NEWS & UPDATES
the Franklin Y

Posted on: Monday, January 18th, 2021

Child Sexual Abuse Prevention

Throughout the year, we encourage all individuals and organizations to play an active role in making our local communities a safer place for children and families. Together we can prevent child sexual abuse by ensuring that adults have the knowledge, skills and resources needed to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse.

Statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that 1 in 6 boys and 1 in 4 girls in the United States are sexually abused before their 18th birthday, typically at the hand of someone they know and trust; and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports that 1 in 5 children will be solicited sexually on the internet. Sadly, child abuse is happening, and it’s regardless of age, gender, race, religion or socio-economic class.

In support of April being Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Month, our Y’s 14 childcare centers will be participating in Norfolk Advocates for Children’s “Rocking for Kids” event. NAC is putting together a rock garden in Foxboro, for their Garden of Hope, a spot to help brighten the lives of children who have been the victims of sexual abuse. For their garden, NAC is providing rock kits for participants to pick up which contain paint, paintbrushes, and rocks to paint. By the end of April, we will provide NAC’s Garden of Hope with 353 painted rocks. If you would like to drop off a painted rock to add to our pile, please bring it in to one of our Member Service Desks, and we will include it with our rocks when we deliver to Norfolk Advocates for Children.

In April we shared educational resources on social media on what we can do every day to help prevent child sexual abuse. When adults know how abuse happens, see the warning signs, and respond quickly to prevent abuse, they foster a culture of child abuse prevention. Together we can stop it from happening. Please join us in sharing these messages on social media with network of family, friends and colleagues.

For more information about training opportunities for your organization, please email protectkids@hockymca.org.

Our next Five Days of Action Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Initiative will take place June 7-11, 2021. We look forward to doing even more to help stop this crisis.

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WHAT CAN YOU DO?:

Pledge to protect children every single day, one day at a time.

Know the facts. See the warning signs. Respond quickly to prevent child sexual abuse.

ORGANIZATIONAL RESOURCES

it’s important to know how to recognize and respond if someone needs help or support. Below are a list of resources to help.

What can you do as an individual or as an organization to help protect children from sexual abuse? Watch our Know See Respond video to learn more.

Hockomock Area YMCA Child Protection Trifold

Step-Up & Speak Out: A Parent’s Guide to Selecting Youth Serving Organizations

Mandated Reporting: What You Need to Know

How to Respond to a Survivor

Local Resources
English version
Spanish version
Arabic version
Portuguese version
Vietnamese version

CHILD PROTECTION TRAININGS

Have your place of business implement child protection trainings and policies.

5% of a community trained in Child Protection to be aware and responsive is the tipping point to make a positive change*. (Statistic from Darkness to Light)

If you are a member of an organization or community group that would like to learn more about our comprehensive trainings on Child Abuse Prevention, please email us at protectkids@hockymca.org.

For more information or strategies for talking with kids, you can access Darkness to Light’s 30-minute “Talking with Children” Training at no charge by registering and using code Talk2020.

Take the free “Protecting Children During a Crisis” Training in English or Spanish. You will need to create a login/password first on the Darkness to Light website before accessing the video.

Take the Darkness to Light Online Training.

Thank you for reading and helping learn more to prevent abuse so that we can give children the childhood they deserve.

#BeCauseY

Posted on: Friday, January 1st, 2021

Out of School Time Support

Out of School Time Program Helps Families with Hybrid & Remote Education

With local schools operating hybrid or remote, the YMCA will fill the gaps to ensure kids have safe places to learn during the school day. Out of School Time (OST) provides full day in-person learning assistance and additional enrichment programming for grades K-6.

• Spots remain at all sites.
• For questions on the OST program, call 508-643-5290 or email schoolsout2@hockymca.org.
• To register for the OST program, please do so at the links below. You may also register by phone by calling our YMCA Welcome Centers are also available to speak to you during branch hours. See phone numbers and addresses at website footer.
• Reminder to please email or drop off in person paperwork that will have been emailed to you following your online registration, which will need to be in our hands before your student can participate on Day 1 of his/her YMCA virtual learning support.
• Bus details for our Foxborough Public School families – if you choose to bus to/from the Y, this year there is a limitation in place which does not allow you to select a second drop off or pick up location, which you may want to use on days not at the Y. We apologize for this inconvenience imposed on us by the bus company.


• VIEW A RECORDED PARENT MEETING On Sept. 15, we held a parent information Zoom call. Please watch for commonly asked questions, responded to by Association VP of Childcare Services Kim Jennings. CLICK HERE TO WATCH INFO MEETING (ALL SITES) OR… CLICK HERE FOR NORTH ATTLEBORO RECORDED MEETING OR… CLICK HERE FOR MILFORD RECORDED MEETING

OST full day programs – and full or half day in Foxborough – will take place at the YMCA (Foxboro and North Attleboro locations) and at the former St. Mary’s School in Franklin. We offer 3 or 5 day options running from 7:00am – 4:00pm with optional extended care available until 6:00pm. We will also run Before & After care at some school locations where we historically ran our successful YMCA Schools Out Programs (see far bottom of this page for Before/After). We intend to serve as many families as safely possible, because we know the need is great.

