DOYLESTOWN – River Crossing YMCA, which operates member branches, child care centers, school age child care and health and wellness programs throughout Bucks, Lehigh, Northampton and Hunterdon counties, announced it has earned Praesidium Accreditation\u00ae, recognizing the Y\u2019s demonstrated commitment to the highest standards of abuse The accreditation, representing a sustained commitment to the safety of members, staff and participants, lasts for three years, through 2029.<\/p>\n
\u201cPraesidium Accreditation acknowledges that our Y lives out our safety standards and policies every day,\u201d shared Zane Moore, president\/CEO of River Crossing YMCA. \u201cProviding a safe, abuse-free environment for everyone who comes through our doors sets a baseline for all that we strive to achieve at our Y. It\u2019s one thing to articulate these standards in policy, but it\u2019s something else to demonstrate them in culture and practice. We are proud to partner with Praesidium to help us demonstrate community transparency and the continuous improvement in preventing abuse throughout our organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Praesidium accreditation process rigorously assessed the YMCA\u2019s policies and practices to prevent all forms of abuse. Through partnership with River Crossing YMCA, Praesidium evaluated Y operations over the course of 15 months, including staff candidate screening and hiring, onboarding and professional development, child supervision practices, internal communication, response systems and leadership practices.<\/p>\n
\u201cAchieving Praesidium Accreditation demonstrates that families can feel assured and confident that their children are safe in Y programs throughout our service areas,\u201d explained Nicole Bandura, executive director of risk management and brand integrity for River Crossing YMCA, which operates 11 child care centers and 20 summer camp locations serving thousands of children each year in Bucks, Lehigh, Northampton and Hunterdon (NJ) counties.<\/p>\n
River Crossing YMCA<\/strong><\/a> (formerly YMCA of Bucks and Hunterdon Counties and Greater Valley YMCA) is a charitable, nonprofit organization committed to strengthening communities through membership and programs that foster youth development, healthy living and social responsibility for all. Annually, the Y serves over 100,000 members and participants at its 11 member branches, 12 early childhood centers, 20 summer camp locations and 44 school age child care programs. River Crossing YMCA provides over $12 million of community impact annually in the form of financial assistance to individuals and families in need and free programming for veterans, cancer survivors, older adults and more. To learn more visit ymcarivercrossing.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n About Praesidium<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Praesidium is the leading innovator of scientifically based solutions designed to transform the way organizations approach the prevention of sexual abuse. Praesidium\u2019s expertise, consulting, and solutions\u00a0help to foster safer environments for children, vulnerable adults, staff, volunteers, and all parties involved.<\/p>\n For over 30 years, Praesidium has trained more than one million people online and hundreds of thousands in person. As the largest and most comprehensive sexual abuse risk management firm globally, Praesidium knows how sexual abuse happens and, more importantly, how to prevent it.<\/p>\n Information provided to TVL by: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" DOYLESTOWN – River Crossing YMCA, which operates member branches, child care centers, school age child care and health and wellness programs throughout Bucks, Lehigh, Northampton and Hunterdon counties, announced it has earned Praesidium Accreditation\u00ae, recognizing the Y\u2019s demonstrated commitment to the highest standards of abuse The accreditation, representing a sustained commitment to the safety of … Continue reading YMCA ATTAINS NATIONAL ABUSE PREVENTION ACCREDITATION\u00a0<\/span>
\nMichael Reisman<\/p>\n