Cyberbulling: Identify and Prevent

Author, Sam Brown, Vice President, Human Services Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

While schools and nonprofit agencies serving youth are typically very serious about preserving child safety, organizations’ leaders may not understand the risk factors or have a plan in place to prevent a growing threat: cyberbullying. The Cyberbullying Research Center states that about 28% of recently surveyed youth and teens have been the victim of cyberbullying in their lifetime, and 16% admitted to participating in cyberbullying. This article will define cyberbullying, identify risk factors, and list preventative measures.

Defining Cyberbullying

The Cyberbullying Research Center defines cyberbullying as “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.”

Identifying Risk Factors

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, young people who have difficulty interacting with others in-person are the most likely to participate in risky online behavior. According to StopBullying.gov, these are the following warning signs that a child is being cyberbullied or is cyberbullying others:

• Noticeable increases or decreases in devise use, including texting.

• A child exhibits emotional responses to what is happening on the device.

• A child hides their screen or device when others are near, and avoids discussion about what they are doing on their device.

• Social media accounts are shut down or new ones appear.

• A child starts to avoid social situations, even those that were enjoyed in the past.

• A child becomes withdrawn or depressed, or loses interest in people and activities.

Preventative Measures

In the Nonprofit Risk Management Center’s article entitled “Cyberbullying and Cyber Threats to Young People,” Lexie Williams lists useful preventative measures. This list includes:

• Reparative Justice: Rule violations result in a concerted effort to repair damaged relationships between all impacted individuals. This approach has the potential to help the cyberbullying victim as well as the bully, reducing the likelihood of repeat incidents.

• Behavior contracts for youth and teens, served by the organization, should explain how cyberbullying will be handled, and require a signature prior to an individual being allowed to use the Internet. This effort can be supported with training and supervision.

• Establish consequences for youth who misuse technology, and follow a process for parent notification.

• Reassure youth that being bullied is never their fault and provide training on what to do when they are the victim of bullying.

• Keep computers and other technology in a shared and supervised area.

• Convey to program participants the negative effects cyberbullying has on victims and perpetrators.

Bullying of any sort has negative effects on a nonprofit or school’s youth participants. Cyberbullying is the latest version, so an organization’s leaders must adapt to today’s tech savvy kids and the inherent risks technology can present.

Please contact Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. at (619) 438-6869 to access the “My Risk Assessment” tool and learn how to better protect your youth participants.

Four Factors When Developing a Nonprofit Agency's Youth Protection Plan

When designing youth protection measures, many nonprofit leaders want to understand the industry’s “best practices” and incorporate what already works for others. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to identify one set of “best practices” or a universal checklist all organizations should adopt. As a result, it will benefit nonprofit leaders and their clients to tailor daily practices to the unique exposures and operations of the agency. When doing so, it’s best to consider four important factors when designing a youth protection program.

In A Season of Hope, authored by the staff at the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, the authors refer to these interlocking factors as the “Four P’s: Personnel, Participants, Program, and Premises. Let’s explore:

Staffing

The nature of the services offered to youth will dictate the staff’s professional background and education. Those nonprofits offering therapy and counseling will aim to hire employees with advanced degrees; whereas, some programs may feel comfortable hiring responsible teens and young adults. In each case, supervision and background checks are vital to client safety.

Participant Mix

Is the agency serving a pre-school program for kids who are relatively close in age with similar needs? Or, perhaps, it is a group home involving minors who all have differing special needs due to their unique family situations and backgrounds. What unique risks to the organization does each group present? Considering the characteristics of a nonprofit’s youth clientele will shape an organization’s approach to youth protection.    

Program and Mission

An organization must consider how its mission and programs will impact youth safety. A nonprofit conducting group outings to encourage social behavior will not have the same concerns as an organization matching children with foster families. Each will present unique exposures. 

Environment

Nonprofits serve youth in a wide range of venues and environments, and each present different risks. The variables can include supervision, activities at height, access to emergency care, and sleeping arrangements. Knowing this, it is vital for an organization’s leaders to identify how a venue presents risk to youth safety and then plan accordingly. 
   
“My Risk Assessment” is a very strong tool available through Rancho Mesa Insurance Services. This interactive module allows nonprofit leaders to identify potential gaps in risk management in a number of areas, including client safety, transportation, and facilities.

Keeping young clients safe while in a nonprofit’s care is a core promise of the organization to the community. When nonprofit leaders take a careful look at the four P's, they can reduce the risk of harm while also ensuring the mission endures.

Please contact Rancho Mesa at (619) 937-0164 to learn more about sound risk management practices.