Youth-ServingOrganizations
Your mission to protect, educate, nurture, and encourage our next generation is a powerful responsibility. Understanding and protecting that trust is at the core of Taylor English’s Youth-Serving Organization (YSO) practice.
We designed our purpose-built, holistic approach to ensure the success of organizations and the wellbeing and safety of the youth they serve. Proactively, we work with organizations to establish and implement clear policies, procedures, education, and abuse/injury prevention measures such as training, checklists, and risk audits. Responsively, we support organizations through claims of abuse or other injuries as well as internal and independent investigations. Together, our efforts help youth organizations:
- Recognize threats and prevent harm to children
- Avoid, reduce, and defend against injury claims, including abuse
- Manage and respond to crises
- Navigate internal and independent investigations
- Defend against regulatory or law enforcement actions
- Protect the safety and wellbeing of all children
Our attorneys are uniquely positioned to lead policy and education efforts, trauma-informed investigations, and crisis response. We have decades of direct experience in social work, foster care, criminal prosecution, and the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS). These experiences have given us firsthand knowledge of the impact that insufficient preparation, claims of abuse, and poor situation containment can have on organizations, children, and families alike. We have the relationships and knowledge necessary to address your challenge–with integrity and privacy–before, during, and after you face them.
Through tailored guidance, we assist youth-serving organizations in adopting best practices, principles, and protocols to foster an environment where children and staff can thrive.
Insights
INSIGHT
For Organizations Serving Children and Youth, Broad and Thorough Background Checks of Staff and Ongoing Monitoring are Essential
2022
The New York Times told us this week about a tragic situation involving foster parents in New York City who were involved in sex…
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California Codifies Normal Mandated Reporting Practices
2021
The California legislature recently enacted a new law requiring youth-serving organizations to train employees and volunteers, and to…
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Principles for Dealing with Allergies in Youth Organizations
2022
One challenge that my clients are having to deal with more often is childhood allergies, which are increasing for reasons that no one…
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Youth Organization Must Defend Against 50-Year-Old Allegations of Sexual Abuse
2021
A federal judge has denied the Boys and Girls’ Club’s motion to dismiss claims against it, meaning that the case must move to discovery….
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Complex Trauma in Children is Related to Poorer Cognitive Functioning
2022
A recent review and meta-analysis of mental health literature looked at the relationship between complex trauma and cognitive functioning…
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Youth Organizations and Children With Disabilities
2021
One area that youth organizations must address is how to accommodate children with disabilities. It can be a complicated question, such…
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Youth Organizations Need to Prepare for a New Wave of Lawsuits
2022
New York governor Kathy Hochul has signed a bill designed to give adult survivors of abuse the right to file suit, regardless of how long…
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Five Ways that Your Organization Can Support Foster Families
2022
Probably the biggest need in our foster care system is the lack of sufficient support for foster parents. The usual answer, more…
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Reopening Youth Programs
2020
Gov. Kemp’s most recent executive order (the “Order”) has specific rules for licensed child care facilities and general rules for other…
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New Guide for Preventing Child Abuse
2021
One of the centers at Johns Hopkins has issued a guide for child protection policies for youth-serving organizations. It is lengthy, but…
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Coming Soon to Georgia: Tax Credits to Support Youth-Serving Organizations
2022
Two sister bills flying through the Georgia General Assembly this year would provide up to $20 million in annual tax credits allowing…
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Lessons from the FBI Investigation of Larry Nassar
2021
The Department of Justice has issued a scathing report about the FBI’s failures to investigate reports of sexual assault by Larry Nassar….
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Background Checks: Child Abuse Registries
2019
Youth-serving organizations that are conscientious about background checks often overlook another important resource for screening staff,…
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Don’t Let Your Resolutions Set You Up for Trouble
2021
The first of the year, after the end of the holiday rush and before spring holidays kick in, is a natural time to regroup and plan ahead….
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Resilience After Child Abuse
2019
One very important issue for youth-serving organizations is what factors help children recover from abuse or neglect. It is a complicated…
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CDC Changes COVID-19 Guidance for K-12, Early Childhood Education, and Camps
2022
On August 11, the CDC significantly updated its COVID-19 guidance for schools and childcare centers. It has not fully updated its…
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Youth organizations have limited ability to check Georgia’s child abuse & neglect database
2021
One unanticipated result of Georgia’s abolishing its child abuse registry last fall is that many youth serving organizations no longer…
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The Basics of Establishing and Operating a 501(c)(3) Organization
2020
In an article published on October 12, 2020 in Bloomberg Tax, James Standard provides insight on the basic considerations which must be…
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The First Story We Hear May Not Be the Whole Story
2022
A long-standing Title IX lawsuit illustrates the importance of paying attention to every claim from a child, no matter how minor it seems…
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Internal Investigations and #MeToo: First Steps
2019
This post is part of a continuing series about responding to reports by a now-adult of past abuse at a youth-serving organization. The…
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Accommodating Children with Disabilities: Overview
2019
One vexing area for youth organizations is how to accommodate children with disabilities. It can be a complicated question, such as when…
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Employees or Independent Contractors?
2019
Many of my smaller clients have asked about hiring short-term and part-time staff as independent contractors rather than employees. My…
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“Internal Investigations In The #MeToo Era,” American Camp Association Southeastern Fall Camp 2019 Conference
2019
On September 24, 2019, Deborah Ausburn presented at the American Camp Association’s 2019 Southeastern Fall Camp Conference on “Internal…
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Good Child Protection Policies Don’t Require Two Adults At All Times
2022
Many people think that all youth-serving organizations must follow a rule requiring two adults in any activity involving children. It is…
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Having a Treating Therapist Serve As a Forensic Witness Is Rarely a Good Idea
2019
I often find myself in a case opposing a party who has designated his or her or a child’s treating therapist as an expert witness on…
Read MoreAbout Taylor English
Taylor English Duma LLP was built from the ground up to provide highest-quality legal services for optimal value. The firm combines the best aspects of a traditional law firm with seasoned attorneys throughout the United States. Together, our attorneys work each day to provide timely, creative, and cost-effective counsel to help clients solve problems and achieve goals. Taylor English clients run the gamut from Fortune 500 companies to middle market businesses to start ups and entrepreneurs. The firm is the Georgia law firm member of GGI Global Alliance AG, the leading worldwide alliance of accounting and law firms, giving our clients access to a trusted stable of high-quality professional services organizations around the globe.