Emergency Plan

During events accidents, injuries, or serious illnesses can occur. In the event of any accident, injury, or serious illness involving anyone on campus during an event, the University Police Department should be immediately notified at 903.566.7300; and an officer will respond to assess the situation and notify emergency services. If the situation is life-threatening, dial 911; they will dispatch University Police and other emergency services.  

Youth Programs must create and follow a Youth Protection Emergency Plan specific to their program. Plans must be submitted to the Youth Protection team at least 30 days (about 4 and a half weeks) before the Youth Program starts. Plans are subject to approval. Plans are broken down into four sections: communication, medical emergency, supervision, and transportation. 

Once the situation is under control, paperwork will have to be completed to document the incident and begin a cause investigation. 

• For injuries involving a student or visitor on campus, complete the “Student and Visitor Report of Injury Form.”  Contact safety@uttyler.edu. 
• For injuries involving an employee performing duties related to their job during an event on campus, complete the “Employee Report of Injury” and “Supervisors First Report of Injury” forms. Contact safety@uttyler.edu. 
• For Youth Programs, complete an incident report on DocuSign. Contact the yp@uttyler.edu.
•  All incidents must be reported to the Youth Protection Office 
• Serious injuries must be reported immediately to the Youth Protection Office by phone, after EMS is notified 
• You may need to submit multiple reports.

Section 11A: Communication Plan 
A communication plan provides camp staff with pre-determined dialog to be spoken or sent during emergencies. There should be a section for each type of person involved with camp. The Program Operator is also responsible for upholding a code of conduct, identifying evacuation meeting locations, shelter in place locations, nearby fire exits, and creating a reunification plan in case of an emergency where normal pick up is unavailable as part of their communication plan as vital information provided to Designated Individuals and Parents/Guardians/Emergency Contacts. 

• The Youth Protection Team has created a standard Code of Conduct that can be shared with Program Operators. Please email yp@uttyler.edu for a copy. This is also added to the ARMs registration portal if a program uses that for registration. 
• Parent/Guardian/Emergency Contact Communication should state how parents can contact camp, as well as how they will be contacted during an emergency and the dialog used. This can be sent via email before the event or be posted on the program website. 
• Staff Communication should explain how you will notify staff of emergencies (cell phone, walkie talkies, fire alarm sounds, etc.) and how they will communicate with their participants. 
• Participant Communication should describe how the participants will be made aware of emergency situations, i.e., fire alarm sounds, who they should follow in emergency situations, and the dialog used to communicate with them.  
• Evacuation Meeting Location: If a building needs to be evacuated (fire, bomb threat, etc.), programs must have a primary meeting location and a secondary meeting location in case the primary is inaccessible. Meeting locations should be specific areas where people can gather, i.e., Parking Lot 2, Patriot Plaza, Harvey Deck, etc. 
• Shelter in Place Location: In the event of a shelter in place emergency, for example a tornado or active shooter, programs must have a primary and secondary location specified. 
• Fire Exits: In case of a fire emergency, programs must specify a primary (nearest) fire exit and secondary (next closest) fire exit in case of inaccessibility.  
• Reunification Plans: If a normal dismissal process is prevented due to an emergency, programs must have a reunification plan to safely reunite minor participants with a parent/guardian/emergency contact. This must include three separate locations. Location 1, Parent/Guardian Check-In, will be where the adults meet for check-in with valid ID and to verify which student they are picking up. Location 2, Student Supervision, is where the minors will be located with staff supervision. Location 3, Family Waiting, is where parents go to be reunited with their student. Both parties need to be supervised by a staff member and identities need to be verified, and signed off on, before releasing the student.  

