Safe Sanctuary Policy

 

Safe Sanctuary Policies and Procedures Of The Church of the Good Shepherd

 

Revised June, 2016

Click here for a: Safe Sanctuary Policy – June, 2016

Safe Sanctuaries

(Policies and Procedures for the Protection of Children, Youth, or Vulnerable Adults)

Church of the Good Shepherd

Lebanon, PA  17042

PREAMBLE

When the Disciples tried to keep the children away from Jesus, he was quick to respond, “Let the children come to me.” Jesus taught that children were to be included and provided for within the community of faith. Today, the church may be the only place where some child, youth, or vulnerable adult find the unconditional love and care they so desperately need to grow and thrive. As Christians, we must take our responsibilities to our children, youth, or vulnerable adults very seriously. We fail in our responsibilities if we neglect to take adequate precautions against abuse in our churches.  By following a policy of prevention we greatly reduce the risk of child abuse.  This policy attempts to do just that for United Methodist Church of the Good Shepherd subsequently referred to as UMCOGS. It is based on our understanding of the widespread problem of abuse throughout our country.

PURPOSE

The purpose of these Policies and Procedures is to protect all the children, youth, or vulnerable adults that come to us and to protect both our paid and volunteer staff from potential false allegations of abuse and to outline follow-up procedures should abuse be suspected.    Presented herein is a comprehensive plan that will include all the areas of the issue: Screening, Supervising, Reporting and Responding.

­­DEFINITIONS

Abuse:  as defined under Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law means any of the following:

(i)  Causing bodily injury,

(ii) Causing or substantially contributing to serious mental injury,

(iii) Causing sexual abuse or exploitation,

(iv) Causing serious physical neglect.

(v) Creating a reasonable likelihood of bodily injury or sexual abuse or exploitation.

(vi) Engaging in any of the following acts:

  • Kicking, biting, throwing, burning, stabbing, or cutting a child in a manner that endangers the child.
  • Unreasonably restraining or confining a child.
  • Forcefully shaking, slapping or otherwise striking a child under one year of age.
  • Interfering with the breathing of a child.
  • Causing a child to be present at a meth lab.
  • Knowingly leaving a child with a known sexual predator.
  • Causing the death of a child through any act or failure to act.

 Adult:  a person age 18 or older.

Appropriate clearances:  Clearances in accordance with the stated procedures included in this document, relative to PA Criminal Background Check, PA Child Abuse Clearance and FBI checks when applicable.

Bodily Injury:  Recent act or failure to act (within 2 years of the date of report) that causes impairment of physical condition or substantial pain.

Child/Children:   any person/persons under the age of 18, and therefore includes those in junior and senior high, often referred to as ‘youth’.

 Children, Youth, or Vulnerable Adult Activities:  any activity or program in which children, youth, or vulnerable adults are under supervision of staff persons or volunteers.

Electronic Communications:  communicating with any child, youth or vulnerable adult using any electronic media, such as any internet media (Facebook, Twitter) or phone media as texting and messaging.

Internet Usage: Communication using cellphones, Smartphones, Computer, tablets, social media (Twitter,  Facebook, You Tube, Instagram, Pinterest).

Mandated Reporters: The following adults are required to make a report of suspected abuse to a child, youth or vulnerable adult, if the person has reasonable cause to suspect that an individual is a victim of abuse.

  • A clergyman or minister of the church,
  • An individual paid or unpaid, who, on the basis of the individual’s role as an integral part of a scheduled program, activity or service, accepts responsibility for the child, youth or vulnerable adult.
  • An individual supervised or managed by a person listed above.

Mental Injury: an act that results in a psychological condition such as chronic or severe anxiety, agitation, depression, social withdrawal, psychosis or reasonable fear that life or safety is threatened.

Ministry Team Leader:  any person who supervises children, youth, or vulnerable adult activity. This person has regular and direct contact with children, youth, or vulnerable adults, must be 18 years or older and is counted in the Two-adult rule.

Roamer: an individual with clearance, who is designated to move among program areas and function as a volunteer under the Two-adult rule.

Safe Sanctuaries Liaison: the member of the UMCOGS Staff Parish Relations Committee chosen by the Senior Pastor to serve as the congregational representative for all Safe Sanctuaries matters. This person will serve as Liaison for the duration of their term as a member of the Staff Parish Relations Committee and will be informed of all Safe Sanctuaries-related issues.

