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When people bring their children to church, they should feel good about their safety. To ensure proper safety and security for God’s children, a church must proactively and intentionally develop and follow specific, written practices, and procedures. By doing so, the church can continue ministry with an uninterrupted sense of confidence and spare the children and the church much heartache.

Nothing can tear a church apart more than a case of sexual misconduct. A church can be embroiled in such a case five years or more. After a prolonged investigation with possible criminal and civil cases, many church leaders and congregations find themselves short of energy, funds, and the will to move forward.

We are learning more about sexual offenders and how they select their victims. Sadly, in today’s society, offenders know that the church is currently the “path of least resistance.” By that we mean, if most of the other child-serving organizations have safeguards in place to prevent or dramatically reduce the possibility of an event occurring, a potential offender will seek the place that is most lax. Unfortunately, it is often the church.

In addition, when we recognize that there is no real standard for recognizing or categorizing offenders, we will grasp the importance of having a solid program in place. There are minors offending minors (now believed to be over 25% of all cases), aggressive offenders, experimental offenders, group offenders, and a growing group of female offenders. Our previous notions and minimal screening efforts may have to be reconsidered.

Did You Know?

• Eighty-eight percent of sexual abuse cases are never reported to the authorities.
  (Hanson, R.F., Resnick, H.S., Saunders, B.E., Kilpatrick. D.G., and Best, C. (1999). Factors related to the reporting of childhood sexual assault. Child Abuse and Neglect, 23, 559-569).
• In ninety percent of child sexual abuse cases, the child knows the person who commits the abuse.
  (Finkelhor, D. (1994). Current information on the scope and nature of child sexual abuse. Sexual Abuse of Children The Future of Children 4 (2), 31-69).
• Five-hundred thousand children are sexually abused each year.
  (Finkelhor, D. (1994). Current information on the scope and nature of child sexual abuse. Sexual Abuse of Children, The Future of Children 4 (2), 31-69).

These alarming statistics clearly indicate that many of these cases can and do occur in the church. And as leaders, we need to do whatever we can to protect not only the children, but the leaders and ministry from unnecessary exposure.

A safe church environment takes into account a variety of factors. These factors include:

• Education
  A wide variety of resources are available to help leadership and congregations understand and adequately address the issues. Safety begins with understanding.
  We highly recommend the training tool, Safety Tips On A Sensitive Subject: Child Sexual Abuse.
• Development
  Take time to develop your policy. Seek examples from other churches, look at what other child-serving organizations do in your area and communicate with various groups and leaders in the congregation as you work towards completing your practices and procedures.
• Implementation
  Begin the implementation of the practices and procedures by holding training and communicating with the congregation and leaders using all forms available. Some churches have begun their implementation by screening all new employees and volunteers, and slowly incorporating background checks for those already in place. The important point is to start and move the program forward.
• Supervision
  Regardless of how good your policies are, if you don’t adequately supervise the children and those who work with them, you are leaving yourself open for problems.

One of the most difficult issues to overcome in the life of any ministry is the allegation or confirmed incident of violation of a child. Not having a written policy or failure to follow a written policy increases the likelihood that an incident may arise.

Having a written policy that is understood and followed not only protects possible targets, but also shields the adult caregivers and the entire ministry of the church.

Some churches find a policy or borrow one from another church, place their name on it, and called it their own. Not only is this ineffective, it can have terrible repercussions if ever the church were forced to defend itself in court. Regardless of where the policy originated, if it is seldom reviewed or followed, the same results can occur.

Ideally, it is best to start with a framework and build a policy that is specific to your congregation. It takes time, but such a policy has a much better chance of protecting people and ministry.

The following components should be a part of the policy.

Summary of the Issues and Rationale

• Describe the scriptural, moral, and ethical reasons for implementing such a policy. Provide statistics and the impact of such an event on the life of the individual and the church.

Definition of Terms

• Know how your state defines such terms as “sexual abuse,” “neglect,” “mandatory reporter,” “physical abuse,” “sexual abuse,” and “harassment.”

Practices and Procedures

• Address hiring and selection procedures, including applications, reference checks, background checks, and interview and selection process.
• Address similarities and/or differences in procedures for employees, volunteers, and mentors.
• Clarify supervision and ratios.
• Utilize reporting procedures.
• Detail consequences to violations of policy.
• Apply acceptable counseling procedures (of adults and minors).

Job Descriptions

• Have job descriptions for each position (employee and volunteer) to help regulate what is and is not acceptable behavior.

