A growing number of youth organizations, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), have come under fire for actions and inactions that have allegedly resulted in the sexual assault of children in their care. This has included problems such as failing to take assault reports seriously or failing to keep predators out of the organization through the use of tools like background checks and proper training.

The BGCA is currently under investigation for claims of negligence and covering up the sexual abuse of children within the organization.

What Is the Boys and Girls Club?

The BGCA is a national youth organization that hosts after-school programs for children. It’s headquartered in Atlanta and is partially funded by the federal government.

The club was founded in 1860 in Connecticut as the Boys’ Club, and has since spread across the country to all 50 states, changing in 1990 to become the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. The BGCA now serves more than four million children and employs more than 50,000 staff members, though much of the organization’s work relies heavily on volunteers.

According to the organization’s website, the Boys and Girls Club mission statement is “to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.” The BGCA’s mission statement emphasizes a focus on improving the lives of individual children, but sadly, some children may have been negatively, and permanently, impacted instead as the result of abuse within the organization.

What Background Checks Does BGCA Run on Employees and Volunteers?

The BGCA runs background checks on both employees and board volunteers upon initial hire, and then again annually. All volunteers, including those who are still minors, that have “direct, repetitive contact with children” are also required to undergo an annual background check.

The organization has partnered on a national level with First Advantage, one of the largest background screening companies, according to the BGCA website. At the local level, however, clubs may have the option of using VeriScreen, which boasts finding 50% more hits on background information than First Advantage.

Do Background Checks Prevent Abuse?

Background checks are an important way organizations that work with children can keep them safe, but they must be done properly and in concert with other systems, according to AbusePreventionSystems.com. Organizations should not simply rely on a single background check at the time of employment to keep children safe, Abuse Prevention Systems warns.

Experts point out a number of holes in employee background checks that allow predators into organizations that provide access to children, like the BGCA. First, 90% of sexual abusers have no record to find using a background check. These people know it and are not worried about being disqualified from employment because of such a check. Further, those who may have committed sexual assault as teens may not have a record accessible through a background check.

In addition, Abuse Prevention Systems points out that the charges listed on a background check report may have been the result of a plea deal and not accurately represent that person’s previous behavior.

Organizations should not rely on a single background check run during the hiring process. Instead, employees and volunteers who work with children should be subject to period re-checks, says Abuse Prevention Systems. Background checks should also be tailored to each position within the organization.

Childcare.gov recommends comprehensive background checks for childcare givers in the following settings:

• Adults in a family child care home
• Child care center staff, including directors, administrative staff, kitchen staff, bus drivers, and janitors, along with teachers and direct caregivers
• Adult volunteers in programs where they will have unsupervised access to children
• Adult instructors who will present or be involved in children’s programs

Do BGCA Employees Get Sexual Abuse Prevention Training?

The Boys and Girls Clubs of America maintains that safety is its number one priority. The BGCA, as well as clubs at the local level, engage third-party safety experts to regularly update BGCA training on sexual abuse prevention, as well as policies and resources regarding child safety. Recently, the BGCA consulted with the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the country, to conduct a review of BGCA policies.

Over the next three years, the BGCA says it will be implementing RAINN’s recommendations, such as hiring safety staff, making training more accessible and comprehensive, increasing BGCA training for youth and families (focusing on topics like respect, consent, boundaries, and healthy relationships), and providing more public-facing resources on these subjects.

Another aspect of BGCA’s safety policies is a requirement that local organizations immediately report any “critical safety incidents” to law enforcement, regardless of severity. They are also required to report these incidents to BGCA within 24 hours.

The BGCA advocated for the passage of the U.S. PROTECT Act of 2003, designed to prevent child abuse and investigate and prosecute violent crimes against children.

What is Praesidium Accreditation?

Praesidium is a company that sets standards of care and provides accreditation to organizations that meet those standards. In late November, the company announced its standards had been updated to reflect the highest criteria for sexual abuse prevention. The goal is to protect vulnerable adults and children who are cared for by organizations such as BGCA from abuse.

BGCA, the YMCA, and USA Swimming are among the many organizations that Praesidium has as clients, according to the company website. These organizations have been embroiled in a slew of sexual assault allegations.

“Parents want to know that the organization they entrust with the care of their loved ones takes their protection seriously,” said Aaron Lundberg, president and CEO of Praesidium. “Abuse is preventable; organizations should ensure they are doing everything in their power to provide a safe environment, and parents can feel confident knowing that they have chosen a Praesidium-accredited organization.”

One of the first things an organization should do is create a policy that prohibits abuse of consumers, including the mistreatment of one consumer by another, according to Praesidium’s accreditation standards.

Praesidium includes 23 standards in its overview of its accreditation matrix. In addition to reviewing policies, the standards cover other operational areas that it says research has shown may be the source of root causes of abuse. These include:

• Screening and selecting volunteer and employee applicants
• Training
• Monitoring and supervision
• Internal feedback systems
• Consumer participation
• Responding to reports of inappropriate or abusive behaviors
• Administrative practices

Are There Still Reports of Abuse at Boys and Girls Clubs?

Some 97% of BGCA teens expect to graduate from high school, and 88% expect to complete a higher education program of some kind, according to the BGCA website. Despite these promising statistics, there is worrisome data as well: the number of sexual assault victims within the ranks of BGCA youth.

A recent investigation by Hearst Connecticut Media found 351 victims across 35 states who are alleged to have suffered sexual abuse as children by employees, volunteers, and other BGCA members. The Hearst investigation was prompted by three lawsuits filed against the Greenwich Boys and Girls Club over sexual abuse allegedly occurring within the club in the 1970s and 1980s. Several other lawsuits have since been filed on behalf of dozens of adult men over abuse they allege occurred as children.

Reporters found hundreds of victims across the country who had allegedly been abused as children within the organization — some of whom were as young as six years old at the time.

“Some were molested by their abusers for years,” the Connecticut Post said court records show. “Others were abused while isolated in situations like sleepovers or club trips. They were molested by coaches, club directors and volunteers.”

The organization’s consultation with RAINN about its sexual assault prevention practices was prompted by the Hearst investigation.

A Greenwich Boys and Girls Club has been found to have a “very lax method of conducting its operations.” The local club failed to provide sufficient staff supervision and training, and did not have a proper system to report abuse, per Connecticut Judge John Kavanewsky. At a pretrial hearing, Kavanewsky said that damages would be set at $4.5 million.

“RAINN found that Clubs are not fully utilizing the national resources, training programs, or guidance currently offered by BGCA,” according to the summary of the report, provided to the public by the BGCA itself. “Clubs are not fully executing a consistent and methodical response to reported incidents of sexual misconduct.”

More than a dozen criminal cases are pending against men affiliated with local BGCA chapters who have been accused of sexual misconduct. Several court hearings were delayed over the summer due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and are now set for trial this fall.

Filing a Boys and Girls Club Sexual Assault Lawsuit

A growing number of survivors are coming forward with allegations of abuse against their abusers, as well as against organizations that they allege allowed abuse to take place — or even actively covered it up. Organizations named in such litigation include the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Boy Scouts of America, sports teams, and more.

If you or your child has suffered from abuse through a Boys and Girls club, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation. Of course, filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by this kind of abuse, but it can at least provide some kind of compensation, as well as hold those responsible for this suffering accountable — including the abuser themselves and any organization that allowed the abuse to take place.

Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, especially when dealing with a subject as traumatic as abuse, so Top Class Actions has laid the groundwork for you by connecting you with an experienced attorney. Consulting an attorney can help you determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your potential compensation.