 Sexual Abuse of Exploitation:  Having a child engage in or assist someone to engage in sexually explicit conduct, including, but not limited to: looking at sexual or other intimate parts of a child or another individual or participating in sexually explicit conversations with a person, by telephone, by computer or by a computer aided devise for the purpose of sexual stimulation or gratifying of an individual, or actual or stimulated sexual activity.

Staff person: any person employed by UMCOGS or programs using its facilities who is responsible for children, youth, or vulnerable adult activities. This person has regular and direct contact with children, youth, or vulnerable adults, must be 18 years or older and is counted in the Two-adult rule.

Staff person in charge of a children, youth, or vulnerable adult activity:  the church employee responsible for the conduct of this activity.   In the case of non-UMCOGS programs operating on church property, the duties of the “staff person in charge of the children, youth, or vulnerable adult activity” shall be carried out by the non-UMCOGS lead staff or volunteer.

Two-Adult Rule: requires no fewer than two adults present at all times during any church-sponsored program, event or ministry involving children, youth, or vulnerable adults.  (See Supervising Procedures #3.)

UMCOGS or We:  United Methodist Church of the Good Shepherd.

Volunteer: any adult who assists in conducting children, youth, or vulnerable adult activities under the supervision of a staff person and/or Ministry Team Leader, has regular and direct contact with children, youth, or vulnerable adults and is counted in the 2-adult rule.

Vulnerable Adult : a person eighteen (18) years of age or older who, because of a mental or physical dysfunction, is unable to manage his/her own resources, carry out the activity of daily living, or protect himself/herself from abuse or neglect without assistance from others.  These persons shall receive protection as defined under the areas concerning children where applicable.

Youth:  any person/persons under the age of 18, realizing that the demarcation between children and youth is not totally clear.

 PROCEDURES

Detailed procedures have been established for Screening, Supervising, Reporting, Responding and Documentation of any allegations of child abuse.

SCREENING PROCEDURES

Careful screening is one way to prevent the abuse of children, youth, or vulnerable adults. It can be time-consuming and expensive, but well worth the effort in peace of mind that the most reliable, committed and experienced staff and volunteers are in place for every program that involves children, youth, or vulnerable adults.

Detail Screening Procedures can be found in the Screening Procedure Manual.  Attachment A

SUPERVISING PROCEDURES

Supervising procedures are designed to reduce the possibility of abuse to children, youth, or vulnerable adults and to protect staff persons and volunteers from unwarranted accusations.

Detail Supervising Procedures can be found in the Supervising Procedure Manual:  Attachment B

REPORTING PROCEDURES

Reporting of an allegation of child abuse is required whenever there is “reasonable cause to suspect” that abuse has occurred, according to PA Child Protective Services Law, Title 23 Pa. C.S.S Chapter 23.  Once an allegation of abuse is made or an incident of abuse occurs, it is crucial that it be reported both internally and externally in a timely manner.  Reporting procedures are outlined in the Reporting Procedure Manual:  Attachment C.

RESPONDING PROCEDURES

A quick, compassionate and unified response to an alleged incident of abuse is expected. All allegations will be taken seriously. In all cases of reported or observed abuse in a children, youth, or vulnerable adult activity, the entire staff of that activity shall be at the service of all investigating agencies.

Procedures for responding are detailed in Attachment D.

DOCUMENTATION PROCEDURES

Maintaining documentation following an allegation of child abuse is critical. Detail procedures regarding completion, filing and retention of documentation is outlined in Attachment E.

 INTERNET USE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Keeping our children safe with technology and keeping our volunteers safe and on the Look Out.  Procedures are detailed in Attachment F.

Attachment A

SCREENING PROCEDURES

 1.      All Staff, Ministry Team Leaders and volunteers who have regular and direct contact with children, youth, or vulnerable adults shall be required to fill out an appropriate application packet that shall include but is not limited to:

Application Form (attached)

Participation Covenant – The Covenant is a statement in which the applicant agrees to:  take part in the ministry; give their best efforts to the ministry; respect the other participants and leaders; and treat others as well as they would wish to be treated.

Disclosure of past criminal history and allegations of criminal history.

All Employees, age 14 and older, responsible for the welfare of a child or having direct   contact with children shall provide the following documents as part of the application process.

1.      A completed PA Child Abuse History Clearance form (CY-113) dated less than one year prior to the application.

2.      A completed PA Request for Criminal Record Check (SP4-164) dated less than one year prior to the application.

3.      FBI Clearance (fingerprinting)

Each of these documents must be renewed every 5 years.

