YMCA OHYG

PARENT MEETING

Spring 2026

AGENDA

1. WELCOME
2. PROGRAM OVERVIEW & GOALS
3. CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
4. CHECK IN/OUT
5. TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
6. VISITOR POLICIES
7. PACKING & DRESS CODE
8. MEALS & SPENDING
9. SAFETY EXPECTATIONS
10. ABUSE PREVENTION & REPORTING
11. ILLNESS PREVENTION
12. REQUIRED PAPERWORK
13. CONFERENCE COMMUNICATION
14. Q&A

2

WELCOME

Enter your welcome information here

3

PROGRAM OVERVIEW & GOALS

• OHYG is a hands-on model state government experience.
• The program emphasizes the importance of the YMCA core values of honesty, respect, responsibility and caring.
• The program encourages students to engage in civil discourse; to debate ideas and not people.
• The program also encourages students to become active in their communities and utilize their voices/ideas in the world around them.

​

4

CONFERENCE OVERVIEW

• Hotels
• Hyatt Regency Columbus - 350 N High St, Columbus, OH 43215
• Breakfast available for purchase at hotel or in convention center. All rooms have mini-fridges.
• Sonesta Columbus Downtown - 33 E Nationwide Blvd, Columbus, OH 43215
• Breakfast available for purchase at hotel or in convention center. All rooms have mini-fridges.
• Hotel Room Notes
• Students will not have access to their hotel rooms during program hours.
• Students will be housed 3-4 to a room. This may require your student to share a bed with another student from their delegation.

​

​

5

CONFERENCE OVERVIEW

• Meeting Spaces
• Hyatt Regency Columbus: 350 N High St, Columbus, OH 43215
• Ohio Statehouse: 1 Capitol Sq, Columbus, OH 43215

​

​

6

DROP OFF/PICK UP

• We will be leaving ___ (location) at ___ (time), so we can arrive at the Hyatt hotel between 11:00 am and 12:00 pm on Thursday, February 12th.
• State Assembly will conclude around 10:30am on Saturday, February 14th. We should arrive back at ___ (location) at ____ (time).
• If your student is under 18 and driving themselves or being picked up early/dropped of late by anyone other than a parent or guardian, they must have written permission emailed to both the delegation advisor and OHYG staff (yg@ohioymcas.org).
• Any students under 18 leaving the conference with their parents/guardians must be signed out at the conference office.

​

​

7

VISITOR POLICY

• All visitors must go to the conference office and sign into the guest registry. The office will be located in the back of the Senate Chambers at the Statehouse.
• Visitors will receive a guest badge that must be worn at all times.
• If a visitor is found without a guest badge, they will be escorted by a volunteer or staff member to the office to receive a replacement badge or check in if needed.
• Visitors may visit students between the hours of 9:00 am - 6:00pm in the Statehouse.
• Visitors may not be alone with students at any time (ex: taking a student to lunch), unless they can prove they are a parent or guardian and notify the advisor and staff.
• Written policy can be viewed here.

​

​

​

8

PACKING & DRESS CODE

• Packing
• Please check out the recommended packing list.
• Highlight any additional items advisor is recommending.
• OHYG Staff recommends that all students bring a water bottle with their name somewhere on it.
• Note: Students do NOT need to purchase a new wardrobe for conference. Thrift stores have great options for professional clothing if you need to pick something up!
• Dress Code
• Review recommended dress code and answer any questions.
• Hats are not allowed in chambers unless religious attire. Food and drinks are also not allowed in chambers or meeting rooms. Water bottles must be left at the rear of the chambers.
• Make sure students bring a coat as it is winter!!
• This is one of the items that students most leave behind. Please put your student’s name in the coat somewhere.
• Students should plan on a 20 minute walk to and from the Statehouse. Please bring appropriate walking shoes. Heels will result in sore feet and blisters! If you want to wear heels, bring them to change into when you arrive at the Statehouse.
• As most students will be sharing a bed, they should bring modest pajamas.

​

​

​

​

9

MEALS & SPENDING

• Students will be responsible for breakfast during the conference. They can bring their own, purchase breakfast at the hotel, or purchase breakfast at a nearby restaurant.
• Students will be responsible for dinner on Thursday and lunch on Friday during the conference. We recommend bringing $15-$20/meal.
• Note: Lobbyists students will be attending an official Lobbyist dinner on Thursday evening. They do not need funds for this.
• Lunch on Thursday and Dinner on Friday will be covered by the conference.
• Students may want to bring snacks for the evenings in their hotel room. The hotel will have a small store with basic snacks/necessities for sale.
• Note: Please do not bring snacks, candy or breakfast items with nuts in them as we always have participants with severe nut allergies.
• Students may also want to bring some spending money to purchase souvenirs or any other items.

