Issue Date 12/04/2006

CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION POLICY[1]

Introduction

The General Conference of the United Methodist Church, in April 1996, adopted a resolution aimed at reducing the risk of child sexual abuse in the church.  The adopted resolution includes the following statement:

Jesus said, "whoever welcomes [a] child...welcomes me" (Matthew 18:5).  Children are our present and our future, our hope, our teachers, our inspiration.  They are full participants in the life of the church and in the realm of God.

Jesus also said, "If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones...it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea^" (Matthew 18:6).

Tragically, churches have not always been safe places for children.  Child sexual abuse, exploitation, and ritual abuse occur in churches, both large and small, urban and rural.  The problem cuts across all economic, cultural, and racial lines.  It is real, and it appears to be increasing.  Most annual conferences can cite specific incidents of child sexual abuse and exploitations within churches.  Virtually every congregation has among its members adult survivors of early sexual trauma.

Such incidents are devastating to all who are involved: the child, the family, the local church, and its leaders.  Increasingly, churches are torn apart by the legal, emotional, and monetary consequences of litigation following allegations of abuse.

     God calls us to make our churches safe places, protecting children and other vulnerable persons from sexual and ritual abuse.  God calls us to create communities of faith where children and adults grow safe and strong.[2]

Thus, in covenant with all United Methodist congregations, we adopt this policy for the prevention of child abuse in Groce United Methodist Church.

Purpose

Groce United Methodist Church's purpose for establishing this Child Abuse Prevention Policy and accompanying procedures is to demonstrate our absolute and unwavering commitment to the physical safety and spiritual growth of all of our children.

Statement of Covenant

Therefore, as a Christian community of faith and a United Methodist congregation, Groce United Methodist Church pledges to conduct the ministry of the Gospel in ways that assure the safety and spiritual growth of all of our children as well as all of the workers with children.  We will follow reasonable safety measures in the selection and recruitment of workers; we will implement prudent operational procedures in all programs and events; we will educate all of our workers with children regarding the use of all appropriate policies and methods; we will have a clearly defined procedure for reporting a suspected incident of abuse that conforms to the requirements of state law; and we will be prepared to respond to media inquiries if an incident occurs.

Conclusion

The Gospel calls us to be engaged in ministry with children.  We must not allow the risks to undermine or stop our ministry.  Rather, Groce United Methodist Church will

Ø       acknowledge the risks and develop a practical plan to reduce them;

Ø       take steps to prevent harm to our children and our workers, and to address any harm discovered;

Ø       continue to answer the Gospel's imperative to be in ministry with children, making a difference in their lives.

PREAMBLE

The leadership of Groce United Methodist Church, in its ministry to children, is committed to the prevention of child abuse.  These procedures are established for that purpose and for the protection of the entire congregation.  Families, friendships, and entire congregations can be destroyed by one incident of abuse.

DEFINITIONS

Ø       Abuse Reporter: Any individual that reports knowledge or suspicion of child abuse to Buncombe County Department of Social Services.

Ø       Child: Any unmarried individual under 18 years old.  In United Methodist tradition, children about 12 to 18 years old are normally described as youth.  However they are defined as children by North Carolina law and this document will be consistent with North Carolina legal definitions.

Ø       Groce UMC Representative: In cases of child abuse, only one person will represent Groce United Methodist Church with support by other elected church officers.  Normally that person is the Senior Pastor but when the Senior Pastor is the suspected abuser, the Groce UMC Representative becomes the Staff Parish Relations Committee Chairperson.

Ø       DSS: Buncombe County Department of Social Services.  DSS is charged with receiving, screening, and investigating reports of child abuse.  They may be contacted at 40 Coxe Ave., Asheville, NC or by telephone at (828)250-5580 or (828)250-5822.

Ø       Participation Covenant: A document accepted and signed by each adult that works with children.  It indicates their commitment to provide a safe environment for children and to abide by all Safe Sanctuary Policies and Procedures.

