Declaration of Entrance Into Safe Harbor Program Form (PDF)
McPherson College will offer student-athletes a Safe Harbor option to willingly seek assistance for problematic substance abuse, or sale of or transportation of illicit substances. Safe Harbor allows a student-athlete to privately, and without question, admit themselves into organized substance abuse counseling. Counseling will be coordinated through a certified Substance Abuse Counselor selected by the athletic department. All student-athletes are eligible for the McPherson College Safe Harbor Program (the “Safe Harbor”), under the following guidelines and restrictions:
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A student is not eligible for Safe Harbor after he/she has been informed of an impending drug test.
**Beginning at 12:00:01am on the calendar day prior to “test day”, entrance into the Safe Harbor Program will NOT be allowed until completion of all drug tests on “test day”. At that time student-athletes may self-refer (pending approval by the Committee Chair) into the Safe Harbor Program up until the next calendar day prior to the next “test day”. This prevents student-athletes being able to “exempt” themselves from testing by entering the Safe Harbor Program when they have prior knowledge of when “test day” may occur.**
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A student is not eligible for Safe Harbor if he/she has had a previous positive drug test while at McPherson College.
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Entrance into Safe Harbor may only occur once during a student-athletes’ McPherson College athletic tenure.
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A student is not eligible for Safe Harbor within 90 days following charges and/or conviction involving law enforcement for possession, transportation, sell, or being under the influence, of illegal substances.
Prior to entry, the student-athlete entering Safe Harbor will be required to view and sign the
Declaration of Entrance into the Safe Harbor Program Form, which details specifics regarding expectations and regulations. A student will be permitted to remain in the Safe Harbor Program for a reasonable period of time, as determined by the treatment plan. During a student-athlete’s tenure in the Safe Harbor Program, he/she will be ineligible for sport participation, including events, practices, sideline/bench presence, and team weight/conditioning sessions. For Safe Harbor cases, financial responsibility for counseling sessions will be paid for by McPherson College Athletics.
Members of the Substance Abuse Committee may be informed of the student’s entrance into the Safe Harbor Program. The affected sport’s head coach may be notified by the Substance Abuse Committee. Assistant coaches may be informed at the discretion of the head coach. Other university employees may be informed only to the extent necessary for the implementation of this policy. All communications involving counseling sessions, attendance, progress, treatment plans, and drug counselor recommendations, will be restricted to the Substance Abuse Committee Chair and/or the Assistant Athletic Trainer. Limited information will then be provided to members of the Substance Abuse Committee and other essential parties. All matters of confidentiality must be followed by informed parties.
Certified drug counselors assigned by McPherson College Athletics will work with the student-athlete to prepare a Safe Harbor treatment plan. Upon entry, a confidential drug test may be assigned at the discretion of the Director of Counseling, or any member of the Substance Abuse Committee. The initial Safe Harbor drug test will be paid for by McPherson College Athletics. If the student-athlete tests positive for a banned substance upon entrance into the Safe Harbor Program, that positive test will
not result in any athletic participation sanctions.
The certified drug counselor, unless under the direct orders of the Team Physician, must officially release a student-athlete from counseling prior to consideration for returning to athletic participation. To be eligible for reinstatement, the student-athlete must show improvement with the Safe Harbor counseling, and produce a negative drug test. If a student-athlete tests positive for any banned substance after time served in the Safe Harbor Program or fails to comply with the Safe Harbor treatment plan, the student will be removed from the protective guidelines of the Safe Harbor Program, and thus be considered a standard case involving a positive drug test. Counseling sessions will continue, but without the disciplinary protection of the Safe Harbor program. In such a case, the 2nd positive test during the Safe Harbor program will be treated as a first positive and a subsequent future positive as a second positive, subject to the sanctions explained in this policy. The 2nd Safe Harbor drug test will be paid for by McPherson College Athletics. In the event of a 2nd failed test, all subsequent drug tests will be paid for by the student-athlete; the student-athlete must pay for the test in full before it is administered; failure to pay shall be treated as a refusal of testing.
If, while receiving counseling in the Safe Harbor, the student-athlete is in compliance with the Safe Harbor Program treatment plan, the student-athlete will not be included in the list of students eligible for testing in the event of a computerized random drug test by McPherson College. However, all student-athletes who admit themselves into the Safe Harbor will be subject to drug testing throughout their McPherson College athletic tenure, which will occur at the discretion of the Substance Abuse Committee. Future tests following clearance from Safe Harbor will be paid for by McPherson College Athletics.
If necessary, the student-athlete may be asked to seek medical attention from the team physician. Based upon a medical examination by the team physician, the student-athlete may be disqualified indefinitely from participation if medically indicated. The examination may consist of diagnostic tests to determine any potential risks the drug use poses to the student athlete’s well-being.