All Volunteers must provide current background checks to include:

1.      PA State Police Criminal Record Check (Form SP4-164)

2.      PA Child Abuse Clearance (DPW) (Form CY-113)

3.      FBI Clearance (fingerprinting) if have lived out of the state of PA for 10 years.

In lieu of the FBI Clearance, the applicant must affirm in writing they have not been convicted in any other state of any of the Pennsylvania offenses that prohibit service.

Each of these documents must be renewed every 5 years.

2.      Persons who have a break in service of one or more years shall submit to screening procedures.  PA Child Abuse Laws and UMCOGS require background checks be renewed every three years.

3.      Provide non-related references.

a.   If any problems or issues arise in the application process such as negative references, questionable findings on clearances, etc., the Senior Pastor will contact the applicant, come to a resolution, in a discreet manner.

b.      The applicant must sign a form that states that they have read, understand and will follow these Safe Sanctuaries Policies and Procedures at a minimum of every 5 years or more often if policies or procedures are modified.   (Confidential Screening Form attached as part of Application Form)

c.       Any applicant, volunteer, staff member who refuses to comply with any part of these Policies and Procedures will not be permitted to serve UMCOGS’s children, youth, or vulnerable adults.

d.      Non-UMCOGS programs that use UMCOGS’s facilities shall maintain their own personnel files. UMCOGS reserves the right to obtain an explanation of the outside organization’s record-keeping process and, upon written request of the Senior Pastor, to be given copies of documents applicable to programs conducted at UMCOGS.

e.      Non-UMCOGS programs that use UMCOGS’s facilities will be informed of the existence of UMCOGS’s Safe Sanctuaries Policies and Procedures when completing facility-use paperwork (User Agreement), and will be given a copy of the Safe Sanctuaries Policies and Procedures.  Any non-UMCOGS group who refuses to comply will not be permitted to use our facilities.  Outside users will sign a compliance agreement stating they will abide the Safe Sanctuary of the Church of Good Shepherd.

 

Attachment B

SUPERVISING PROCEDURES

Supervising procedures are designed to reduce the possibility of abuse to children, youth, or vulnerable adults and to protect staff persons and volunteers from unwarranted accusations.

1.      Persons shall demonstrate an active relationship with UMCOGS for 6 months before being allowed to serve as a staff person or ministry team leader in children, youth, or vulnerable adult activities.

  • In the case of new staff hires, references deemed adequate by the hiring supervisor will replace the 6 month waiting period.
  • Adult volunteers with less than 6 months of an active relationship with UMCOGS must be supervised by a staff person or ministry team leader.
  1. Training is a requirement for all Staff Persons, Ministry Team Leaders and Volunteers working with children, youth, or vulnerable adults in UMCOGS activities. An educational component of the Safe Sanctuaries Program will be part of the Application Packet and Interview.  Thereafter, the minimum training for all Staff Persons, Team Leaders and Volunteers will be at a minimum of every 5 years or more frequent if policy changes are made and will include information regarding this Policy, procedures for supervision, as well as information on how to identify and report abuse.
  2. Minimum supervisory standards will include the “two-adult rule.” The two-adult rule requires that no matter the size of the group, UMCOGS will strive to have two unrelated adults present. This may include the presence of an adult “roamer” who moves in and out of rooms. At a minimum, one of the adults present must have an up-to-date child abuse clearance and criminal background check.  No adult without required clearances or youth (ages 14-18) may be counted in the Two-adult rule.
  3. No children, youth, or vulnerable adult will be left unsupervised while attending a UMCOGS children, youth, or vulnerable adult activity until they are released to their parent(s), guardian(s) or their written designee.
  4. Each room or space where children, youth, or vulnerable adults are being cared for shall have an uncovered window in the door or the door shall be left open. Activities should occur in open view.
  5. Registration materials for off campus or overnight activities in which children, youth, or vulnerable adults are without the direct supervision of their parents/guardians shall require signed written permission forms.
  6. No person shall supervise an age group unless he/she is AT LEAST 18 years of age or older and is 5 years older than the children or youth being supervised.
  7. When emergency situations arise, staff and volunteers will do their best to adhere to these Policies and Procedures under the circumstances.

 

Attachment C

REPORTING PROCEDURES

Once an incident of abuse occurs or allegation of an incident is made, it is crucial that it be dealt with quickly and in a clearly outlined manner.

