Cadet Safety

Civil Air Patrol’s (CAP) core values of Integrity, Volunteer Service, Excellence, and Respect guide everything we do. They compel us not only to serve, but to lead. Youth Safety at Civil Air Patrol is not the responsibility of one person or one regulation: it is a shared commitment spanning every member, every unit, every mission. In prioritizing cadet protection, we safeguard not only the young people in our care, but their parents, guardians, families, adult members, and our partnerships.

Semper vigilans (meaning "always vigilant" or "ever watchful") is more than a motto; it is a charge to act. At the heart of every CAP activity and leadership moment must be our unwavering dedication to cadet safety.

“Our objective in this area is to elevate our excellence by ensuring our cadets have a safe and nurturing environment. We have a duty to take the best care we can of our cadets. We can’t fail in this area.”

Major General Regena M. Aye

National Commander, Civil Air Patrol

Pillars of Youth Protection

Following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, our Cadet Protection Policy stands upon five pillars:

Screening of prospective adult volunteers, with an in-person interview at the unit and a criminal background check using fingerprints
Standards of Practice, with two-deep adult leadership as the key standard
Monitoring of local practices by leaders, adult volunteers, and cadets
Reporting of reasonable suspicions of abuse
Training, with the Cadet Protection Basic and Advanced courses for adults, and an age-appropriate Wingman course for cadets

Every single member of Civil Air Patrol is responsible for the safety and protection of our youth. Keeping us all on track is our National Cadet Team and Katie Thurson, Ph.D - Youth Protection Manager.

You can find more information for parents here.

Blogs & Resources

Continuous Quality Improvement

Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) is a proactive, cyclical process using data to improve services and child welfare outcomes. This plays a crucial role in this process. It's an ongoing cycle to improve young people's experiences through phases like preparation, assessment, planning, and improvement. This systematic approach involves assessing performance, using data to plan improvements, supporting implementation, and reassessing to measure results. CQI enables us to connect the dots between best practices, experiences of our cadets and senior members, parent and guardian feedback, and organizational leadership, to create a cyclical process of consistent improvement.

By implementing a CQI approach, we ensure our programs measure quality and make meaningful adjustments at the point of service: where cadets and senior members interact. This inclusive process encourages input from all stakeholders—professionals, cadets, families, boards, and community members—to continually enhance our programs. This approach not only fosters a culture of safety but also promotes program integrity, ensuring we meet the highest standards of youth protection and overall care.

Prioritizing Youth Safety Through Collaborative Partnerships

Civil Air Patrol has always answered the call to serve with a steadfast commitment to Integrity, Volunteer Service, Excellence, and Respect—our core values. These principles guide our continued dedication to protecting cadets by fostering trust, respect, and collaboration among all stakeholders. Senior members across all echelons, as mentors and leaders, are integral to facilitating a culture of safety, ensuring cadets have every opportunity to grow and develop into future leaders. True to CAP’s legacy, we remain united in the mission to safeguard and empower our cadets, through continued collaboration with leaders across all echelons

A New Era of Evidence-Based Practice and Improvement

Rooted in CAP’s value of Excellence, we know that “good” is not good enough when it comes to protecting our cadets. These changes represent not the culmination of our efforts but the start of a new chapter—a commitment to continuous quality improvement (CQI). By integrating research-based practices, we will adapt and enhance our programs to uphold the highest standards of safety and care, ensuring cadets and senior members are supported in their growth and contributions to the CAP mission.

Building a Culture of Safety and Accountability

A commitment to Integrity and Respect forms the foundation of a true culture of safety. Just as CAP has mobilized throughout its history to protect and serve, we are now mobilizing to create a community where abuse, bullying, and hazing are not tolerated. This effort requires shared accountability and active involvement from cadets, senior members, commanders, parents, and leadership, ensuring program quality, sustainability, and an unwavering focus on the safety and well-being of all cadets.

Strengthening Leadership and Collaboration for Lasting Change

Guided by our value of Volunteer Service, the creation of the Youth Protection Program Manager position reflects CAP’s proactive approach to answering today’s call: safeguarding every cadet we serve by providing their senior members with the best tools, training, and resources available. By integrating research, collaborating with experts, and aligning policy with best practices, we honor our commitment to Excellence. These changes not only protect our cadets but also empower them to embody CAP’s core values, preparing them to lead with integrity, character, and a sense of responsibility toward their communities.

Reporting Concerns

Civil Air Patrol's Concern Report form is a newly updated and consolidated form streamlining the process of reporting concerns across multiple areas. It doesn't matter who you are, member or not, this single form allows you to submit concerns in the following categories:

Inspector General (IG) Complaints : Report concerns related to violations of CAP regulations, fraud, waste, and abuse or other IG-related matters.
Equal Opportunity (EO) Concerns: Submit reports of discrimination, harassment, or inappropriate behavior related to protected categories.
Cadet Protection Program (CPP) Concerns: Report any boundary concerns, inappropriate interactions, or violations of the Cadet Protection Program.

While many concerns can be resolved quickly and effectively at the local level, Civil Air Patrol's Concern Report form offers an additional streamlined process for addressing concerns.