Safeguarding
Safeguarding
No adult is ever alone with a young person, in person or online, and parents see everything.
Tallyhurst follows the youth protection standard Scouting America sets for its own adults, adapted for coaching by Zoom, although no law requires it. Every session and message includes the student, a parent or guardian, and the coach. Every Tallyhurst adult is background-checked, trained in child protection and bound by our code of conduct, and every concern is reported.
Last reviewed: November 2026
Who and what this covers
This standard applies to every adult who works with a Tallyhurst student: our founder, our coaches, expedition staff and volunteers. It covers every channel we use: Zoom sessions, email, the activity log, our automated check-ins, and in-person expeditions. Each award program also has its own safeguarding expectations. Where a program's rules are stricter than ours, we follow theirs.
Our core rules
No one-on-one contact. A coach is never alone with a student under 18. Every Zoom session has a parent or guardian in the room or on the call, or a second screened adult. Group sessions always have two screened adults.
Parents see everything. Parents receive every message, every check-in and every comment a coach writes, and can open the activity log at any time. There are no private channels between a coach and a student.
Every adult is screened. Before working with any student, each adult completes a criminal background check, a sex offender registry check in every state they have lived in, and two references. Checks are repeated every two years.
Every adult is trained. Each adult completes recognized child protection training before starting, and renews it every two years.
Every adult signs our code of conduct. It requires appropriate language, no gifts outside the program, no personal social media connections with students, no transporting a student alone, and no romantic or sexual relationship with any student, whatever their age.
Communication stays in the open. Coaches write only through Tallyhurst accounts, always with a parent copied. We never text, message or call a student's personal phone. If a student contacts a coach privately, the reply copies a parent. Students 18 and over may choose in writing to receive messages directly, but private channels are never used.
Sessions online
Every session runs on Tallyhurst's own Zoom account. Each family has a unique link and passcode, a waiting room is always on, and the student is admitted only after a parent or second screened adult has joined. Private chat is switched off, only the coach can share a screen, and participants cannot rename themselves. Sessions take place in a common area of the home, never a bedroom, and anyone may end a session at any time. After each session we record the date, length and who was present. Sessions are recorded only with written consent from both parent and student, and recordings are deleted after 90 days unless a concern has been raised.
Our automated check-ins
Our accountability check-ins are sent only by email, always copy a parent, never invite a private reply, and never ask a student for personal information beyond their activity log. Every message template is reviewed by our founder before use.
Expeditions
The students plan and lead their own expeditions, as each program requires. Where Tallyhurst provides in-person support, two screened adults are present at all times, with at least one of each gender for mixed groups. Adults and students sleep separately, and no adult shares a tent or room with a student who is not their own child. Every student brings a signed parent consent form and medical form.
Reporting a concern
Every Tallyhurst adult treats reporting suspected abuse or neglect as a duty, wherever the student lives. A coach who hears a disclosure or sees signs of harm listens, does not investigate or promise secrecy, and reports the same day. If a concern involves a Tallyhurst adult, that adult is removed from all contact with students at once while the matter is reported and examined, and the families involved are told. Any break in these rules, even an innocent one, is recorded, reviewed and shared with the parent; repeated or deliberate breaches end an adult's work with Tallyhurst.
If you have a concern
If a child is in immediate danger, call 911. In Florida, call the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2873 or report online at myflfamilies.com. In any state, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. To raise a concern with us directly, use the form on our Book a conversation page and choose Safeguarding concern. You may always report directly to the hotline or the police, including about anyone at Tallyhurst.
Questions about safeguarding
Why does Tallyhurst follow Scouting America's youth protection rules?
Because they are among the most thorough standards used by any youth organization in the United States, and they work. No law requires a private coaching service to follow them; we choose to.
Can a coach and student ever meet in person?
Only during expedition support, always with two screened adults present and never one-on-one.
What if my teenager messages a coach privately?
The coach replies with a parent copied, and the student is reminded that all communication includes a parent.
How do I raise a concern?
Use the form on our Book a conversation page and choose Safeguarding concern, or report directly to the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2873, the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453, or the police.