The Church Law and Tax Group recently reported on the best practices for protecting kids at church. Protecting the children God has placed in our care must be a top priority. Here are some of the key points from the report. It is vital that churches follow these.
- Consider the policies of other organizations that work with children. This includes public schools. By aligning their policies with these organizations, churches can more readily establish reasonable care.
- Communicate protection policies and procedures to the church at large through meetings, the church website, and other means. Policies that are widely known are more likely to be consistently enforced.
- All new staff and volunteers should be trained with protection policies and procedures. Then periodically hold training to review and provide updates on any changes.
- Background checks are a central component of protecting children. Everyone should have a background check done and approved before they begin serving. Background checks should also be re-ran every 5 years on current volunteers. Church leaders should also periodically review the effectiveness of their background check procedures.
- Churches should make sure that all keys, keypad cards, and other means of accessing church property are returned when employees or volunteers resign or are terminated.
- Make sure that access to children's areas is secure and restricted.
- Require and provide abuse awareness and mandatory reporter training for all staff.
- If your church is multi-site, enforce policies and procedures at all campuses.
- No one should ever be alone with a child under any circumstance. At least two authorized adults must always be present.
- Provide adequate supervision by following proper adult-to-child ratios.
- Staff and volunteers should never strike, hit, or administer corporal punishment.
- Staff and volunteers should never have electronic communication with a child without the child's parent being included in the communication.
- If an allegation of inappropriate conduct is made, the accused should discontinue any further participation in programs and activities until the matter has been satisfactorily resolved.
- Medicine cannot be administered to a child without written consent from the child's parents.
- Authorized adults must disclose any criminal charges with which they are charged. Failure to do so can result in termination.