Conclusion

• Have every employee and volunteer who works with minors read, sign, and date the policies to confirm their understanding.

Developing your own policy is a giant step in protecting people and your ministry. Before adopting your policy, consult legal counsel in your area. Make sure they concur with your policy; make changes as they deem appropriate.

The following best practices are recommended to allow your organization the best chance of preventing incidents of sexual misconduct. Such standards are accepted by the vast majority of youth and children-serving organizations. They include:

• Written applications for employees and those volunteers working with children and youth
• A thorough interview process
• Background checks and reference checks on all current employees, new hires, and any volunteers who work a considerable amount of time (two hours or more a week) with minors or the disabled (physically or mentally), and those who have keys to the facilities
• Reference checks on all volunteers who work an appreciable amount of time with minors or the disabled (greater than one hour/month but less than two hours/week)
• A designated safety, security, and/or risk manager or team who is responsible for implementing/maintaining an abuse prevention and control program for the church
• Regular training on abuse prevention/control to all paid staff and volunteers who work with minors
• Six-month waiting rule where new people to the church or organization must wait six months before having direct supervision of children or youth
• A policy that no child should be alone with an adult (formerly referred to as the two-adult rule)
• Written job descriptions for employees and volunteers
• A written sexual abuse/molestation control plan that outlines the points above

Allegation Plan

An allegation response plan should be in place and include the following:

1. Understanding what sexual abuse/misconduct is as defined by state mandatory reporting law for child abuse
2. Taking the allegation seriously and addressing it promptly
3. Documenting the allegation
4. Reporting the allegation to proper authorities as required by state reporting statutes and to your insurance company
5. Offering professional assistance to the alleged victim when needed (e.g., attorney services)
6. Finding victim support
7. Responding to the alleged perpetrator, congregation, and media

By taking steps to follow these best practices*, you will have joined thousands of others who are committed to protecting children, youth, workers, and organizations from the devastating impact of sexual abuse and misconduct.

*These best practices are taken from Reducing the Risk 2 and used by permission of Christianity Today.

Recommended Ratios for Supervision of Minors

The following guidelines are taken from a variety of sources and constitute the best practices to follow for churches, day cares, camps, and other youth/minor events. In no scenario should a child ever be alone with an adult or other child. The “two-adult” rule or the more current “no-child-left-alone-with-an-adult” rule should be followed.

Staff/Child Ratios at Child-Care Centers and Classroom Settings

The National Association for the Education of Young Children provides the following guidelines for staff/child ratios at child care centers. To the extent possible, the care you choose should follow these guidelines.

Recommended Staff/Child Ratios Within Group Size.*

*Smaller group sizes and lower staff-child ratios have been found to be strong predictors of compliance with indicators of quality such as positive interactions among staff and children and developmentally appropriate curriculum. Variations in group sizes and ratios are acceptable in cases where the program demonstrates a very high level of compliance with criteria for interactions, curriculum, staff qualifications, health and safety, and physical environment.

Recommended Staff/Child Camp Ratios:

6-8 years old, 1 counselor to 6 campers
9-14 years old, 1 counselor to 8 campers
15-18 years old, 1 counselor to 10 campers

Note: As isolation increases, ratios and supervision should also increase.

Youth Mentoring Guidelines

Mentoring has long been viewed as a valuable method for training minors in the church. While we do not discourage mentoring, we strongly suggest that specific practices be in place to protect not only the minor, but also the mentor.

1. Always meet in a public place (restaurant, coffee shop, school, or open area of the church with others nearby).
2. If transportation is necessary, it is preferred that the parent drop off and pick up the child from the public meeting place.
3. An adult should never be alone with a child. A mentor couple or small group emphasis is preferred (two unrelated adults and two minors).
4. Clearly communicate when and where the meetings will take place. Have mentors communicate clearly with the parents as to when the meeting will begin and end and stick to it.
5. Have the mentor complete an application.
6. Check the mentor’s references.
7. Screen all mentors with a national criminal background check.
8. Mentors should be of the same sex as the minor.
9. If possible, set up group mentoring times and locations where several adults and minors may share time together privately but also be seen or be in proximity to other mentors and youth.
10. The only time mentors and youth should meet in homes would be in the child’s home with parents present.
11. Have a clear reporting procedure for any issues that may arise.
12. Provide an alternative for those parents who wish to opt out of a one-on-one mentoring arrangement.

Mentoring can be a valuable tool for the church, but in this age of litigation, allegations, and incidents, it is wise not to expose your church to liability unnecessarily.

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
Acts 20:28 (NIV)