Hands & Voices

Date: October 13th, 2026 || Time: 10:00am – 11:00am MT

Adjust your time zone accordingly!!

Building a Culture of Safety: O.U.R. Children's Safety Project

Event Description

Children’s safety is not a stand-alone initiative. It is woven into the way H&V plans, develops, and carries out its projects and programs. This interactive session will explore the practical strategies H&V uses to create safer environments for children and youth across the H&V landscape.

Together, we will examine tools and practices such as safety checklists we encourage families to use, safety considerations when planning activities for children and youth, clear expectations for staff and volunteers, and other organizational safeguards. We will also look at how children’s safety is incorporated into projects such as ASTra and GBYS, ensuring that safety considerations are part of program design rather than an afterthought.

Most importantly, this session will invite participants to share ideas, identify gaps, and consider how we can strengthen a culture of safety throughout H&V. The goal is to move beyond individual policies and procedures toward a shared organizational commitment: making children’s safety a fundamental consideration in everything we do. Let’s make safety an organizational habit, together!

Objectives:

Recognize the difference between having child safety policies and creating an organizational culture in which safety routinely influences decisions.
Assess current programs, events and practices for opportunities to strengthen safeguards for children and youth. (ASTra, GBYS, family events, exhibits and presentations, etc.)
Apply practical tools and strategies from H&V’s approach for use within a chapter or organization serving families.
This year I will: What is one step your organization might take this month to strengthen its culture of safety?

Presenters Bios

This session is presented by Janet DesGeorges and the O.U.R. Project Core Team.

Registration Form:

Fill out the form below and click the Submit button at the bottom to register your information.

*What is O.U.R. Children Safety Project - (Observe, Understand, and Respond)?

Hands & Voices has created a Community of Learners, comprised of parents, family members and professionals, to explore and develop activities that will work to increase the safety and success of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. This welcoming and inclusive community of learners values participation from Hands & Voices leadership including GBYS and ASTra program staff. Through discussion and critical reflection, the group focuses on issues to increase awareness and understanding surrounding prevention of child maltreatment for deaf, hard of hearing and DHH Plus children. Together, members of O.U.R. identify and determine action steps that support others in their local communities that serve to observe and respond to instances of abuse, neglect, and bullying, as well as cohesively work to enhance policies for prevention within the systems of care serving D/HH children and families. The O.U.R Children’s Safety Project incorporates the foundation and mission of Hands & Voices, and as such guides the message of prevention throughout Hands & Voices state and provincial chapters in order to carry out the work that enables deaf, hard of hearing and DHH Plus children to reach their highest potential.