Required Abuse Awareness Training for Adults

• In 2018, the “Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and SafeSport Authorization Act of 2017” became Federal law. As part of SafeSport, abuse awareness training has been highly encouraged for participants and volunteers in the Little League program.
• Beginning in 2024, this training will now be a required part of the annual Little League Volunteer Application, along with the annual background check. The training must be completed before any individual can assume any duties for the current season, including District Administrators and Assistant District Administrators.
• It is important that all volunteers in a league complete the training on an annual basis. Even though it may be a training an individual has completed in the past, it is important to keep the information that is taught through Abuse Awareness Training fresh in everyone’s mind. The more individuals involved in a league that have the information that Abuse Awareness Training provides, the better.
• Each league must determine which Abuse Awareness Training its volunteers must complete. USA Baseball’s BASE Abuse Awareness Training is a FREE online training that is SafeSport-compliant. This course can be completed in approximately 30 minutes online, producing a certificate of completion that you will share with the individual at your league who is responsible for overseeing your league’s background checks to verify you have completed the training. Regardless of which training program is used, each individual is responsible for providing their league with documentation to show that they’ve completed Abuse Awareness Training, annually.
• Visit LittleLeague.org/SafeSport for information on how to access the USA Baseball’s BASE Abuse Awareness Training and for more information on this Federal law.

Other Educational Resources for Parents

• As a Little League parent or volunteer, you can play a crucial role in helping to keep all children safe. The free resources listed below are tools to educate and raise awareness of the potential dangers children may face. You are urged to review these resources and arm yourself with additional knowledge on how to protect children.
  • Helping Parents Prevent Abuse | U.S. Center for SafeSport
  • Parent Toolkit | U.S. Center for SafeSport
  • Safe to Compete
  • Bullying 101: Understanding and Responding | Resources | USAB Develops
  • Emotional & Physical Abuse & Misconduct Toolkit | Resources | USAB Develops
  • Nothing Heals Like Sport | Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport
  • Resource Guide on Preventing Child Sexual Abuse in Youth Sports | LA84 Foundation

The safety and well-being of all participants in the Little League program is paramount, and we hope that this latest evolution of our Child Protection Program will continue to provide tools and resources to help keep our Little League communities a safe, welcoming environment for all children and families.

Thank you for your continued commitment to the Little League program.

Little League International has now made this BASE - Abuse Awareness for Adults course mandatory for ALL volunteers including Head Coaches, Assistant Coaches, Umpires, League Volunteers, League Board Members and Team Moms. If you plan to volunteer in any capacity, you must complete this course and send certificate of completion to [email protected]. 

You must create an account at USA Baseball and the course is located HERE.

What is the Diamond Leader Program?