Risk Management 101:
Stop the Ball of Confusion
Program Planning and
Development Committee
Goals of the Workshop
• To address questions associated with Delta’s Risk
Management procedures
• To provide directions regarding Risk Management
implementation procedures
• To present structures for sustainable programs
• To review and clarify Delta’s Risk Management
Policy
Part I: Operations
•
•
•
•
•
•
Risk Management Defined
Tools/Resources
Youth Programs
Volunteers
Screening
Training
Risk Management is…
• An educational and legal framework defining the
sorority’s effective programming practices.
• A required mandatory process for
implementation by the chapter.
• A proactive measure.
• The protection of organizational assets.
• A safety precaution to minimize negative
outcomes and organizational liability.
Why is Risk Management
Needed?
• Maximizes program outcomes for participants and
mentors
• Enhances the impact of the Sorority’s youth
initiatives
• Reduces negative outcomes that result from
ineffective planning
Tools / Resources
• Risk Management Manual
• Regional Risk Management Coordinators
• National Program Planning & Development
Committee
• National Headquarters Staff
Audience Participation
How do you handle situations not spelled out in the
current Risk Management manual or if the policy
does not address specific situations?
Youth Programs
• Dr. Betty Shabazz Delta Academy
(Females, Ages 11-14)
• Dr. Jeanne L. Noble Delta GEMS Initiative
(Females, Ages 14-18)
• EMBODI Program
(Males, Ages 11-18)
• Jabberwock, Teen Lift, Delteens, etc.
What is a Volunteer?
• Volunteers = Any adult working with a youth
initiative.
• With all volunteers:
1. Establish roles and responsibilities.
2. Provide detailed position description(s).
3. Align job assignments with qualifications.
4. Specify time commitments.
Screening
• A procedure defined by the Sorority as a
prerequisite for all adults who wish to have
interaction with student participants involved with
current Sorority youth programming
• Cost for background checks may be incurred by
the chapter or the individual
• Facilitated by appropriate chapter leadership
Training
Annual training of volunteers should include:
• How to recognize the signs of youth abuse
• How to recognize suspicious or inappropriate
behavior
• Delta’s policies relating to the care and
supervision of youth
• How to respond when there are reasonable
grounds to believe or suspect that a youth is at risk
of maltreatment
Audience Participation
While on a chapter-sponsored youth trip, a child is
“verbally corrected” by a non-Delta volunteer, who
snatched the child by his collar for getting, “out of
line”. The child shared the incident with his mother,
who has threatened to bring a civil suit against the
chapter. What do we do?
Audience Participation
Men in local churches and fraternities want to serve
as mentors or facilitators with the youth programs.
What do you do?
Audience Participation
After your event has started, one of the students
decides to “disappear” from the group. After a
lengthy search for the lost child, the child is finally
found, how do you handle this type of situation?
Part II: Working with Youth
•
•
•
•
•
•
Foundational Principles
Reporting
Parental Involvement
Photography & Social media
Discipline
Transportation
Foundational Principle
• Delta’s youth initiatives are designed for
mentorship.
• Delta’s youth initiatives are not designed for preintake or pre-initiation purposes of any kind.
Be Sure to know…
• Do not involve youth in “stepping” activities of
any form.
• Tee shirts are permitted, only for Deltasponsored activities.
• Youth should not wear or have items with line
names or Delta symbols.
• Do not accept more participants than you can
manage.
Audience Participation
A youth becomes pregnant while participating in one
of the Youth Initiatives. What should the chapter do
to address the situation?
Reporting
ALL abuse MUST be reported!
Audience Participation
You notice one of the youth is unkempt and
withdrawn. After confiding with you, the child
shares he is being abused.
How do you handle this type of situation?
Audience Participation
A well-known Delta places the organization in a
situation whereby the organization could be *liable
due to an inappropriate action with a youth initiative.
How do you handle this type of situation?
Parental Involvement
Parents Orientation should include:
• Schedules of events to inform parents about
planned sponsored activities
• Encouragement of parental participation, visitation
and observation during program activities
• A signed general release form releasing Delta
from unintentional damage or injury to the child
Audience Participation
The chapter’s steering committee for a youth
initiative includes sessions on: bullying, selfesteem, goal-setting, sexual awareness, and
career planning?
What must be in place before you present the
information on these topics?
Audience Participation
One of your top applicants requires medical
dispensing during the day. Does the committee
select her or deny her the opportunity to
participate?
How do you handle this type of situation?
Social Media
• Use of Youth Pictures in Media
• ALLOWED with permission of Chapter
President with appropriate parental consent.
This includes Cluster or State Conferences for
Delta Academy, Delta GEMS, or EMBODI
Participants in media (see appendix)**
• Use of Youth Pictures on Personal Social Media
Pages are prohibited. This includes, but is not
limited to: FB, Instagram, Twitter, and Vine
Audience Participation
One of your volunteer team-leads, posted a picture of
herself with the Delta Academy participants on both
her Instagram and FB pages. Several of the students
are “mentees.”
What’s your plan of action?
Discipline
• Communicate clearly to parents that certain
actions (which should be enumerated) will result
in disciplinary actions being taken.
• Communicate to the parents and youth that,
under no circumstances will discipline involve
physical or corporal punishment.
• Communicate to youth and parents that
participation in any Delta youth initiative
involves agreeing to follow program policies and
disciplinary guidelines.
Transportation
• Avoid transporting youth in personal vehicles!!!
• If an event occurs outside the normal venue,
parents should drop off and pick up youth.
• The chapter will secure a commercial van for
group transportation or for participants who do
not have any other means of transportation.
Questions
• Questions???