Short Video: Privacy vs. Supervision in Youth Programs

Within youth-serving organizations, there will be times when it’s appropriate for youth to have privacy, such as in bathrooms and locker rooms. During those times, it is crucial that youth are still being supervised. This will allow staff to identify if something doesn’t look or sound right, so they can intervene. Two of our consultants sat down to discuss the difference between privacy and supervision, and how this relates to your everyday work.

We encourage you to use this in your next staff meeting. We have also included a few discussion questions below to facilitate conversation between your staff and help them apply this to their role.

Discussion Questions: 

• When do youth in our programs have privacy? How can we make sure those times are appropriately supervised?
• What situations may occur that could put you in a one-on-one situation with a youth? What strategies can you take to make sure you are not alone with that youth?
• What challenges do you currently face when supervising bathrooms? How can we improve things this summer to make sure youth have privacy but are also supervised?