January 13, 2026
The Justice Center is dedicated to safeguarding the health, safety, and dignity of those who may be vulnerable to abuse and neglect. To support this mission, we equip staff with the resources, guidance, and tools needed to maintain abuse-free environments.
A new year is the perfect opportunity to refocus on the daily actions that you can take to build a true culture of safety.
What can you do to promote a culture of safety in your organization? Below, we cover key guidance and best practices. For a more complete list, review the Justice Center’s Best Practices for an Abuse-free Environment online toolkit.
Screen New Hires Thoroughly
The individuals you bring into your agency are the frontlines of care. Ensuring they are committed to safety protects everyone and builds trust.
Your role in safety:
- Include the Staff Exclusion List and Criminal Background Checks for all prospective hires, including volunteers. This is required for any provider under the Justice Center’s jurisdiction.
- Interview candidates in person and include questions to help identify concerns
- Check references by phone using pre-determined questions that target the candidate's behavior
- Use heightened monitoring and supervision during the probation period
- Establish criteria to consider a candidate with a criminal record
Provide Thorough Staff Training
Safety occurs when the standards of conduct are clear to everyone and when every staff member understands their role in the process. Well-trained and supported staff are more confident and effective in identifying and addressing safety concerns.
Your role in safety:
- Create a comprehensive Abuse Prevention Policy (Sample) and provide training on the Code of Conduct.
- Establish a schedule for mandatory training for all staff, covering topics relevant to the populations they support, including recognizing abuse and the Justice Center's role. We offer ongoing opportunities for diverse training that can help
- Provide practical toolkits and frameworks for managing challenging situations, and help staff apply safety principles in their daily work (e.g., incident reporting forms, safe-environment checklists, communication templates).
- Regularly review and update training materials, guides, and toolkits to ensure they are up to date and reflect the latest best practices.
Maintain Safe Environments
Quickly addressing concerns prevents minor issues from escalating into major safety incidents. When abuse or neglect occurs, providers under the Justice Center’s jurisdiction must put Corrective Action Plans (CAP) in place to help prevent future incidents.
Your role in safety:
- Establish procedures for timely response to complaints and remediation of deficiencies, including back-up plans
Analyze the trends you may be seeing - Refer to the Justice Center’s Corrective Action Plan Guidance for frequently asked questions, checklists of things to consider, documentation reference guide, and more.
Looking for more? Our Best Practices for an Abuse-Free Environment toolkit outlines additional best practices, including a sample policy on abuse prevention, and guidance for providers on corrective action plans.