Comments | playfulmama: jacq- gotta a shop question for ya...

playfulmama

jacq- gotta a shop question for ya...

Mar 12, 2005 07:06

i went to this conference (for my UMC district) yesterday on safe sanctuaries. it was by a woman named joy melton, she wrote safe sanctuaries. it was all about lowering the risk of sexual abuse in the church. it was very scary and compelling....anyway, she said basically every person in any contact with children should have several background ( Read more... )

Comments 6

playfulmama March 12 2005, 04:16:47 UTC

not to mention the minimum cost would be $30 per check (not per parent)...

grassyslough March 12 2005, 12:53:05 UTC

I know I'm not the person you addressed this question to, but I served on my church's safety committee a few years ago where we discussed the issue. (I was also a volunteer worker in children's ministries at the time.) There was a lot of talk about why background checks should be done, (one of our pastors had previously pastored at a church where a lay leader -- although not one assigned to work with children -- had been abusing children) but I don't think they ever have been. This is in part because of the challenges you've outlined. There is a great reliance on personal references. Most of the people who are involved in children's ministries have been there, like, forever. And newer volunteers are chosen by a committee, which does some checking of references but is no comparison to a background check.

The church did take additional steps to address physical safety issues and be more attuned to possible child custody disputes.

playfulmama March 13 2005, 12:57:23 UTC

thanks for this info lara, this is very helpful!

playfulmama March 13 2005, 13:35:18 UTC

we had an icident at a church i attended- i didn't think it was handled well at all. it's scary how vulnerable the church can be...i think background checks and references are equally important. this woman said several (background checks) should be done, not just one... and at all the addresses the person has lived at for the last 5 years. it got so involved and extensive. my church has a good base but it's making me qustion if we should be doing more, kwim?

mamahammer March 13 2005, 09:13:03 UTC

We do run an FBI-type background check on everyone who works with children and/or youth. Paid or volunteer. We only run one (couldn't tell you through whom, because our bus admin does it, but I could ask if you like), but we rerun them every other year. All of our nursery volunteers, and all of our Sunday School teachers (children and youth) have to have one, and we have compiled a date base that shows us who has had a background check run and when ( ... )

playfulmama March 13 2005, 13:29:13 UTC

yes, it makes lots of sense... we have a similar security system, except ours are laminated name tags that include any special info like allergies, medical issues, blah, blah, blah- the parent's have a matching bracelet- only the parent with the bracelet can pick up the child. the bracelets are handed out when the kids come in the door- we hold onto them during the week. every child has one ( ... )