At Butler United Soccer Club, our priority is always the health, safety, and well-being of the children.  Anything and everything we do should always be done with this priority in mind and in the best interest of our players.  The following policies explicitly dictate many of standards and expectations for all involved with our club, but in all cases we must all strive to protect our youth.

OSA Safe Soccer Page

Application

1) Adults at a facility under the jurisdiction of a Covered Organization
2) Adult members who have regular contact with amateur athletes who are minors
3) An adult authorized by a Covered Organization to have regular contact with or authority over an amateur athlete who is a minor
4) Staff and board members of a Covered Organization

(collectively, Participating Adults).

Background Checks and Certifications

Participating Adults who volunteer with the organization must successfully pass a criminal background check and other screening requirements consistent with the organization’s policies, to include SafeSport and concussion training.

BUSC Contact for Any Concerns Relating to Child Protection

• Having a primary and secondarly point of contact within the club for all Child Protection concerns is intended to ensure that numerous concerns are heard and noted from a broad perspective.

• The club's primary contact for any concern's is Club President, John Camp (president@butlerunitedsoccer.com, (937) 838-2131)

• The club's secondary contact for any concern's is Club Vice President, Joey Lingg (vp@butlerunitedsoccer.com, (937) 620-0725)

Mandatory Reporters

• All Participating Adults are mandatory reporters and must report if they know or have reasonable cause to suspect, or a reasonable person in a similar position would suspect, that an amateur athlete under 18 years of age has suffered abuse.

• Must report suspicion of abuse to local authorities within 24 hours.

• Must also report to the U.S. Center for Safe Sport.

Conditional Disqualifications

Conditional disqualifications are those disqualifications that are for an individual who have been arrested for and/or charged with a crime in a court of law or who the BUSC Board has a reasonable belief is being investigated by a law enforcement agency and that if found guilty of that crime would be cause for a state mandated disqualification. If the criminal charge is subsequently dropped or if the BUSC Board has a reasonable belief that the investigation is closed or lacked merit, the conditional disqualification shall be promptly rescinded and the individual shall be allowed to return to service with BUSC.  In such situations, a decision not allow the individual to return to service may be appealed according to BUSC Bylaws.

The majority of child sexual abuse is perpetrated in isolated, one-on-one situations. By reducing such interactions between children and adults, you reduce the risk of child sexual abuse. However, one-on-one time with trusted adults is also healthy and valuable for a child. Policies concerning one-on-one interactions protect children while allowing for these beneficial relationships.

Application
This policy shall apply to:
1) Adults at a facility under the jurisdiction of a Covered Organization
2) Adult members who have regular contact with amateur athletes who are minors
3) An adult authorized by a Covered Organization to have regular contact with or authority over an amateur athlete who is a minor
4) Staff and board members of a Covered Organization

(collectively, Participating Adults).

Observable and Interruptible
• One-on-one interactions between minors and an Adult (who is not the minor’s legal guardian) at our facility are permitted, if they occur at an observable and interruptible distance by another adult.  

• Isolated, one-on-one interactions between minors and an Adult (who is not the minor’s legal guardian) at our facility are prohibited, except under emergency circumstances.

Meetings
• Meetings between Adults and minors at our facilities may only occur if another adult is present, except under emergency circumstances.  Such meetings must occur where interactions can be easily observed and at an interruptible distance from another adult.  

• If a one-on-one meeting takes place in an office, the door to the office must remain unlocked and open. If available, it will occur in an office that (if available) has windows, with the windows, blinds, and/or curtains remaining open during the meeting.

Meetings with Mental Health Care Professionals
If a mental health care professional meets with minors at our facilities, a closed-door meeting may be permitted to protect patient privacy – provided that (1) the door remains unlocked, (2) another adult is present at the facility, (3) the other adult is advised that a closed-door meeting is occurring, and (4) written legal guardian consent is obtained by the mental health care professional, with a copy provided to our organization.

Individual Training Sessions
Individual training sessions between Adults and minors are permitted at our facility if the training session is observable and interruptible by another adult. The Adult must obtain the written permission of the minor’s legal guardian in advance of the individual training session. Parents, guardians, and other caretakers must be allowed to observe the training session.  Permission for individual training sessions must be obtained at least every six months.

Monitoring
When one-on-one interactions between Adults and minors occur at our facility, adults will monitor these interactions. Monitoring includes: knowing that the one-on-one interaction is occurring, the approximate planned duration of the interaction, and randomly dropping in on the one-on-one.

Out-of-Program Contacts
Adults are prohibited from interacting one-on-one with unrelated minor athletes in settings outside of the program (including, but not limited to, one’s home, restaurants, and individual transportation), unless parent/legal
guardian consent is provided for each out-of-program contact. Such arrangements are nonetheless strongly discouraged.

