As of December 2, 2022

Section 1:

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia is committed to the prevention of child abuse. While employees and volunteers rarely come into contact with children during their activities, there are a few occasions when our employees and volunteers work with groups of children and/or minors. The organization is committed to complying with the legal and ethical requirements for reporting child abuse. For purposes of this policy, child abuse means physical injury, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse inflicted on a child (as defined by Pennsylvania law) other than by accidental means, by those responsible for the child’s care, custody, and control or by persons who are agents or employees of the Jewish Federation. All persons hired by the Jewish Federation in any capacity and volunteers are required to acknowledge having received this policy and are expected to comply with the policy and the associated procedures, as well as with applicable state law.

Procedure – Child Abuse Reporting

1. Any observer of child abuse of any kind has the affirmative duty to promptly report the matter directly to the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at 215-832-0581. The observer of child abuse also has the option of reporting the incident directly to the State Child Line at 1-800- 932-0313.
2. The CHRO will complete an intake form which records and acknowledges that a report has been filed and will provide the reporter with a copy of the completed form.
3. The CHRO, as a mandated reporter, will call the State Child Line at 1-800-932-0313 if the person effected is a child or minor. In the event of an active assault, the CHRO will also call the police.
4. Immediately after notifying the Child Line and/or police, the CHRO will notify the Senior Chief Finance and Operations Officer (Sr. CFO & COO) and the President and CEO (CEO) and will also notify the initial observer of the abuse of the date/time at which the incident was reported to Child Line.
5. The CEO shall notify the President of the Board of Directors, who may direct that all Directors be notified.
6. The CEO will notify the Director of Marketing to prepare for media inquiries if it is deemed appropriate.
7. All parties shall keep a documentary record of the communications and timelines to aid in future investigatory processes.
8. All individuals are directed to cooperate fully with the related investigation processes of the Jewish Federation, the Children and Youth Services investigators, as well as any police organizations. All communication with government agencies, including the police, is expected to be truthful and complete.
9. Groups using the Jewish Federation’s facilities, whether owned, leased or offered for use regardless of the ownership of such facility, who will be bringing youth on site shall, as a condition of use, submit both their policy on reporting child abuse and a certification (warranty + representation in legal terms) that their staff and volunteers who will be on campus have undergone criminal background checks and have been cleared to perform duties which include interacting with minors.

Section 2:

Jewish Federation employees who work with individuals under the age of 18 years must comply with the clearance requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This includes completion of an FBI fingerprint clearance, a child abuse history clearance, and a Pennsylvania criminal background check. Employees are responsible for keeping a copy of the certificates and for sending the originals to the Human Resources Department.

Section 3:

Jewish Federation volunteers who work with individuals under the age of 18 must provide certificates of their child abuse history clearance and a Pennsylvania criminal background check. These should be kept on file in the department in which the volunteer works.