A Practical, Collaborative Digital Safety Resource for Caregivers and Professionals
Help protect the young people in your care with the Youth Internet Safety Review Toolkit, a practical resource developed by Evergreen Caregiver Support. Designed for parents, guardians, educators, foster/kinship caregivers, caseworkers, and behavioral health professionals, this structured toolkit helps adults proactively evaluate a youth’s digital footprint while fostering trust, open communication, and responsible technology habits.
Rather than acting as a secretive investigation, this resource provides an actionable framework to sit down with youth and systematically evaluate the safety, privacy, and security posture of each online platform they use.
Best Practice: Complete a separate worksheet for each major platform or app the youth uses (e.g., TikTok, Instagram, Roblox, Discord, Snapchat) to ensure tailored, platform-specific protection.
What’s Included in the Downloadable Toolkit
This comprehensive toolkit contains two essential downloadable documents: a Step-by-Step Instruction Guide and the Youth Internet Safety Review Worksheet.
1. Step-by-Step Instruction Guide
- A 4-Step Collaborative Workflow: Guides adults through gathering information together, evaluating technical setups, identifying behavioral red flags, and setting up routine check-ins.
- Plain-English Tech & Safety Glossary: Clear definitions and real-world examples for complex terms like Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Recovery Email/Phone, Location Sharing, Monitoring Software, Grooming, Sextortion, and Account Breaches.
- Practical Pro-Tips: Includes actionable testing methods, such as searching for a youth’s username on an unlogged device to verify whether an account is truly private or publicly viewable.
- 90-Day Maintenance Schedule: Outlines how to turn safety into an ongoing process with periodic 90-day reviews rather than a one-time event.
2. Comprehensive Internet Safety Review Worksheet
The worksheet breaks down account reviews into three structured audit sections:
- Section 1: Account Profile & Technical Setup
- Profile identifying details (Platform, Username, Connected Devices, Linked Emails).
- Account Risk Level categorization (Low: educational apps; Moderate: social games with moderated chat; High: open social media or unmonitored voice/video chat).
- Technical security audits (Privacy settings, Two-Factor Authentication, password hygiene/re-use, and recovery phone/email control).
- Section 2: Interaction & Content Features
- Interaction scope (offline friends vs. “internet-only” contacts).
- Communication feature toggles (Voice chat, Video chat, 1-on-1 direct messaging, and GPS location sharing).
- Active content & exposure concerns (Cyberbullying, inappropriate/sexual content, or self-harm materials).
- Section 3: Safety Protocols & Behavioral Indicators
- Family safety agreements (Tracking signed Internet Safety & Data Usage Contracts).
- Oversight tools (Parental controls and third-party monitoring software).
- Early behavioral red flags (Sudden usage spikes, late-night screen hiding, secretive new “important” online friends, contact with unknown individuals, or grooming/sextortion pressures).
Who Should Use This Resource?
This resource is tailored for anyone supporting children and teens in today’s digital environment, including:
- Parents, Grandparents, & Guardians looking to establish healthy tech boundaries.
- Foster, Adoptive, & Kinship Caregivers navigating device safety and placement guidelines.
- Teachers, School Counselors, & Educators supporting digital literacy and student well-being.
- Social Workers, Case Managers, & Child Advocacy Professionals conducting routine risk assessments.
- Behavioral Health Providers addressing digital health, screen time, and online safety concerns.
Whether you are performing an annual technology review, setting up a new smartphone or gaming console, or addressing concerns about a specific app, this toolkit gives you the structure you need to protect youth while strengthening communication.
Available in English & Spanish
To ensure these safety tools are accessible to as many families and professionals as possible, both documents are available as free downloads in English and Spanish.nd professionals as possible, the Youth Internet Safety Review Worksheet and Instruction Guide are available as free downloads in both English and Spanish.
Download Your Free Copy
📥 English Version
📥 Versión en español
