New Policy on Protection of Minors and Reporting Abuse

The Office of Youth Protection recently shared a new policy that applies to all Academic Division and Medical Center employees at the University. The new policy on the Protection of Minors and Reporting Abuse subsumes existing policy HRM-047.

Key elements of the policy are:

1. All associated individuals, visiting faculty/ scholars, volunteers, and third-party members of the University community who, in their professional or official capacity have reason to suspect child abuse or neglect, must report the matter immediately to local and University authorities. This aligns with Virginia state law.
2. All covered programs, as defined in the policy, must register with the Office of Youth Protection. Covered program staff will be required to complete training on recognizing and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect and they must complete a background check every two years.

If you or any member of your team has a question about what constitutes a covered program, please contact the Office of Youth Protection at 434-297-6462 or youthprotection@virginia.edu . Within UVAFinance, questions can be directed to Lynne Schwar.