Our Handbook, In Plain Terms

Welcome & Our Mission

Welcome to ForGirlsLikeMe Inc. ("FGLM," "the Agency," or "the Organization"). Whether you serve in our Learning Center, our Academy classrooms, our Career Institute labs, our Home Healthcare division, our Counseling & Wellness team, or in administration, you are joining a mission-driven team committed to restoring hope and rebuilding futures for girls and young women experiencing homelessness and housing instability.

FGLM was founded on the conviction that every girl deserves safety, dignity, education, healing, and a genuine pathway forward — regardless of the circumstances she was born into. Our organization is built on servant leadership: we lead by serving, we serve by listening, and we listen because every girl's story matters.

Mission

To provide homeless and housing-unstable girls and young women with safe housing, education, healthcare, counseling, and career pathways so they can heal, grow, and thrive.

Vision

A community where no girl's future is limited by the instability of her circumstances — where every girl has access to the housing, education, health, and healing she needs to reach her full potential.

Core Values

Working Across Sectors

Some staff work across more than one FGLM sector — for example, a counselor who also teaches at the Academy, or a case manager who also supports Home Healthcare visits. If that's you:

If you're ever unsure which rule applies in a given moment because you're moving between sectors, apply the stricter standard and ask your supervisor or the Executive Director.

Code of Conduct

Every FGLM employee, volunteer, and contractor is expected to:

• Treat every girl, family, colleague, and visitor with dignity, respect, and unconditional positive regard.
• Practice trauma-informed care in every interaction — prioritizing safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, and empowerment.
• Hold all client and organizational information in strict confidence (see Confidentiality & Privacy below).
• Never accept gifts, money, tips, fees, or favors from clients or families, and never lend or borrow money from a client (see the box below — this rule is absolute).
• Report any suspected abuse, neglect, or safety concern immediately, consistent with mandated reporter obligations.
• Avoid any conflict of interest, or disclose it immediately if one arises (see Conflicts of Interest).
• Follow all applicable federal and Illinois law, FGLM policy, and program-specific procedure.

Never Take Anything From a Participant

This also means staff may not lend money to, borrow money from, or enter into any financial or business arrangement with a current or former client/participant. If a participant or family member offers you something covered by this policy, decline it respectfully, explain that it's FGLM policy, and let your supervisor know it happened.

If you're ever unsure whether something falls under this rule, treat it as if it does and ask your supervisor before accepting anything.

Confidentiality & Client Privacy

FGLM staff routinely handle sensitive personal, health, education, and clinical information entrusted to us by minors, trauma survivors, and individuals experiencing homelessness. Confidentiality is both an ethical and a legal obligation.

• Client information may be shared only on a need-to-know basis or with proper written authorization — subject to mandated reporting obligations that override confidentiality when a child's safety is at risk.
• Health information is protected under HIPAA where applicable.
• Mental health and substance use records are protected under the Illinois Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act (740 ILCS 110) and, where applicable, 42 CFR Part 2.
• Student education records are protected under FERPA and the Illinois School Student Records Act (105 ILCS 10).
• Every employee signs a Confidentiality Attestation at hire and annually thereafter.
• Client records are kept in access-controlled digital systems or locked files, limited to staff with a legitimate service-related need.
• Any suspected confidentiality breach is reported to your Program Director and the Executive Director immediately.

Citations: HIPAA Privacy Rule · 740 ILCS 110 · 42 CFR Part 2 · FERPA (20 U.S.C. § 1232g) · 105 ILCS 10

Conflicts of Interest

Employees, officers, and board members must disclose any financial or personal interest that could conflict with FGLM's interests, including relationships with vendors, related-party transactions, or outside employment that competes with or interferes with FGLM duties.

FGLM maintains a separate Conflict of Interest Policy consistent with IRS Form 990 governance requirements, which all board members and key employees sign annually. Disclosed conflicts are reviewed by the Board (or, for staff-level conflicts, the Executive Director), and anyone with a conflict recuses themselves from the related decision.

Citations: IRS Form 990 governance disclosures · General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986, 805 ILCS 105

Technology, Social Media & Electronic Communications

FGLM-issued devices, email, and systems are FGLM property and may be monitored for security and compliance purposes, consistent with the Illinois Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act. Employees may not:

• Photograph, record, or post images of clients — especially minors — on personal social media, ever, absent written parental/guardian consent processed through the Program Director.
• Friend, follow, or privately message current clients on personal social media accounts.
• Disclose confidential client, HR, or organizational information on any public platform.
• Use FGLM systems to send discriminatory, harassing, or offensive content.

FGLM will not request an employee's personal social media password, consistent with Illinois law, except as permitted by statute in a workplace investigation.

Dress Code

Staff are expected to present themselves professionally and appropriately for their role — modest, neat, and suited to program activities (for example, closed-toe shoes and program-appropriate attire for Learning Center and clinical staff). Specific dress requirements for each division are set out in the Policies & Procedures Manual for that sector.

Attendance

Reliable attendance is essential to program continuity, particularly for licensed childcare ratios, school instructional time, and scheduled Home Healthcare visits. Employees must notify their supervisor as far in advance as possible of any absence or tardiness, following the call-off procedure for their division.