​

​

​

​

​

10

SAFETY EXPECTATIONS

• Students must stay in their assigned hotel room between 11pm and 6am. Students will be sent home if they are discovered out of their room unless there is an extreme emergency.
• Students may not visit any other hotel room besides their own assigned room. If a student is discovered in another delegate’s room, that student and anyone present in the room they are visiting will be sent home. Please talk to your students about not visiting other rooms and not allowing their friends to visit their room.
• Students may not leave the hotel or downtown building unless there is an emergency or assigned transition in the schedule.
• When transitioning between buildings or going to eat meals downtown, students are expected to be in a group of at least three people for safety.
• Students may not be alone with adults at any time in a secluded location.
• Students are expected to listen to hotel staff, OHYG staff, Statehouse staff, teacher advisor and bus driver directions.
• Please encourage your students to be respectful of others and the buildings that we use. We can lose access to the Statehouse if any damage occurs, so this is very important to review.
• If students are concerned about an incident, and would like it to be addressed, they should speak with their lead advisor or OHYG staff. Or if it is an emergency, they should contact the nearest advisor, volunteer or staff member for help.

​

​

​

​

​

​

11

ABUSE PREVENTION

• YMCA Ohio Youth & Government and the Ohio Alliance of YMCA’s are committed to keeping children and teens safe in the communities we serve across the state.
• Measures YMCA OHYG takes to protect your students:
• Interview, check references, and run background checks yearly on employees.
• All employees complete praesidium training on child abuse prevention and volunteers also receive training.
• Background check all volunteers and adult participants on a bi-annual basis.
• Ensure all employees and volunteers are trained on mandatory reporting.
• Partner with Praesidium, a team of experts in child abuse prevention, to assess all aspects of our programs and implement best practices.
• Operate under the YUSA Child Protection Membership Qualification Standards.
• More resources for talking with your student can be found on our website.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

12

ABUSE PREVENTION

​

13

ABUSE PREVENTION

​

14

ABUSE PREVENTION

​

• Talk to your students about appropriate and inappropriate verbal and physical interactions.
• Remind your student they should never be alone with an adult in a private space.
• Remind your students that one-on-one conversations over digital platforms (GroupMe, Texting, etc) with an adult that isn’t a parent/guardian or trusted family member should never happen.
• No one should ask your student to keep a secret from you (parent/guardian) or another trusted adult.
• Let your student know that abuse can be committed by an adult or a peer.

​

15

ABUSE PREVENTION

​

• Remind your student: If you see something, say something!
• If your student experiences a red flag behavior, report it to their advisor and/or a YMCA OHYG staff member.
• Complete our online reporting form. Submissions are kept confidential and are posted throughout all OHYG events.

​

16

REPORTING

17

ILLNESS PREVENTION

• Any student with high fevers (100 degrees or more) or severe illness symptoms should stay home until they are fever free for 24 hours.
• First Aid assistance will be available on site. If students become ill at the conference, need band aids or any health related help; they should consult with staff at the OHYG office.
• If OTC medications (ex: aspirin) are requested, the first aid staff will call parents for verbal agreement to dispense the medications if the student is under 18.
• If it is determined that a student is severely ill or has a fever of 100 degrees or higher, they will be asked to stay in a quarantine room at the hotel. The parent/guardian will be notified by their advisor and will be asked to pick their student up.
• Please follow district guidelines for storing and dispensing medications. Students are encouraged to bring their own basic medications (ex: aspirin) that they may need. The YMCA OHYG staff is unable to dispense medications without parental/guardian consent.

​

​

​

​

​

​

18

REQUIRED PAPERWORK

• All students and their parent/guardian will be expected to sign a code of conduct via Jotform before the student arrives at conference. The link to the form can be found here.
• Any student over the age of 18 years old will be expected to complete a background check before they arrive at conference. The link was emailed to those students from Praesidium to the email they registered for the event with.
• Any school district required permission forms.

​

​

​

​

​

​

19

CONFERENCE COMMUNICATION

• Students will be using the app Guidebook and Slack on their phones for the event. Please consider allowing them to download the app before arrival at the event.
• If there is a concern or issue that you wish to talk with someone about during the event, please contact your student’s advisor first. You may also contact the OHYG Staff at ‪(614) 407-4819‬ if an advisor can not be reached. Please do not contact the hotel directly for issues.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

20

Q&A

THANK YOU

​

YMCA Ohio Youth & Government

‪(614) 407-4819‬

yg@ohioymcas.org

​