Application
This policy shall apply to:
1) Adults at a facility under the jurisdiction of a Covered Organization
2) Adult members who have regular contact with amateur athletes who are minors
3) An adult authorized by a Covered Organization to have regular contact with or authority over an amateur athlete who is a minor
4) Staff and board members of a Covered Organization

(collectively, Participating Adults).

Licensed, Certified Professional
• Any massage or rubdown performed by an Adult on a minor athlete at our facilities or a training or competition venue is prohibited
unless such Adult is a licensed massage therapist.

• Any massage or rubdown performed at our facilities or a training or competition venue by a licensed professional must be conducted in open and interruptible locations. Any massage of a minor athlete must be done with at least one other adult present and must never be done with only the minor athlete and licensed massage therapist in the room.
 

• Even if a coach is a licensed massage therapist, the coach shall not perform a rubdown or massage of an athlete under any circumstances.

Written Consent
Written consent by a legal guardian shall be provided before providing each massage or rubdown on a minor athlete. Parents must be permitted to be in the room as an observer.

Application
This policy shall apply to:
1) Adult members who have regular contact with amateur athletes who are minors
2) An adult authorized by a Covered Organization to have regular contact with or authority over an amateur athlete who is a minor
3) Staff and board members at a Covered Organization

(collectively, Participating Adults).

Content
All electronic communication originating from Participating Adults to amateur athletes who are minors must be professional in nature.

Open and Transparent
• If a Participating Adult needs to communicate directly with an amateur athlete who is a minor via electronic communications, another Participating Adult or the minor’s legal guardian will be copied.

• If a minor athlete communicates to the Participating Adult privately first, the Participating Adult should respond to the minor athlete with a copy to another Participating Adult or the minor’s legal guardian.

• A Participating Adult communicating electronically to the entire team will copy another Participating Adult.

• Amateur athletes who are minors may “friend” the organization’s official page.

Prohibited Electronic Communications
• Participating Adults are not permitted to communicate privately via electronic communications with amateur athletes who are minors, except under emergency circumstances.

• Participating Adults are not permitted to “private message,” “instant message,” “direct message”, or send photos via Snapchat or Instagram to a minor athlete privately.

• Participating Adults are not permitted to maintain social media connections with minors; such adults are not permitted to accept new personal page requests on social media platforms from amateur athletes who are minors and existing social media connections with amateur athletes who are minors shall be discontinued.

Requests to Discontinue
Legal guardians may request in writing that their child not be contacted through any form of electronic communication by the organization or by the organization’s Participating Adults. The organization will abide by any such request that their child not be contacted via electronic communication, absent emergency circumstances.

Hours
Electronic communications will only be sent between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. 

Monitoring
• The organization monitors its social media pages and removes any posts that violate the organization’s policies and practices for appropriate behavior.

• The organization will inform the legal guardian of a minor athlete of any prohibited posts, as well as the organization’s administrator.

Local travel consists of travel to training, practice, and competition that occurs locally and does not include coordinated overnight stay(s).

Application
This policy shall apply to:
1) Adult members who have regular contact with amateur athletes who are minors
2) An adult authorized by a Covered Organization to have regular contact with or authority over an amateur athlete who is a minor
3) Staff and board members at a Covered Organization

(collectively, Participating Adults).

Transportation
• The organization does not arrange for local travel. 

• Participating Adults who are not also acting as a legal guardian, shall not ride in a vehicle alone with an unrelated athlete who is a minor, absent emergency circumstances, and may only drive with at least two other minor athletes or another adult at all times, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the minor athlete’s parent/legal guardian in advance of each local travel.

Shared or Carpool Travel Arrangement
• We encourage parents/legal guardians to pick up their minor athlete first and drop off their minor athlete last in any shared or carpool travel arrangement.

• Parents/legal guardians receive education concerning child abuse prevention before providing consent for their minor to travel alone with a Participating Adult.

Application
This policy shall apply to:
1) Adult members who have regular contact with amateur athletes who are minors
2) An adult authorized by a Covered Organization to have regular contact with or authority over an amateur athlete who is a minor
3) Staff and board members at a Covered Organization

(collectively, Participating Adults).

Team/Competition Travel
When only one Participating Adult and one minor athlete travel to a competition, the minor athlete must have his/her legal guardian’s written permission in advance and for each competition to travel alone with the Participating Adult.

Hotel Rooms
Participating Adults shall not share a hotel room or other sleeping arrangement with a minor athlete (unless the Participating Adult is the legal guardian, sibling, or is otherwise related to the minor athlete).

Meetings
• Meetings shall be conducted consistent with the organization’s policy for one-on-one interactions – i.e., any such meeting shall be observable and interruptible.

• Meetings shall not be conducted in a hotel room.

• Participating Adults who travel with the organization must successfully pass a criminal background check and other screening requirements consistent with the organization’s policies.
 

• During team travel, when doing room checks, attending team meetings and/or other activities, two-deep leadership and observable and interruptible environments should be maintained.
 

• Parents/legal guardians receive education concerning child abuse prevention before providing consent for their minor to travel alone with a Participating Adult.