Abuse Prevention Awareness Training

Welcome to Greater Libertyville Soccer Association's Abuse Awareness Training Page. On February 14, 2018 the “Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017” (S.534) was passed by Congress, requiring youth sports organizations to implement the following steps toward preventing sexual abuse of minors:

• Mandatory Reporting: any adult — board member, employee, coach (paid or volunteer, head or assistant), team administrator/manager, or other volunteers —  interacting with an amateur athlete in the program has a duty to report abuse and/or suspected abuse within a 24-hour period of awareness. EVERY adult is a mandatory reporter.
• Prevention Training: consistent training must be offered and provided to all adult members who are in regular contact with amateur athletes who are minors, and educational training for children to better understand appropriate vs. inappropriate behavior, both in terms of adult-to-child and child-to-child interaction;
• Prevention Policies: all youth sport organizations must establish reasonable procedures to limit one-on-one interactions between an amateur athlete who is a minor (under the age of 18) and an adult who is not their parent/guardian; anti-retaliation policies; and other relevant policies.

As a member of Illinois Youth Soccer Association and US Youth Soccer, GLSA will enforce these steps for all of its programs, which extend efforts and policies already in place prior to the passing of this legislation.

These policies are evolving, as the key entities (The Center for Safe Sports, US Soccer, US Youth Soccer, Illinois Youth Soccer, etc.) are still developing the training, oversight practices, policies, and procedures for implementation. Consequently, information on this page may be revised to comply with federal law as well as what is established by these governing bodies.