In 2018 the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 was signed into law. The legislation is aimed at preventing and reporting child abuse in youth sports by expanding the definition of mandatory reporters and requiring organizations to provide enhanced training and develop and enforce policies, mechanisms, and procedures to prevent, report, and respond to abuse of athletes.
Cal North, in collaboration with Stack Sports, is pleased to announce that US Soccer Connect is now integrated with the US Center for SafeSport.
If you did not have a chance to attend the Cal North Soccer Expo and sit in on the SafeSport presentation presented by the US Center for SafeSport, please make sure to download a copy of the presentation and review it at your earliest convenience.
What does the new law mean in terms of registration? As a result of the new federal law, SafeSport training is mandatory for all adults participating in an official capacity with their league/club. This includes but is not limited to team administrators, volunteers, coaches, board members, and staff.
The new SafeSport integration is designed to assist member organizations by allowing the SafeSport training to be completed at no cost when the training is taken through US Soccer Connect. The integration allows registrars to track who has completed the training without needing to review or upload certificates of completion. At the end of the training, a certificate of completion can be downloaded for personal record keeping. Confirmation of successful completion will automatically be added to the adult’s record in US Soccer Connect.
How does the integration work? All coaches are required to register online. Two new waivers have been added, (1) Cal North Code of Conduct, and (2) Cal North Reporting Mechanism. Upon completing their registration, coaches will receive a confirmation email with a link to begin the training. The link will direct coaches to an access code that they must copy and use to begin the training. In addition to the confirmation email, coaches can log into their member accounts at any time to begin or continue the training.
Please contact Michael Stephen, League Manager, at mike@nhaysc.com with any questions or concerns.