a background check with the intention of working with minors in order to track these background checks within the College of Engineering.
2. Register Your Program
Program registration must be completed by each organization per event: https://childrenoncampus.umich.edu/program-registration/registration/. All organizations must also notify Kate of their program registration as well as all details of the program.
3. Complete Required Training
The policy requires that specific training be completed in advance of the program. These trainings are available online (http://childrenoncampus.umich.edu/tools-training/training/) and can be accessed through authentication. Kate should be contacted in order to determine how far in advance an organization must complete trainings in order for the program to be viable.
* Minors are considered anyone under the age of 18 with the exception of Students under the age of 18 who have been admitted to an undergraduate or graduate academic degree program or who have matriculated to the University of Michigan, Children involved in research in compliance with Institutional Review Board (IRB) guidelines, Children employed by the University of Michigan, Events open to the public and which children attend at the sole discretion of their parents/guardians, and Children receiving direct patient care.