Drug-Free & Weapons-Free Workplace

FGLM maintains a drug- and alcohol-free workplace consistent with the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act (where applicable to grant-funded programs), and prohibits the use, possession, or influence of illegal drugs or alcohol during work hours or while on FGLM premises.

Legal cannabis use, even where permitted under the Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, may not occur during work hours, on FGLM premises, or immediately before a shift where impairment would endanger clients (e.g., driving, childcare, clinical care); FGLM reserves the rights afforded to employers under that Act.

Weapons of any kind are prohibited on FGLM premises and in FGLM vehicles, except as required for licensed security personnel, consistent with the Firearm Concealed Carry Act's employer premises rights.

Pay, Time & Overtime

5.1 Classification

Each position is classified as exempt or non-exempt under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law (820 ILCS 105). Non-exempt employees are paid overtime at 1.5x their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Exempt employees are paid a salary and are not eligible for overtime. Your offer letter states your classification.

5.2 Timekeeping

Non-exempt employees must accurately record all hours worked using FGLM's timekeeping system. Falsifying time records, or asking someone to clock in/out for you, is a serious violation of policy. Home Healthcare field staff must accurately log visit start/end times consistent with 77 Ill. Adm. Code 245 documentation requirements.

5.3 Pay Periods & Paydays

FGLM pays employees on the schedule communicated by Human Resources, consistent with the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (820 ILCS 115), which requires timely and complete payment of wages and restricts deductions from pay to those authorized by law or written employee consent.

5.4 Meal & Rest Breaks — One Day Rest in Seven Act

Consistent with the Illinois One Day Rest in Seven Act (ODRISA, 820 ILCS 140):

• Employees working 7.5 continuous hours or more receive a meal period of at least 20 minutes, beginning no later than 5 hours after the start of the shift.
• Employees working a shift of at least 7.5 hours are entitled to an additional 20-minute break for every additional 4.5 hours worked.
• Employees are entitled to at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in each calendar week, with limited exceptions permitted by law (e.g., emergencies).
• Reasonable bathroom breaks are provided as needed.

5.5 Overtime Approval

Non-exempt employees must obtain supervisor pre-approval before working overtime, except in a client emergency. All hours actually worked will be paid regardless of pre-approval, consistent with the FLSA, but working unapproved overtime may result in discipline.

Paid Leave for All Workers (PLAWA)

Consistent with the Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act (820 ILCS 192), employees accrue one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to a minimum of 40 hours per 12-month period, usable for any reason — no documentation or reason is required. Leave begins accruing on your first day of employment and is available for use after 90 days of employment (or per the accrual schedule in effect).

Unused leave carries over consistent with the Act; payout at separation follows FGLM's policy on file, as permitted by law. Human Resources tracks accrual and balances and makes them visible to you upon request.

Holidays & On-Site Décor

FGLM employs and serves people of many different backgrounds and beliefs, and we want every girl, family, and colleague who walks into an FGLM site to feel equally welcome — whatever holidays they do or don't celebrate.

This is separate from — and doesn't change — your rights under the Reasonable Accommodation policy below, which covers things like schedule adjustments for a sincerely held religious practice.

Gift-Giving Among Colleagues

Staff are welcome to celebrate birthdays, holidays, or milestones with one another as they choose — just not on FGLM time or FGLM property. Any exchange of gifts between staff members must take place off-site and outside of scheduled work hours. Gift exchanges, gift swaps, or similar activities should not take place during shifts or anywhere on FGLM premises.

Gifts From Outside Sources — Churches & Political Sources

This policy exists so that FGLM's services always remain neutral and available to every girl and family, regardless of anyone's religious or political affiliation, and so that no outside religious or political group can gain influence over FGLM's mission or operations. If you're approached with an offer like this on FGLM's behalf, decline it and let the Executive Director's office know right away.

This is separate from the participant-facing rule above — this one is about gifts offered to FGLM as an organization, not gifts offered to you personally by a client or family.

Reasonable Accommodation

FGLM provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with a disability, to employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions, and to employees with sincerely held religious beliefs or practices, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Illinois Human Rights Act, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on FGLM's operations. If you need an accommodation, talk with your supervisor or the Executive Director.

Resources & Support Links

A few outside numbers and sites that come up across our trainings — good to have on hand no matter which sector you work in.

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org
• Illinois DCFS Child Abuse Hotline (mandated reporting) — 1-800-25-ABUSE (1-800-252-2873)
• National Alliance for Eating Disorders Helpline — allianceforeatingdisorders.com
• National Domestic Violence Hotline — 1-800-799-7233 or thehotline.org
• Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) — idhr.illinois.gov
• U.S. EEOC — eeoc.gov
• OSHA — osha.gov
• U.S. Department of Education Student Privacy (FERPA) — studentprivacy.ed.gov
• U.S. HHS Office for Civil Rights (HIPAA) — hhs.gov/hipaa

Program-specific resources for your sector (referral forms, partner agencies, etc.) live in your Program Director's onboarding materials.

Sign & Acknowledge

This Handbook, together with the FGLM Policies & Procedures Manual, replaces all prior handbooks and policy statements. FGLM reserves the right to interpret, add to, modify, or eliminate any policy in this Handbook at any time, with or without notice.