IT COMES TO THEM

The booth travels — into schools, libraries, parks, and community arts centers, into the places children are already standing. Free to the children, always. Priced to the institution, on a scale.

That matters more than it sounds. Most arts programming sits in the neighborhoods that can already afford it and charges a fee on top, which means the children least likely to be asked what they think are also the least able to reach the room where anyone is asking. A program that waits to be visited is a program that has already chosen its participants. We would rather drive.

Facilitation is bilingual, Spanish and English and other languages upon consultation. The booth is large enough to facilitate special needs kids.

WHERE IT GOES

Malibu to South Central. Rural towns to immigrant neighborhoods. Ages [5–13], across greater Los Angeles and out into the state.

California's children cannot learn from one another if their voices never meet. A child in one of these places almost never hears a child from another, and the distance is not only geographic — it is economic, linguistic, and cultural, and it is maintained by adults. The booth is the thing that crosses it. It puts one child's account of her own life directly beside an account that looks nothing like it, and lets both stand without commentary.

Every child has perspective worth hearing. Very few are ever asked.

CHILD SAFETY AND CONSENT

Kids Got Rights Child Safety Guidlines PDF.

—   Every adult on our team who has contact with students has cleared LiveScan / DOJ and FBI background screening. Documentation is available to your district in advance.

—   No child is recorded without written parental consent obtained beforehand. We provide the forms in [English and Spanish], and we do the chasing, not your office staff.

—   Written consent is not enough on its own. Every child also gives verbal assent at the booth, after being told in plain language what the recording is for.

—   A child may stop at any point, skip any question, or ask us to delete their recording — before, during, or after. We tell them this first, not in fine print.

—   A designated school staff member and a social worker or counselor or psychologist is present in the immediate area for every session.

—   Our facilitators are mandated reporters. If a student discloses abuse, neglect, or immediate danger, we notify your designated site administrator the same day and follow [your protocol / California mandated reporting law]. We do not sit on it, and we do not handle it alone.

—   Recordings are [stored and used as follows — describe]. Families receive [describe what families get and when].

—   A certificate of general liability insurance is available on request. Your school or district can be named as additional insured.

Kids Got Rights Child Safety Guidlines PDF.