Ø       Safe Sanctuary: A phrase used in the title of a pair of books[3] that describe procedures useful in reducing the risk of child abuse in local churches.  This phrase, and the book’s procedures, have become standards used in tailoring abuse programs in hundreds of churches across the country.

Ø       SPRC: Staff Parish Relations Committee.  This committee is charged with personnel administration of lay employees and advising the District Superintendent and the Bishop on matters of Clergy leadership.

DOCUMENTATION

While implementation of our procedures and adequate liability insurance are methods to reduce the risk to our ministry, recent court decisions have made it clear that good documentation of our procedures and actions is critical in abuse incidents.  We also affirm the privacy rights of all individuals and resolve to maintain all personal information in a strictly confidential manner.  Groce United Methodist Church will maintain the Safe Sanctuary support documentation in the following manner:

Ø   Private Documents: This document class will contain all records given or obtained during the recruitment and screening procedures, all records of child abuse incidents containing confidential information, or any other records relating to child abuse which the Senior Pastor considers confidential.  These confidential records will be held permanently and be maintained and controlled exclusively by the Senior Pastor and each successor.  Confidential records for paid employees will be available to the SPRC Chairperson on a need-to-know basis.  In cases of child abuse, private documents may be made available as directed by court order.

Ø       Public Documents: This document class will contain all records not considered confidential such as parental permission forms, approved driver records, or nursery release logs.  These records will be held permanently and be maintained and controlled by the Church Administrator.  These public records will be available to any parent for inspection.

RECRUITMENT AND SCREENING

All employees and all volunteers who work with children will be selected using the following commonly used steps.  The Staff Parish Relations Committee (SPRC) will recruit and screen all employees.  The program-responsible staff member or designee will recruit and screen all volunteers who work with children.  All information gathered during recruitment and screening will be considered strictly confidential and become a part of the private document file.

1.    Requirements: Only those who have been members or constituents of Groce United Methodist Church for at least 6 months shall be considered eligible for volunteer service in positions assisting with children.

2.    Application: All employees and volunteers seeking to work with children will submit applications that include personal identification, qualifications, experience, references, and consent to a criminal records check.

3.    References: The designated screener will contact all references and other contacts supplied by the applicant.  A particular concern should be the applicant’s experience and abilities when working with children.  All responses to each reference check will be documented in writing.

4.    Interview: Personal interviews must be conducted for all employees and volunteers, with at least two interviewers present, and documented by a written summary.  A personal interview is a valuable method to review the applicant’s skills and experience, to explore options for service, to provide answers to any applicant’s questions, and to answer any questions resulting from the application and reference review.

5.    Background check: All employees and volunteers must have a complete North Carolina statewide criminal background check, which includes North Carolina sex offenses.  When appropriate, background checks by national or state law enforcement agencies will be requested.  In the event that cost of a complete background check exceeds $50, approval from the Church Council must be requested.  A known child abuser or sex offender shall not be employed nor allowed to have contact with children.

6.    Commitment: Each accepted applicant will accept their commitment to provide Safe Sanctuary to our children by signing a Participation Covenant statement.  They will receive a copy of the approved Policy and Procedures document in preparation for their training and orientation as workers with children.

TRAINING

A copy of Groce United Methodist Church Safe Sanctuaries Policy & Procedures will be provided to all employees and volunteers upon employment or acceptance of a position working with children.  Training is required for all employees and all workers with children, but it is open to all interested parents and church members.  Training may be done in-house by previously trained leaders or at available area workshops.  As additional training resources become available, they will be placed in the education office or the church library.  Training will be conducted as needed to meet the requirement of annual retraining.  In addition, each worker with children must renew his/her Participant Covenant annually.  Special training for First Aid and CPR may be conducted separately.

Training topics will include:

Ø       Why are we doing this?

Ø       What is abuse and who are potential abusers?

Ø       Policy and procedures review

Ø       Other risk protection (Equipment, First Aid/CPR, Insurance)

Ø       Interpersonal Boundaries

Ø       Parent involvement and education

Ø       Off-Site events, travel, overnight situations

The Safe Sanctuaries Policy & Procedures will be reviewed yearly by the Church Council and updated as required.  These training opportunities will provide comments necessary for that periodic review.

