AYSO believes soccer should be safe, fun and fair for everyone who participates, kids and adults alike. AYSO has a program in place to help make it safer for everyone.

What is Safe Haven?

Safe Haven is a nationally recognized program that focuses on child safety and volunteer protection. The program exists to ensure a safe environment for kids and to provide maximum protection under the law for those volunteers working with the kids.

How does Safe Haven protect our kids?

To protect our kids, Safe Haven introduces a more extensive registration and certification of our key volunteers who work most closely with the children: coaches and assistant coaches, referees, team parents and board members. Parents, it is important for you to know that the volunteers working with your child are Safe Haven certified.

How does Safe Haven protect our volunteers?

To protect our volunteers, Safe Haven promotes job training and certification of the volunteers working in these key roles. Coaches, referees and volunteers, Safe Haven will improve your child development skills and make you a better volunteer. It will also give you an umbrella of protection in the normal exercise of your volunteer duties.

Effective January 1, 2001, all coaches in AYSO are required to have attended and passed a Coach Safe Haven certification course. Before a coach holds a single meeting with her/his players, that coach must be certified. This fall, all AYSO referees will be required to have Referee Safe Haven certification. Referees who have received a Coach Safe Haven certification are considered certified for purposes of Referee Safe Haven, and do not need to attend further certification.

So what do I need to do?

In order for kids and volunteers to receive full protection under the law, AYSO volunteers need to do several things.

* A volunteer must get job specific training, and be current on standards (through continuing education). For instance, a U10 coach must attend an AYSO U10 coaching class.

* A volunteer must be certified by AYSO. A certification class such as the Safe Haven Coach Certification contains child + coach specific information.

* A volunteer needs to be performing duties as laid out in a job description.

* A volunteer must act within the scope of AYSO’s policies, procedures and guidelines. A volunteer must be properly authorized (appointed) to do a job and

* A volunteer needs a good paper trail.

Give me the bottom line here – what do I have to do this year?

All coaches and referees must receive their Safe Haven certification. Check the schedule of classes at registration, and schedule yourself for a class before you meet with your team or referee your first game of the season.

Tell me about the Volunteer Registration sheet.

All volunteers and anyone who interacts with the players are expected to complete the AYSO Volunteer Registration form. When you complete this form, you must provide your Social Security number, your Driver’s License or State ID number, and the names, mailing addresses and phone numbers of two personal references (preferably one business related – boss, co-worker or associate and one a friend). Please bring this information with you to registration. There are several questions on the bottom that you need to read and check the appropriate answer, then the form needs to be signed (on the back). Please sign both copies. Incomplete forms will not be accepted!

What’s behind all this?

To support the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974, and the Child Protection Act of 1993, AYSO has implemented programs and policies to provide the proper level of intervention and education to all our volunteers. In 2000, AYSO began random background checks of all AYSO volunteers. Any volunteers who have a history of endangering children or who are not willing to submit to a background check will not be able to participate.

To support the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997, AYSO has implemented training and certification programs to ensure that all of our volunteers are covered under this important legislation while they are performing their specified volunteer job.

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