The Staff Person, Ministry Team Leader or Volunteer who observes alleged abuse or to whom such alleged abuse is reported is required to report the incident immediately to the Senior Pastor of UMCOGS or his/her designee and contact the Pennsylvania Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-932-0313) to make a report.

The Senior Pastor, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Childline & Abuse Department staff will investigate the allegation.

The Senior Pastor shall notify the Safe Sanctuaries Liaison on the UMCOGS Staff Parish Relations Committee and keep him / her informed of all developments.

The Senior Pastor or his/her designee shall then send the completed PA CY47 form to the local Children and Youth Services agency. This line of reporting shall be followed in all such incidents.

Any person who is the subject of the report will be required to refrain from all children, youth, or vulnerable adult activities until the incident report is resolved. In any removal of a person from any children, youth, or vulnerable adult activities, care should be taken to handle this in a discreet manner, recognizing that an investigation is still being conducted.  There shall be no presumption of guilt until the incident is resolved.

If the conduct involves the Senior Pastor or another clergy person, it must be reported to the Senior Pastor’s Supervisor, Northwest District Superintendent or the Conference Bishop at (610) 660-9090.

 

 

 

Attachment D

RESPONDING PROCEDURES

A quick, compassionate and unified response to an alleged incident of abuse is expected. All allegations will be taken seriously. In all cases of reported or observed abuse in a children, youth, or vulnerable adult activity, the entire staff of that activity shall be at the service of all investigating agencies.

1.      All requests for statements should be directed to the Senior Pastor or his/her designee.  He or she may choose to contact the Director of Communications of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

2.      Training in how to handle media requests should be a regular part of staff training. A “spirit of cooperation” in helping the media locate the “official spokesperson” is often helpful.   The Senior Pastor or one person will represent UMCOGS as a media liaison working in conjunction with the UM Conference Office.

3.      In response to all allegations of abuse, the observer, the Senior Pastor or his/her designee shall make the initial contact with the Pennsylvania Childline & Abuse Registry (1-800-932-0313).

4.      Even in the event that the allegation concerns activities or persons outside UMCOGS, procedures in number 3 shall be implemented.  An example of this would be a child telling a teacher about abuse by a relative during the prior year. If this report were made to the teacher in the course of his or her duties as a teacher, then the incident report should be immediately filed with the staff person in charge of the children, youth, or vulnerable adult activity. If the allegation is against a Staff Person, Ministry Team Leader or Volunteer, the custodial parent will be notified immediately and a face-to-face meeting with the parent will be scheduled.

5.      In all cases, pastoral support will be available to all persons involved with the incident.

6.      The Senior Pastor or his/her designee shall contact the Eastern Pennsylvania I-Care team for their assistance with the care of the individuals, families and/or congregation in response to the allegations, whether founded or not.  Conference Office (610) 666-9090.

 

Attachment E

DOCUMENTATION AND RETENTION

1.      The following documentation shall be kept in a secure location on church premise.

·         Documentation as required under Screening Procedures contained in this policy.

·         Incident documentation as required under Reporting Procedures contained in this policy.

2.      An electronic spread sheet (along with a paper copy) will be maintained including names of all staff, volunteers and helpers who work with children, youth or vulnerable adults, dates of training, covenants and other pertinent documents are completed.  This list should include:  Name, Date clearance documents were obtained, Date form expires, date approved for ministry, Date for renewal of clearances, Date New forms sent, date New forms returned and who approved.  This file will serve as a reminder/alert for follow-up and renewal requirements and dates.

3.      The Senior Pastor shall identify who has access to the files.

4.      Destruction of any of these documents requires written authorization of the    UMCOGS Staff Parish Relations Committee.

5.      A destruction report shall be prepared, signed, dated and retained.

6.      A copy of these Policies and Procedures will be posted outside the UMCOGS office and is available from the Administrative Staff.

 

Attachment F

INTERNET USAGE POLICY AND PROCEDUE

The Church of the Good Shepherd provides employees and church member’s access to the vast information resources of the Internet with the intention of increasing productivity and enhancing church-related communication. There is justifiable concern that it can also be misused. Such misuse can waste time, potentially violate laws, ordinances or other Church of the Good Shepherd policies, garner negative publicity for the church and potentially expose it to significant legal liabilities.

This Internet Usage Policy, which applies to all employees and church members, is designed to facilitate understanding of the expectations for the use of these resources.

The underlying philosophy of this policy is that Internet access from Church of the Good Shepherd is primarily for church-related purposes including communicating with congregation members and colleagues, researching relevant topics and obtaining useful information.

