CHILD AND YOUTH PROGRAMS (CYP)
LOSS Visual Identifier Policy Letter (Ser N9/16U374)
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do we have some time to implement and order? We do not have black or yellow shirts, so they will have to be ordered.
Answer: Programs should be able implement the new colors no later than 60 days of the date of the letter. NAF grants are available if funding is an issue to update the colors.
2. If instructors do not wear clothing specific to their teaching, do they wear blue smocks/shirts.
Answer: Yes. Line 82/83 of the chart indicates that instructors wear blue apparel.
3. Do instructors have to wear an official CYP blue smock/shirt? If so, do we give them to the instructors or just loan them the shirts?
Answer: Yes. Instructors can be issued official CYP apparel to wear when working in our programs.
4. If anyone, including instructors, have not been cleared, and are working within LOSS, shouldn't they wear red? The chart attached to the policy letter does not say.
Answer: The policy letter states the following: All CYP personnel, including employees, contractors and volunteers, are required to wear an appropriate colored shirt or smock any time they are in the facility, as outlined below: (1) All CYP personnel, including those performing direct care, food service, managerial and support duties, without a favorably completed background check shall wear red CYP attire. (2) All CYP personnel with a favorably completed background check are required to wear the attire appropriate for their position, as indicated in enclosure (1).
5. What color apparel do the PDI staff wear? They are at approximately a lead level. Should they be in green once cleared?
Answer: PDI staff should wear green since they will typically be performing Lead Teacher duties. However, as they progress within the PDI program, they may/should be getting assigned to mid-level duties, such as an assistant director or assistant trainer. If they will be performing these duties for an extended period of time, the recommendation is to have them wear black apparel.
6. Is paragraph 1a of the policy letter saying that the employee cannot work with children until their CNACI is completed. I thought they could work within LOSS.
Answer: None of the pre-employment requirements have been changed. IRCs and reference checks must be completed prior to hire. However, the supervisor must give the employee time to complete the e-quip information, and “The Child Care National Agency Check with Written Inquiries (CNACI) must be released to OPM prior to working with children." After hire and until the CNACI is released to OPM, the employee can participate in orientation and observe in the classroom/activity room, but they cannot be counted in ratio.
7. Can you please clarify what/if there is a visual identifier requirement for "non-specified volunteers"?
Answer: Each instance of non-specified volunteer services looks different so there will need to be some considerations on a case by case basis. For example, someone coming in for just a couple of hours/days should be treated as a visitor, as such escorted, and not issued a shirt. If you have someone from the college, working on their practicum every day for 6 weeks, then they should be issued a red shirt.
8. What about teen hires? Should they be in a red shirt?
Answer: Teen hires do not have CNACIs completed because of their age, so yes, they should be in a red shirt.
9. I have an employee who wears a dress every day for religious reasons. She can wear the black shirt under her jumper but does she need to have a black CYP apron/smock over her dress so that the CYP logo is visible?
Answer: The individual must still be identifiable as a CYP employee and wear the appropriate color. A few examples may be a CYP shirt with a skirt, a jumper with an appropriate color under showing, a dress the appropriate color or a dress with a CYP smock/sweater over it. The only exemption they would have to the policy is that we will waive the requirement for them to have the CYP logo showing.
10. Why was the color of shirts changed for the cooks to yellow? This color will show stains too easily.
Answer: The yellow color was recommended by the CNIC F&B experts who are currently conducting a Food Service/Kitchen assessment for CYP. The recommendation represents a combination of their expertise and talking to CYP kitchen professionals during the assessment. Their recommendation was either yellow or orange. We felt orange was too close to red, so went with yellow. In order to not have too many different colors, all support staff (Ops clerks, custodians and kitchen staff) will wear yellow.
11. Why was the color for the management staff changed to black?
Answer: CNIC previously received a lot of negative comments regarding the original recommendation of "beige" for the managers and trainers. CNIC spoke to several individuals during CNIC visits, the BGCA training with youth directors last year, and the Installation CYP Director training. Black was considered a more professional color for this level of personnel.
12. It gets hot in southern areas, and the black color will make it worse for those individuals, like YSF coordinators, working outside. Do we have any options on this?
Answer: Regardless of the color of shirt, programs should consider purchasing a light-weight “wicking” material for any professionals who spend a lot of time outside in the heat. For those individuals, whose position requires them to wear black, they may also wear shirts that are black and white striped or have a black and white combination (e.g. the body is white, but the sleeves and collar are black). If program directors have questions about if a specific design is appropriate, they can direct them to the CNIC POC.
13. Paragraph 1.b(3) states that a person must revert back to red if the following conditions exist: 1) the due date of the reinvestigation has passed and favorable results from the IRC have not been received, OR 2) the results from the CNACI have not been received within four months from the date the CNACI was initiated. Should it also state that the CNACI must be initiated prior to the due date of the reinvestigation?
Answer: Yes. The CNACI is still required to be initiated prior to the due date of the reinvestigation.
14. If we have a new CYP Director, who is not required to wear CYP attire, can they wear any type of red apparel if they are not cleared?
Answer: Anyone, including the Director, must wear a CYP red shirt if they do not have a favorably adjudicated CNACI. Director level personnel should also be aware of the color of their professional attire. For example, a Director should not wear a red dress shirt that could be confused with someone who is not cleared.
15. What is the policy for visual identifiers for Youth Sports and Fitness (YSF) volunteer coaches?
Answer: All volunteer coaches must also be provided visual identifiers by their local/regional CYP. However, several installations have communicated that issuing multiple shirts/jerseys (red and blue) to each volunteer coach has become costly and undermines team comradery. Therefore, YSF programs are authorized to issue CYP logoed hats/visors to volunteer coaches as a means to support visual identifiers. If hats/visors are issued to volunteer coaches, it is recommended for YSF programs to also issue volunteer coaches with the same color jersey as the youth they are coaching to support team comradery (e.g. if youth are issued yellow jerseys, the coach should also be issued a yellow jersey along with a red/blue hat/visor).
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