The purpose of the policy is to further the efforts to promote the safety and welfare of those who participate in programs serving minors. In these instances, a Facility Use Agreement would also be required.

This policy applies to academic camps, athletic camps, after-school programs, workshops, licensed child-care facilities, conferences and similar activities which involve the custody and care of non-student minors which are conducted, hosted or sponsored by any USG institution.

Yes, BOR Policy 6.9 Programs Serving Minors applies to outside organizations and groups that may use institutional facilities for programs serving non-student minors. In these instances, a Facility Use Agreement would also be required.

Yes, institutions licensing, leasing, or allowing the use of institutional facilities by non-USG entities for programs serving non-student minors must include language in a binding written agreement requiring the non-USG entity to comply with institutional policies on background checks, training and minimum insurance requirements. In accordance with Board of Regents Policy 9.10.6.3, the form used for such agreements must be USG-approved.

BOR Policy 6.9 applies to programs designed to serve minors who are not enrolled as students. Institutions are still expected to have procedures in place to ensure best practices are followed for programs for enrolled students to include new student orientation. In this regard, each institution will maintain the flexibility to tailor its procedures to best suit the needs of their campus.

No, non-residential field trips to a campus which are supervised by a minor’s school or organization and do not involve overnight lodging are not covered by the policy. It is expected that institutions will further define which contacts with non-student minors are not covered and that certain activities such as the following may reasonably be excluded.

• Services provided by the institution’s health clinic;
• Events or performances on campus that are open to the general public and which minors attend at the sole discretion of their parents or guardians;
• Private or personal events that occur on campus to include weddings, birthday parties, etc.
• Student-admissions processes such as open houses, admissions visits, and admission tours. Even though not covered by the Programs Serving Minors policy, each institution should still take appropriate steps to address risks associated with these activities.

All employees, students and volunteers who work in programs serving non-student minors who are reasonably anticipated to have direct contact or interaction with minor program participants.

Criminal history background checks are an important part of pre-screening. Personnel in charge of screening, however, should be aware of the inherent limitations of background checks and should seek to utilize other screening methods, when possible, to include in-person interviews and reference checks.

No, BOR Policy 6.9, does not require pre-screening and training for temporary guest speakers, presenters, moderators or other individuals who have no direct contact with program participants other than short term activities supervised by program staff.

The frequency of additional criminal background checks for students, volunteers and employees is not specified in the policy. Each institution is expected to tailor its procedures to adequately and appropriately address the risks of an employee, student or volunteer engaging in potential criminal behavior after the completion of a previous criminal background check. One of the factors to consider is whether students or volunteers are under a continuous obligation to report convictions. All current USG employees are required to report convictions to their institutional Human Resources Department within 24 hours of conviction in accordance with the Human Resources Administrative Practice Manual – General Requirements. Also relevant would be other checks performed annually or regularly to include the National Sex Offender Registry.

Yes, institution presidents are responsible for establishing institution-level procedures to implement the requirements of the policy.

System Office contacts are as follows:

Wesley Horne, Director of Ethics & Compliance
404-962-3034 / wesley.horne@usg.edu

Chris McGraw, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs
404-962-3236 / chris.mcgraw@usg.edu

Child and Youth Participant Records must be kept for 3 years after the participant reaches the age of 18. These are records that document the participation of children and youth in programs sponsored by the institution. This series of records may include: applications, enrollment records, progress reports and assessments, immunization records, parental consent forms, activity records, and lists of attendees. The retention schedule for all USG records can be accessed from the below link:

USG Records Retention Schedule

Please note that not all records associated with a youth program must be kept until the participant reaches the age of 18 + 3. Other records should be kept in accordance with the retention schedule for that document, i.e. individual volunteer files must be kept for 3 years after separation, daily logs must be kept 1 or 3 years depending upon the type of log, insurance records must be kept 7 years, leases must be kept for 7 years after the expiration of the agreement, etc.