Section 11B: Medical Emergency Plan 
The Program Operator must have at least one Designated Individual certified in CPR, First Aid, and AED available and on staff during program operating hours. The Program Operator must also obtain from each Youth Participant’s parent/legal guardian the following, which can be collected during registration and check-in: 

1. Authorization to permit transportation of the Youth Participant to University Health Services or a local hospital as deemed necessary in an emergency.
2. Authorization for emergency medical treatment if the parent/legal guardian or their designated emergency contact is unavailable. 
3. Signed liability and indemnification agreement to participate in the event. This is included in ARMs if the program uses it for registration.
4. Disclosure of any allergies, other medical conditions, or physical limitations of a Youth Participant that may impact his or her participation in the program.
5. Any prescription medication the Youth Participant needs during the program in the original container with dosage instructions.
   1. Prescriptions must be kept in a secure location.
   2. A Designated Individual should supervise the administration of medication to a Youth  Participant and record the individual, time, dosage, and medication taken in a medication log. 

Section 11C: Supervision Plan 
Each official Youth Program must establish a plan for adequate supervision considering the number and average age of Youth Participants, the program activity, and whether overnight accommodations are involved. Programs are not permitted to have any unsupervised free time. Unofficial programs are encouraged to meet these guidelines as well. 

1. The supervision plan must specify the person having responsibility over all Designated Individuals serving in the program, the proposed ratio of Youth Participants to Designated Individuals and provide a proposed breakdown of Designated Individuals by category of employees, students, and volunteers.
2. Supervision plan must include a way to identify Youth Participant and the program they are attending, i.e., name-tags, t-shirts, bags, etc. 
3. Plans must have a Code of Conduct and review appropriate and inappropriate behaviors with Youth Participants. A standard code of conduct is attached to every registration.
   1. appropriate attire for in-person events or in videos and backgrounds
   2. bullying, including cyber bullying, during or outside of a session is not appropriate
   3. behavior during events or in screenshots or recordings
   4. issues and consequences of behaviors should be discussed with the parent and Youth Participant and can result in temporary or permanent removal from the program (without a refund)
4. The supervision plan for any overnight program must also:
   1. specify curfews, and
   2. no visitors are permitted.
5. The supervision plan for any online program must: 
   1. have a secure network to use video with a password or unique link to join where only registered participants and approved staff or volunteers can participate. 
   2. have two staff members in each online access point, or breakout room.
   3. notify students before screenshots or recordings are taken. Youth Participants may turn off their screen and microphone if they wish to not be recorded. Leaving either of those on is implied consent. 
6. No Unsupervised Access. Any individual not considered a Designated Individual (e.g., parent/guardian) must not have unsupervised access to a Youth Participant during Youth Program operating hours. 
7. Program Operators will be responsible for collecting, completing, and storing incident reports involving Designated Individuals and/or Youth Participants due to behavior, medical, abuse, or neglect issues after the incident has been resolved. Incident Report Forms can be requested from yp@uttyler.edu.
8. Each program must have a minimum Designated Individual to Youth Participant (minor) ratio of the following:

Average Age of Minors	Number of Staff	Overnight Minors	Day Only Minors
5 years and younger	1	5	6
6-8 years	1	6	8
9-14 years	1	8	10
15-18 years	1	10	12

Section 11D: Transportation Plan 
Each program must establish a procedure for the pick-up and drop-off of Youth Participants, specifying times and locations, and assure that no Youth Participant is released to any person other than their parent/legal guardian without specific written authorization.

Minor students who drive themselves to programs will only be able to check themselves out at the end of a day program or an overnight program. Minors will NOT be allowed to check themselves out in the middle of their scheduled program. Parents/Legal Guardians of minors must coordinate in advance with the Program Director by email for any early releases. 

UT Tyler does not allow for minors to be dropped off on campus by Uber/Lyft for safety reasons. 

Section 11E: Travel and Off-Campus Activities 
The University of Texas at Tyler sponsors numerous off-campus activities involving travel. The liability risk to the university for such activities is significant. To effectively manage these activities, the Office of Student Success has developed guidelines that can be viewed in Chapter 13 of the Manual of Policies and Procedures for Student Affairs (MOPP). Required forms that must be completed prior to travel can also be found in Chapter 13 or DocuSign. Please be aware all Designated Individual Conduct and Supervision Plan items must be adhered to during travel.