Youth Safety Portal is Now Live

The MSU Youth Safety Portal is now available for all MSU youth program leaders. It replaces the annual Youth Programs Questionnaire, and will allow MSU youth program leaders to submit required information to register their programs with the office of the Director of Youth Programs, update and renew their program each year, and manage and view the status of their programs' compliance with various requirements for conducting MSU youth programs. Additional features that we anticipate launching in the future through this system include training modules and program report cards with helpful feedback related to program compliance.

Requested actions for leaders of MSU youth programs, as defined by the MSU Youth Programs policy:

  • Please visit the following link to access the new Youth Safety Portal:
    Youth Safety Portal website - Note: This link is also connected to the “Register a new MSU Youth Program” button on the homepage of my office website.
  • Please follow the steps outlined in the Youth Safety Portal Help Guide to register your programs for the 2020-2021 academic year. If you are experiencing any difficulties with this system, or if you need any assistance, please reach out to me directly.

Exception Process for MSU Youth and Pre-college Programs

As announced on August 24, MSU youth programs, as defined by the MSU Youth Programs policy, are recommended to not occur in-person on the MSU campus, at satellite MSU venues, or off-campus until further notice. MSU youth programs may continue to operate through remote and/or online instruction.

MSU youth and pre-college programs seeking to operate in-person will have the opportunity to request an exception. It is recommended that programs seeking an exception to operate in-person must meet all of the following criteria:

Exception Application Instructions

To request an exception, MSU Youth and Pre-college Programs must follow this series of instructions to complete the process of registering the program with the MSU Youth Programs Office:

  1. Visit the MSU Youth Safety Portal.
  2. Log in with their MSU NetID and two-factor authentication credentials.
  3. Select “Register a Youth Program” from the home menu.
  4. Complete the registration form.
  5. In Section 3- General Questions, the form will ask about the Instruction Method(s) for the program. This will appear as the second question in Section 3 of the form. To request an exception to facilitate in-person programming, check the box labeled “In-person” in the registration form.
  6. Selecting “In-person” will prompt additional questions related to the exception request. Complete these additional questions.
  7. Finish and submit the program registration form.
  8. Once the registration form has been submitted, the Youth Safety Portal will cue a formal review of the exception request.

Note: Exception Process for MSU Extension/4-H Programs

  • MSU Extension and 4-H programs will follow the exception process that was documented by the memo sent by Dr. Jeff Dwyer on August 3, 2020.

Exception Review Process

  • Exception requests must be authorized by the Major Academic Unit (MAU). After the registration form has been submitted, the Director of Youth Programs will send an authorization request to a representative from the MAU.
  • After the MAU representative has responded to the exception request, MSU Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), in partnership with the Office of Regulatory Affairs and the University Physician’s Office, will review the request and determine whether the activity can safely operate in-person during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • After the MAU and MSU EHS have approved the exception request, the Director of Youth Programs will review the program’s registration form to assess compliance with the Operational Requirements for Conducting University Youth Programs.
  • Additional reviews by relevant MSU safety offices (e.g., MSU Risk Management & Insurance, etc.) will be included as necessary.
  • After the program reviews have been completed, the Director of Youth Programs will finalize the program’s registration, and an acknowledgement of the program’s status will be sent to the program leader.
  • Should additional information or action be needed from the program leader during the program review, the Director of Youth Programs will send a request to the program leader via E-mail through the Youth Safety Portal.

Following an Approval for In-person Activities

If a program is granted an exception to conduct in-person activities, specific guidelines will be sent to the program leader requesting the exception. All programs approved for in-person activities will be required to have their personnel complete the “Communicating through Conflict” training in D2L. In accordance with recommendations approved by the MSU Reopening Campus Task Force and in the interest of the health and safety of all program participants and personnel, all programs approved for in-person activities will be instructed to monitor local pandemic conditions and follow Executive Order guidance in the origination and destination counties. Risk levels in both the origination and destination counties must be assessed using the COVID Act Now website within 24 hours of the encounter. If risk levels in either county are at the “active or imminent outbreak” level, the encounter must be cancelled.

Contact

For further information about the MSU Youth Safety Portal, please contact:

David Chupak
Michigan State University
Director, Youth Programs:
Registration, Safety Assurance, and Education Program
Office of the Provost
Telephone: 517-353-6994
E-mail: chupakda@msu.edu
Web: https://youthprograms.msu.edu

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