According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of high risk is: likely to result in failure, harm or injury or more likely than others. 

When assessing the risk level of an activity, assess the severity of the harm, injury or abuse: whether it is trivial (little to no effect), minor (requiring first aid), moderate (sprains,...

When I was a young boy, I loved September. And it wasn’t because the leaves were changing colour or because of the crisp smells in the air. It was because the first Monday of October was near, and the first Monday of October was the opening of bird hunting season in Nova Scotia.

On that day, I knew my dad and I would take off from school...

What is on your mind these days?

I have just returned from a tremendous two-week vacation in Europe visiting my daughter and son-in-law.  We visited France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Portugal. We were at Notre Dame taking pictures just hours before the fire broke out. We watched candles being lit, quietly marveling at the beauty of the...

For the past six summers, I have been the Sports Camp Coordinator for a week-long day camp.  Each year, we have approximately 60 campers ages 7 to 12 years old participating in various sports, including soccer, ball hockey, basketball, volleyball, as well as many large group games – all on varying terrain.  With the heightened...

Criminal background checks and/or vulnerable sector checks are only one step in the screening process.

Two stories popped up this past week that illustrate the need for heightened sensitivity and realization around crisis management and training. Both happened in Ontario but could have just as easily happened anywhere.

I was recently interviewed by Faith Today magazine and they asked, “how many organizations and churches have a plan to protect?” 

My hope is that every organization and church that serves the vulnerable sector, would have some sort of a plan to protect but not all plans are the same, nor do they all adhere to the same standard.

As we review and customize hundreds of policies and procedure manuals a year, we see such a wide variety of policies including:

• Policies which range from one page to 500 pages; 
• Policies which addressing only sexual abuse, to policies that cover all types of abuse and neglect; and
• Policies which are designed only to protect children, to policies that protect all vulnerable persons.

Plan to Protect® was first written in 1996 and our desire has been and continues to be to provide the HIGHEST STANDARD of protection and abuse prevention. However, in the last 22 years Plan to Protect® has gone through many updates and revisions.  For example, we’re now on our third significant edition of the manual - please ensure your Plan to Protect® published manual was written after 2010 to make sure you have the most up-to-date one.

We are often asked if schools follow the same standard of protection that Plan to Protect® recommends.  Often the standards schools follow are the objections that Board members and leaders use to refute the best practices that are laid out in policies and procedures.  How safe are our schools?