
Minor Safety
Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith College collectively serve thousands of minors every year. We are collectively committed to the safety of these children.
Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith College collectively serve thousands of minors every year. We are collectively committed to the safety of these children which is why each school requires Authorized Adults working with children in college-sponsored programs to comply with their Minor Safety Policy. Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith College each have Minor Safety Programs that are administratively supported by Five College Risk Management. On this page, you will find links to your schools Minor Safety Policy, a webform for registering your program, and instructions to complete the Minor Safety Certification Process.
Start the Minor Safety Certification Process
Complete Required Training
- Log in to the Minor Safety Certification Database.
- For users with a College-issued email address, log in under "Five College Students, Faculty, and Staff." Select your college and enter your college user name and password.
- For users without a College-issued email address, register an account or log into your existing account under "Don't Have a College Network ID?" Be sure to use the same email address you use to communicate with your program manager.
- Navigate to the Training Tab. Select and complete each required training from the dropdown.
Complete Required Background Check
Letters of Suitability
Mount Holyoke College will accept a letter of suitability if you are working in another school district and have had fingerprints completed as part of the Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) or National Sex Offender Registry Information (SORI) process less than 2 years ago. You can request a letter of suitability in lieu of completing a new CORI through us. Please reach out to Risk Management at riskmgmt@mtholyoke.edu for instructions.
Policies
Review your college's Minor Safety Policy. Pay particular attention to your college's procedures for reporting inappropriate interactions with youth.
Policy Scope
Sponsored Programs
A sponsored program meets all of the following criteria:
- The program is either explicitly designed for children or will include Minors for which the college will have supervisory responsibility.
- The program is paid for, organized by, or operated in whole or in part by the college.
Exclusions
A program is not considered a sponsored program if any of the following are true:
- The program is not explicitly designed for children and does not include participants under the age of 18.
- The program is not paid for, organized by, or operated in whole or in part by the college.
- The event is open to the public and the college will not have supervisory responsibility for (full care, custody, and control) of any minor participants that happen to attend.

Develop Your Emergency Response Plan
Before your program starts, make sure you are informed, prepared, and know what to do in case of an emergency.
Resources for Remote Programming
As we shift our programs to operate in virtual settings, many program managers may be wondering what Minor Safety should look like in the digital landscape we build for our participants. Praesidium, our consultant in abuse prevention, has published the following helpful resources for you to consider in designing an online experience for minors that incorporates the best known practices for preventing abuse.