BASIC PROCEDURES

Paid and volunteer staff of the church must recognize the importance of maintaining trusted and committed relationships with others in the church, especially children.  As part of their responsibility in carrying out the mission of the church, staff members and volunteers must be aware of situations where abuse could occur, must follow the Policies and Procedures of the church, and must take any other precautions to prevent these situations from occurring.

Ø       A minimum of two unrelated adult leaders must supervise each separate on-site activity.  For cases of simultaneous activities involving children, staff will coordinate the adults so the required minimum supervision and ratio is available.  Adult leaders must determine that the proper supervision ratio is present before beginning the activity and cancel activities any time that sufficient supervision is not available.

Ø       Adults must directly supervise children at all times with the supervision ratio applied.  While not a recommended practice, occasionally high school children are used as helpers with elementary school age or younger children.  In those instances, they must be counted as children in determining the ratio.

Ø       Nursery release procedures must be used to insure that children are released only to parents/guardians or persons authorized in writing. Nursery workers will not release children to anyone under 16 years of age.  All release logs will be retained as part of the public document file.  Release authorizations will be retained in a confidential file available only to staff and nursery workers.

Ø       Adults caring for young children may need to accompany a child or children to the restroom, but they must do so only with another adult directly present.

They must determine that the restroom is empty and wait outside if the child is capable of using the restroom without assistance.

Ø       A single adult, or husband and wife team, must not be alone with an unrelated child for any reason.  Guidance for confirmand mentors is outlined in the confirmand mentor orientation materials.

Ø       No one under 18 may supervise children.

Ø       Adult supervision for Middle and High School children must be at least 23 years old.

Ø       All classrooms or areas where children meet with adults must have uncovered glass windows to permit outside observation. 

Ø       All staff and adult volunteers are strongly encouraged to participate in annual refresher training. First Aid and CPR training may be one such training offered in the future.

Ø       When one-on-one contact between an adult and child is needed for counseling or another personal matter, the location must be chosen so that other adults can observe the activities of the adult and child.

Ø        

SPECIAL PROCEDURES

Off-Site & Overnight Considerations

These situations offer unique and special opportunities to build relationships as we minister to children.  At the same time, by their less structured environment, they present a greater challenge to the adult workers.

Ø       Overnight activities where children spend the night away from home require at least the same supervision and ratio as on-site events.  Consideration must be given to the event environment in determining if additional supervision is required.

Ø       Adults must not sleep in the same bed as a child who is not their own nor be alone in a room with a child or youth who is not their own.

Ø       When Groce UMC participates in off-site events or uses other's facilities, Groce UMC will follow those Safe Sanctuaries policies and procedures that exceed our own.

Ø       At least one contact must be made to a parent or other selected contact to announce the group's safe arrival.  That contact then will pass the information to all parents involved.

Ø       Parental permission forms, etc. listed previously must be redistributed to the proper driver for the return trip.

ABUSE REPORTING

It is the ethical, moral, and legal duty of all in a society to take responsibility for the welfare of others, especially the welfare of children.  The following separate actions must be taken to initiate action by the state, by Groce UMC, by the parents, and if necessary by the local authorities.

Ø       ANYONE (Abuse Reporter) with direct knowledge or suspicion of a child abuse incident is required by North Carolina law, regardless of the circumstances or location of the abuse, to report suspected abuse to the Buncombe County Department of Social Services (DSS) within 24 hours.[4] It then becomes the responsibility and legal duty of DSS to investigate the suspected child abuse.  If an individual or property is endangered, it also must be reported to the proper local authorities (EMT, Police, and Fire Dept.).

Ø       ANY adult working with children at Groce UMC sponsored activities with direct knowledge or suspicion of a child abuse incident is also required by their Participation Covenant to report the incident to the Groce UMC Representative.

Ø       The Groce UMC Representative will attempt to remove the individuals involved from the situation in a non-confrontational manner, notify the parents, and leave them with responsible people in constant supervision or observation until the parents arrive.  Suspected abusers must never be left alone with a suspected or potential victim!  If the Groce UMC Representative is not immediately available, those present will attempt to act in the Representative’s place.

