Kidding Around? Be Serious! A Commitment to Safe Service Opportunities for Young People.

This book deals with the topic of young people in service. Based on the belief that young people can be engaged in many valuable community service activities with the energy and spontaneity that is unique to youth, this book attempts to provide information for organizations to implement risk management plans to protect these young people from accidents, unruly behavior, angry parents, accidental or intentional harm, and how to keep young people safe and out of trouble. This book has five chapters. Chapter 1 focuses on the risk-relevant characteristics of children and adolescents as well as the differences between managing risk for young people and adults. Chapter 2 presents a simplified discussion of general legal principles. Chapter 3 reviews general risk management strategies, describing the process and tools that may enable organizations to safeguard their volunteers and community. Chapter 4 offers a risk management discussion of specific laws and issues particularly pertinent to working with young people, such as child labor, transportation, substance abuse, and sex. Chapter 5 explores family service projects and cooperative service arrangements. Collectively, this book attempts to provide channels to significantly reduce the risks associated with young people in service. Contains 38 references and an index. (MOK)