YMCA staff will assist students in their school assignments using their own Chromebook and headset, assist with questions during remote learning, and help to keep them on track as they connect with their teachers online. During class breaks and after school work is completed, the Y team will engage students with enrichment and physical activities.

Safety is our top priority, and the Covid safety protocols we’ll use are based on procedures developed for our successful Summer Camp and Emergency Child Care programs that allowed us to safely provide care for over 700 kids during the past six months. Please contact us with questions about our safety procedures.

Schools Districts We Serve

We have partnered with the following school districts to serve children in grades K-6: Bellingham (through grade 7), Foxborough, Franklin, Mansfield, Milford, North Attleboro, Plainville, and Wrentham Public Schools. In order to keep cohorts together from area schools and just to keep safety at the forefront, we are asking students in Bellingham and Wrentham to choose the Franklin OST site. If attending from Plainville’s public schools, please select from our North Attleboro enrollment options.

Additionally, this programming is available for pre registration for K-6 students outside of the public school system or those living in other towns in need of care. After online enrollment, please email schoolsout2@hockymca.org to share pertinent information that we should know that wasn’t included in the registration questionnaire.

General Information by Location (and last bullet: Extended Care)

• FOXBORO:
  OST half day at the Foxboro Y runs: 9:00am – 12:00 pm or 12:00pm – 3:00pm 5 DAYS (cost $105 per week)
  OST full day at the Foxboro Y runs: 7:00am – 4:00 pm 3 DAYS (cost $180 per week)
  OST full day at the Foxboro Y runs: 7:00am – 4:00 pm 5 DAYS (cost $300 per week)
  
  
• FRANKLIN:
  OST at St. Mary’s (formerly BFCCPS on Main St.) runs: 7:00am – 4:00pm 3 DAYS (cost $180 per week)
  OST at St. Mary’s (formerly BFCCPS on Main St.) runs: 7:00am – 4:00pm 5 DAYS (cost $300 per week)
  
  
• NORTH ATTLEBORO:
  OST at the North Attleboro Y runs: 7:00am – 4:00pm 3 DAYS (cost $180 per week)
  OST at the North Attleboro Y runs: 7:00am – 4:00pm 5 DAYS (cost $300 per week)
  
  
• EXTENDED CARE ‘TIL 6PM ** THIS IS AVAILABLE ALL SITES**
  Runs: 4:00pm – 6:00pm 3 DAYS (cost $30 per week or free to Hockomock Y members – not offered in Mansfield)
  Runs: 4:00pm – 6:00pm 5 DAYS (cost $50 per week or free to Hockomock Y members)
  
  Before/After care to support 1/2 day classes at Foxborough’s Public Schools is also available, including support from the town’s school buses!
  Where: @ The Foxboro Y – 5 DAY (2 DAY Ahern School). Runs: 7:00am – approx 8:30am and in the afternoon, runs: approx 3:00pm – 6:00pm (school buses picking up and dropping off at the Y).
  
  Our registration link for all OST and extended day options is below (in capital letters), but the link for Foxboro Y’s AM/PM + bus option is here: click to enroll. Ahern families, click here to enroll 2 day option.
  
  Note: use promo code BEFOREANDAFTER if your signup includes care beyond full day or half day. This will allow you to avoid paying our registration fee twice – for any child you have already enrolled in OST. We should also point out that a 5% discount for siblings is in place – and will be applied automatically upon the start of the billing cycle. To be clear, sibling discount will not appear during your pre-registration, however it will be applied by the Y office before your first bill is due.

Currently, we are accepting $50 deposits.

Following enrollment at the link below, please keep an eye out for our email with required next steps*.

** CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW FOR OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME + OPT. EXTENDED DAY **

Site-specific registration links are also available for your convenience: Foxboro | Franklin | Mansfield | North Attleboro

MORE CARE – FOR DAYS YOU’RE AT SCHOOL:

Many students in our service area will be able to access YMCA Before & After Care on site at their school. This is offered at a number of schools we have partnered with in the past and is available on the two days of learning taking place at school. Hours: Before School starts at 6:00am and runs until the start of the school day and After School starts at the end of the school day and runs until 6:00pm. Note: use promo code BEFOREANDAFTER to avoid paying our registration fee twice – for any child you have already enrolled in OST.

** CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW FOR BEFORE/AFTER CARE **

School-specific links: Bellingham AM/PM | North Attleboro AM/PM | Wrentham AM/PM | Foxboro AM/PM + bus – details: see “Extended Care” (above bullets)

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Our mission is to enhance the quality of life of our members and the community, offering programs and services to all regardless of ability to pay. Part of that mission is a financial assistance program to those who need support and for those that qualify. Download our financial assistance brochure pdf: here.

• Use promo code VOUCHER$50 at the above links if you are using a state voucher
• Use promo code ROFY$25 at the above links if you currently receive a Hockomock Area YMCA scholarship

Questions, please contact us at 508-643-5243 or schoolsout2@hockymca.org.

* Included will be forms that you must complete and return to your local Hockomock Area YMCA. Though they may have been responded to in the online pre-registration, the forms must be completed in their entirety. Thank you and we wish your students success in the coming school year!