Safety and Safeguarding

The adults around your teen

Every adult who leads, facilitates or volunteers with teens in our program is checked, trained and held to one code of conduct.

• Background checks. Anyone who works directly with teens passes a criminal background check before their first session, renewed every two years.
• Training. Facilitators and volunteers complete safeguarding training: healthy boundaries, spotting signs of harm, and what to do when a teen shares something serious.
• No private one-on-one contact. Adults in our program never message, text, call or follow a teen privately, and never meet a teen alone. Program messages go through official Teens UnEdited channels, with a parent or guardian copied.
• Two adults, always. At least two trained adults are present in every live session, group read and in-person gathering.
• Nothing asked of teens that they should not give. No adult in our program will ask a teen for photos, personal contact details, secrets or a meeting outside the program. If one ever does, that is a reason to tell a parent and tell us.

Live sessions and online spaces

Our live sessions are moderated group spaces where teens can listen, share or just watch.

• Cameras are optional. A teen can join with their camera and microphone off and still take part through the group chat.
• No private messages between participants. Private chat is turned off, so teens cannot be contacted one-on-one by strangers during a session.
• Moderated in real time. A trained moderator watches the chat and can remove anyone who breaks our community rules.
• Recordings need permission first. Sessions may be recorded so others can watch later. A teen's face, voice or name only appears in a recording if a parent or guardian has said yes in writing. Without that, we blur or cut them out.
• Report with one click. Every session has a way to flag a problem to the moderator privately.

Parent consent

Parents and guardians stay in control of what their teen joins and what we keep.

We never use a teen's name, photo, words or story in public without written permission from a parent or guardian.

Community hosts and Volunteer a family

Schools, youth groups, faith communities and employers who host Teens UnEdited agree to the same standards we hold ourselves to.

• Hosts follow this page. Before hosting, a partner agrees in writing to our two-adult rule, no private one-on-one contact, and our reporting steps.
• Their people are checked. Host staff and volunteers who work directly with teens have a current background check, through the host or through us.
• Volunteering with a family happens with the family. When a volunteer supports a family, a parent or guardian is present, and meetings happen in the family's home with them there or in a public place.
• We can step in. We may pause or end a partnership if a host does not keep these standards.

If something feels wrong

If anything in our program makes a teen or parent uncomfortable, tell us. You will not get in trouble for speaking up.

1. Tell us. Email safety@teensunedited.com, use the report option in a live session, or tell the moderator. Teens can also tell a parent, teacher or another trusted adult first.
2. We respond fast. We read every safety report and reply within one business day. Urgent reports are handled the same day.
3. We keep it as private as we can. We share a report only with the people who need it to keep someone safe.

When we must act. If a teen tells us they are being hurt, or that they might hurt themselves or someone else, we take it seriously. We may contact their parent or guardian, and we report to the authorities when the law requires it.

Teens UnEdited is an educational program. It is not therapy or counseling, and our check-ins and the Edit Map are reflection tools, not clinical screenings. The Edit Map never saves or sends a teen's answers.