Protecting Children on Trinity’s Campus

Trinity celebrates the presence of many children in the lives of our large campus family, and Trinity is committed to doing everything possible to ensure the health, safety and well being of all children.

Trinity complies with all laws concerning the protection of children, and will immediately report any cases of suspected child abuse or neglect to the police and Child Protective Services.  Trinity expects all organizations that bring children to our campus to have procedures in place for criminal background checks of the adults who work with the children, and evidence of appropriate credentialing and supervision of the children and the staff working with them.

Trinity will report immediately to the police and Child Protective Services any instance of child abuse or neglect.  Personnel have a legal as well as moral obligation to report any instances of child abuse or neglect immediately, and students should do the same.

Trinity is committed to maintaining an appropriate academic environment for collegiate-level teaching and learning, research, co-curricular activities, and all of the related work that supports the academic life of the university. To achieve these objectives, Trinity expects the full cooperation of all faculty, staff and students in observing these policies, which apply to all persons under the age of 18 who are not otherwise enrolled in programs of Trinity:

1. As a general rule, because Trinity’s work is higher education, Trinity’s campus is not an appropriate environment for children unless they are enrolled in a program specifically designed for children and appropriately supervised by adults with the proper training and credentials, also subject to required criminal background check clearances. Students and faculty expect to be able to conduct their teaching and research in an adult academic environment; Trinity manages the campus primarily for adults, and does not have the capacity to provide safe places for children who are not enrolled in specific programs. As a result, parents or guardians who find it necessary to bring a child to campus must adhere strictly to these rules:

  • no child may be left alone on campus at any time for any reason; Trinity will call the police if any child is found locked in a car or wandering alone around the campus;
  • children may not accompany Trinity students to class;
  • personnel may not bring children to work unless Trinity has specifically designated a time or place for staff children to be present;
  • unless they are enrolled in a specific program approved by Trinity with appropriate adult supervision, children may not be in classrooms, computer labs or academic buildings; children may not be present on residence hall floors; children may not be in the Trinity Center except in supervised programs.

2. Resident students may not ‘babysit’ children in their rooms. In addition, resident students may not have guests in their rooms who are legal minors, under the age of 18, including relatives.

3. The commuter lounge, the deli, the computer labs, the lawns, the playing fields, the parking lots, the courtyard and other public spaces on campus are not appropriate places for child care, and children may not be left in these rooms for extended periods of time, even if other students are willing to look after the children.  The Library has a Family Library located on the lower level, which is an appropriate place for a student parent to bring their child to study and visit.

4. We understand that child care emergencies happen. However, Trinity is not in a position to provide emergency child care on campus. We advise students, faculty and staff who have child care emergencies to choose to remain at home rather than trying to bring the child to class or other events on campus. We ask supervisors and faculty members to be lenient in excusing absences that result from child care emergencies.

If, despite this policy statement, a student brings a child to class, the faculty member may act at his or her discretion in handling the immediate situation, but in all cases, should remind the student of this policy. In all cases, the faculty member should inform the respective dean of the situation so that appropriate follow-up communications can occur in a timely way.

In addition, Trinity’s expectation of decent and respectful interactions between all members of the campus community extends to the treatment of children on campus.  Hitting, slapping, yelling or otherwise roughly treating a child while she or he is at Trinity is inimical to Trinity’s mission and values and will not be tolerated.  In such instances, Trinity reserves the right to summon the appropriate authorities should circumstances warrant, and to address the matter with the student as outlined in the Code of Student Conduct.

Finally we ask students who care for children as parents, guardians, relatives or friends to understand that this kind of statement is necessary because of the grave legal liabilities that exist today for the safety and well-being of children. Trinity cannot provide casual babysitting services; child care is a heavily regulated activity that only properly trained and licensed specialists should provide. If you need assistance in finding appropriate child care, please let your dean or advisor know, and we will make every effort to put you in touch with credentialed child care providers in this neighborhood.

If you see any instance in which a child is experiencing inappropriate treatment while on Trinity’s campus, as defined in this policy or according to common sense and basic moral standards, please intervene as possible or summon immediate professional assistance to intervene in the situation.  All Trinity personnel have authority to intervene to protect children, and all members of the community share the responsibility to ensure the highest standards for child protection on Trinity’s campus.  Trinity employees must report any instance of child abuse or neglect through the channels below.

Reporting:

For an emergency involving a child on campus:

  • Call Public Safety at 202-884-9111 immediately

To report a suspected case of child abuse or neglect:

To discuss a child care concern:  you may contact directly:

For a confidential discussion of concerns within the scope of this policy, you may contact directly: