Our Mission 

The Office of the Youth Protection Coordinator is a champion for youth (people under age 18) safety and well-being at UW. We lead the development of strong policies and practices and promote safe and high quality experiences for youth who engage with University programs and research.

Youth Protection in higher education

UW serves 250,000+ youth each year- we interact with more minors (people under age 18) than we do adults!

In recent years there have been unfortunate incidences of abuse in higher education settings where individuals exploited vulnerabilities inherent to a university setting that is primarily geared toward adult students and employees.

UW leadership established the Office of the Youth Protection Coordinator in 2016 to strengthen practices and policies in youth-serving environments so that we can reduce opportunities for youth to be harmed while in our care.

Students will:
Provide consultation and technical assistance to individuals who operate youth programs or youth-involved research to ensure they are providing a safe environment for youth. Much of this occurs through e-mail, zoom, phone, with some direct in-person meetings.

Perform periodic program observations and interviews in person or virtually (for online youth engagements) and assessment interviews with individual program leadership and staff.

Students will:
Observe or practice regular monthly group facilitation during convenings of youth program stakeholders.

Participate in and occasionally facilitate parts of staff meetings.

This position will provide an opportunity to learn about youth program policy development and implementation, and contribute to the field of youth protection, an emerging field within higher education. The student will also learn about the diverse settings in which youth engagement occurs throughout the University.

The Office of the Youth Protection Coordinator is a program of Compliance Services alongside other Coordination Offices (e.g., ADA, Title IX). There are opportunities to also learn from and contribute to the operations of Compliance Services as a whole.

Practicum responsibilities may include the following:
-Create and disseminate best practice tools and resources on topics of child/youth protection, abuse prevention, youth development or other related topics.
-Support UW youth program stakeholders in effectively implementing university policies and risk mitigation strategies that promote child/youth safety.
-Research best practice models that are applicable to a university setting.
-Develop educational resources that can be shared with UW youth program stakeholders.
-Support program assessment and compliance monitoring efforts, including supporting a Youth Program Registration System that is managed by the office.
-Contribute to program evaluation, including data analysis, to further our abilities to support our stakeholders

Experience in youth-centric settings; we are flexible on what type of settings your experience comes from

Exceptional communication skills (verbal and written);

Self-directed, solution-focused and comfortable working independently and as a part of a team;
Interest in or experience with presenting to or facilitating small groups.

High level of discretion with sensitive information.

A valid UW criminal history background check will be required for the selected student.

not required but very welcome!

Submit a brief letter of interest and resume to Caroline Shelton at uwminors@uw.edu