Ø       Care must be exercised so that those reporting the situation are not identified or suspects are not falsely accused.

Ø       The Groce UMC Representative will notify the District Superintendent and document all actions taken.  It may also be prudent to notify the church's insurance agent.

The Abuse Reporter’s name will be kept confidential.  Although it is not necessary for the Abuse Reporter to be identified personally or as a church representative, that information may be helpful to the investigation by DSS.

Nothing in this policy or procedure shall prohibit Groce UMC Clergy from individually counseling a suspected abuser or suspected abuse victim but since North Carolina specifically denies clergy-penitent privileges in cases of suspected child abuse[5], any child abuse information revealed must be reported. If the suspected abuser is the Senior Pastor, the SPRC Chairperson becomes the designated Groce UMC Representative and the Senior Pastor shall have no further contact with the suspected victim of abuse.

RESPONSE

Response to Media

Groce UMC Representative: One and only one person will officially represent Groce United Methodist Church to the media in cases of abuse.  The Senior Pastor will generally function as the Groce UMC Representative, but if the Senior Pastor is the subject of the abuse allegation, the SPRC Chairperson will function as the Groce UMC Representative.  ALL media contacts must be referred to the designated Groce UMC Representative.  The District Superintendent and others selected by the Groce UMC Representative may offer valuable advice and support in dealing with the media.

Surprise Inquiry: It is possible that the first knowledge of an abuse allegation will come from a media inquiry.  In this case, the Groce UMC Representative shall gather all the information available from the media reporter, tell the media reporter the Groce UMC Representative did not know of the situation, and that he/she will follow up after investigating.

General Media Guidelines: Many people will judge the situation based upon what they see, hear, and read in the mass media.  These guidelines are designed to help convey Groce UMC’s concern about the situation.

Ø       Speak from a written prepared statement to prevent being misquoted.

Ø       Be honest, sincere, and professional.

Ø       Do not lie or try to “sugar coat” the situation.

Ø       Be careful not to give out inadvertently extra information.

Ø       NEVER answer media questions or inquiries with “no comment” because it leads to an assumption of guilt.

Ø       Do not identify the people involved by name, address, telephone number, or any other identifying information.  Tell the media reporter that Groce UMC’s policy prohibits such.  If the Groce UMC Representative knows that a staff member has been accused, he/she may acknowledge this but must not identify the accused other than as a staff member.

Ø       Acknowledge facts presented that are known to be true (aside from names as noted above) and identify agencies notified or involved (DSS, Police, etc.).

Ø       If the Groce UMC Representative does not know the answer to a question, he/she should offer to find the answer and follow up with the media reporter.

Ø       Refer the media reporter to the investigating agency for the facts.

Response to Congregation

Our Policy states “Groce United Methodist Church will...take steps to prevent harm to our children and our workers, and to address any harm discovered.”  We need to face the dilemma of addressing the harm to our congregation while affirming the suspected abuser’s need of God’s love by continuing in ministry to all persons affected.  While some incident-specific responses will be required, several general responses should be considered.

Ø       Provide a brief statement to the congregation without revealing any confidential information.

Ø       Offer and, if requested, provide appropriate counseling to the victim and family.

Ø       Offer and, if requested, provide appropriate counseling to the suspected abuser.

Ø       If the suspected abuser chooses to remain a part of the Groce UMC community, upon determination of guilt be prepared to develop and enforce a covenant which continues to protect the community.

APPENDIX A

After a legal review, all forms prepared for Safe Sanctuaries procedures will become a part of Safe Sanctuaries Policy and Procedures.  Typical examples are:

Employment Application

Volunteer Application

Authorization and Request for Criminal Records Check

Reference Check form

Participation Covenant

Report of Suspected Incident of Child Abuse

Accident Report form

Nursery Sign-in/Sign-out form

Special Event Permission form

REVISION HISTORY

July 15,2004            Church Council approval

ENDNOTES