In addition, all existing federal and state laws and Church of the Good Shepherd’s policies apply to all users of the Internet in the church building, especially those that deal with intellectual property protection, privacy, misuse of Church of the Good Shepherd’s resources, sexual harassment, information and data security, and confidentiality.

Policy Provisions

  1. The Church of the Good Shepherd’s domain name will appear with every Internet post made by a church computer Any user may thus be viewed as a representative of Church of the Good Shepherd while conducting business on the Internet. During any Internet use, users are required to refrain from any activity or communication that would have a negative impact on Church of the Good Shepherd or the reputation of Church of the Good Shepherd.
  1. User IDs and passwords help maintain individual accountability for Internet resource Any user who obtains a password or ID for an Internet resource must keep that password confidential. The Church of the Good Shepherd’s policy prohibits the sharing of user IDs or passwords obtained for access to Internet sites.
  1. Each person using Church of the Good Shepherd’s Internet network shall identify himself or herself honestly, accurately and completely when corresponding or participating in interactive activities, and shall not send unsolicited mass electronic
  1. Only those persons who are duly authorized to speak to the media or public gatherings on behalf of Church of the Good Shepherd on a particular subject may speak/write in the name of The Church of the Good Shepherd to any blog, newsgroup or

Other users may participate in blogs, newsgroups or chats in the course of church business when relevant to their duties or service, but they do so as individuals speaking only for themselves and should make that clear in their communication.

  1. Employees and church members are reminded that the Internet is not a secure method of Neither proprietary information nor any information received in confidence by Church of the Good Shepherd, or the user, should be sent over the Internet.
  1. The display of any kind of obscene image or document on any Church of the Good Shepherd’s computing resource should be a violation of existing Church of the Good Shepherd’s policy on sexual harassment and is In addition, obscene material may not be archived, stored, distributed, edited, or recorded using Church of the Good Shepherd’s network, printing, or computing resources. A user, who finds him or herself connected accidentally to a site that contains sexually explicit or offensive material, must disconnect from that site immediately and report the accidental connection to the Senior Pastor or his/her designee.
  1. Freeware, shareware and commercial software from the Internet may be subject to computer viruses, may not work properly, or may be subject to copyright infringement Users may download only software with direct business use with permission of the church computer system administrator or committee, and must arrange to have such software properly licensed and registered. Users may not use Church of the Good Shepherd’s Internet facilities to download entertainment software or games, or to play games against opponents over the Internet. No user may use the Church of the Good Shepherd’s Internet or computer facilities knowingly to download or distribute pirated software or data. Any software or files downloaded via the Internet may be used only in ways that are consistent with their licenses or copyrights.
  1. No user may use Church of the Good Shepherd’s Internet access to deliberately propagate any virus, worm, Trojan horse, trap- door, or back-door program code or knowingly disable or overload any computer system, network, or to circumvent any system intended to protect the privacy or security of another
  1. Inappropriate computer use is The following are examples of inappropriate use of the Church’s computer resources.
  • Accessing content that promotes hate language, harassments, or
  • Accessing content that ridicules others on the basis of race, creed, religion, sex, disability, nationality, or sexual
  • Creating, downloading, viewing, storing, copying, or transmitting sexually oriented or sexually explicit material (e.g., pornography, child pornography).
  • Recommending products or services as being endorsed by the local church or the United Methodist
  • Participating in or promoting any partisan political
  • Hosting services (such as web sites) that are not approved by the local church administrative council and/or Annual Conference Board of
  • Using prohibited peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing services, for example the pirate bay.
  • Circumventing the perimeter firewall in a way that allows an internal machine to be accessed from an external, insecure
  • Creating and/or forwarding of chain letters and unrequested bulk email (SPAM).
  • Using software, such as password-cracking tools and vulnerability
  1. The Church of the Good Shepherd’s Internet and computing resources must not be used to knowingly violate the laws and regulations of the United States or any other nation, or the laws and regulations of any state, city, province or local jurisdiction in any material
  2. All students using the computer resources of Church of the Good Shepherd shall be

 

REFERENCES

This policy is based upon Resolution #2005-014S to the Full Session of 2005 Annual Conference and subsequent policies relating to the Child Abuse Credentialing of all workers with children and youth in local churches by the Eastern PA Conference of the UMC and in Accordance with PA Child Abuse Laws signed by the Governor of the State of Pennsylvania to be effective 1/1/2015.

 

Last Revision 6/13/16