Any Minors Activity that Brown offers or operates.

Any Minors Activity that uses Brown facilities but is not organized by a member of the Brown community in their Brown capacity. Any Minors Activity that is co-sponsored or co-organized by Brown will be considered a Brown Activity.

Any Minors Activity for which Brown helps facilitate placement of staff/volunteers but that is not offered by Brown and does not use Brown facilities (e.g., a mentorship program in the Providence Public School District (PPSD) in which Brown community members participate and are required to meet all PPSD requirements in order to interact with Minors in the Minors Activity).

Background checks for Brown Activities will be centrally managed and centrally funded by the MPO. The activity registration form will trigger the appropriate background checks.

Non-Brown Activities are required to conduct their own background checks in accordance with the Minors Protection Policy.  

Individuals participating in External Organization-Hosted Activities are exempted from Brown's centralized background check requirements. 

Note: These individuals must comply with all requirements established by the external organization, which may include background checks. Please confirm all requirements with the external organization. The MPO does not manage or fund these requirements. 

Activity Adults in Brown Activities are required to take Brown's Protection of Minors training, which covers:

• Appropriate boundaries
• Communication
• Physical contact
• Sexual misconduct
• Reporting
• Relevant policies

With a Brown Workday Account

• Individuals with a Brown Workday account can complete the training in Workday.

Without a Brown Workday Account

• Those without a Brown Workday account should contact the Minors Protection Office for instructions on how to complete the training.

Non-Brown Activities may provide their own comparable training or request to use Brown’s training - please contact the Minors Protection Office for assistance. 

Individuals participating in External Organization-Hosted Activities are exempted from Brown's centralized training requirements but must comply with all requirements established by the external organization, which may include training. 

Adults are expected to maintain appropriate boundaries and act professionally when in the presence of minors. At all times, adults must: 

• immediately disclose to the leadership overseeing the program/activity/event/interaction/etc. (hereafter “activity”) any pre-existing relationships with minors in the activity and abide by these standards while affiliated with the activity, despite any pre-existing personal relationships;
• never meet with minors outside of established times for the activity;
• never invite minors to a location or discussion that is not associated with the activity;
• never be alone in-person or virtually with a single minor unless it is essential to the mission of the activity;
• hold any one-on-one interactions in a public space that has windows with clear visibility into the room or in a space where the door can be left open, or if online: record the interaction or have another student, staff member, or instructor present;
• never transport minors in any non-University vehicle unless there is an extreme emergency (i.e., life-threatening situation);
• abide by the University’s Privacy Policy and FERPA Policy;
• never take or use photographs or videos of minors for personal use, including posting them on social networking sites or publishing them in any other form;
• never be in a state of undress in front of minors;
• never exchange personal gifts with minors or their parents/guardians/family members;
• never discuss tobacco, alcohol, or illicit drugs in the presence of minors unless it is essential to the mission of the activity;
• never use, sell, or make available tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs, weapons or explosives to minors.

Avoiding misinterpretation and miscommunication is especially important when working with minors. At all times, adults must:

• restrict communication with minors to subjects and topics solely related to educational and activity administrative purposes;
• use specific and concrete language to avoid misinterpretation or confusion on the part of a minor;
• avoid communication via text messaging, social media networks, and websites unless there is an essential educational or programmatic reason to do so and only in connection with an educational activity;
• never berate, degrade, harass, or intimidate minors;
• always issue appropriate levels of praise and criticism (i.e., use words with care and avoid excessive praise or criticism of any minor);
• never disclose confidential information about themselves to minors or seek to learn confidential information about minors;
• never use language that encourages minors to keep information from other activity personnel, participants, or their parents/guardians/families (e.g., "this is just between the two of us"); and
• never use profanity in the presence of minors.

Adults must not, under any circumstances, touch minors in a manner that is or could be interpreted as inappropriate. At all times, adults must:

• limit physical contact to purposes that are consistent with the activity's mission and/or for a clear educational, developmental, or health-related purpose;
• ask for permission before initiating any touching with a minor and respect any concerns raised by the minor;
• only engage in physical contact in the open and in the presence of another adult; and
• never engage in any abusive conduct of any kind toward, or in the presence of, a minor.

At all times, adults are prohibited from:

• making romantic or sexual comments, telling sexually explicit jokes/stories, discussing sexually explicit material, or disclosing private information about sexual activity to or in the presence of minors;
• referencing or showing sexually explicit material (e.g., literature, videos, or other media) of any kind;
• assisting in any way to provide minors with access to such material (adults must also prohibit this conduct between or among minors);
• engaging in any physical contact with minors that is or could be interpreted as romantic, intimate, or sexual - including, but not limited to, giving/receiving back rubs, giving/receiving massages, tickling, or caressing;
• showering, bathing, undressing, or being undressed in the presence of minors; and
• being present when a minor is showering, bathing, undressing, or in a state of undress.