JLBC: Leadership
Your commitment to investing one hour a week in your JLBC Cadet leaders (JLBC Cadet = less than ten minutes a day) will go a long way. It could be a phone call, e-mail, note, text, lunch, or invitation to your home. This will help you build your team and help you work well together.
Spend fun time together. One or two times a year, do something just for fun: a day on the lake, four-wheeling, paintball, a ropes course, a cookout. Do whatever your team would like to do. It is fun to do things that help you together as a team.
Connecting Leaders with Students
Another essential thing to realize is that leaders will be different and that teens will relate to some better than others. To ensure that all students in your JLBC Unit have someone investing in their lives, give each leader three to five students to connect with throughout the week. If you have more JLBC leaders than students, give them only one or two. If you have a lot of students but not enough JLBC leaders, give them only three to five students. As more JLBC leaders come on board, you can ensure students are connected. Ensure you provide the same gender to the same gender: girls with girls and boys with boys.
As a prominent JLBC leader, it will be vital for you to be the one to pour into the student JLBC leaders. You may have different genders on this team; in this case, make sure the different genders have
the same gender JLBC leader assigned to them and yourself. You must be sure that you never spend time alone with the opposite gender. A good rule of thumb is to have someone of the opposite gender with you (like your spouse, if married) whenever you spend time with a student of the opposite gender.
Protection for your JLBC leaders
If at all possible in your JLBC programs, it is essential to have at least two JLBC leaders in the room with students. Stress to your JLBC leaders that they adhere to these as a JLBC team. All it takes is one accusation, whether true or not; if you haven’t followed general rules, it is their word against yours. If you had a general rule and it didn’t happen, then there would be no discussion.
What you are required to report to the authorities
If you have a JLBC student under eighteen who reports to you who has been physically or sexually abused or is a severe threat to themselves or others, you have to say this to the authorities. Once JLBC Command is notified, You can call child protective services in your area. Chart the time and content of your call and who you talked to at CPS. I would encourage you to have a JLBC Staff leader or another leader with you when you call and to sign your summary report. I do let the student know I have to report this. Your JLBC leaders need to know to say this also. You don’t have a choice and can be liable if you don’t register.
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