The Boy Scouts stumbled with their forthrightness in regard to child abuse incidents. Nevertheless, they came away from the storm with the implementation of new programs and policies that church leaders would be wise to adopt. Several of them are enumerated in the article. Some of the ones that I experienced when my son participated in Scouting, were very forward thinking and pro-active.
Therefore, similarly, I suggest:
1. Every adult leader must be re-certified each year.
2. In Scouting, for each new award level (grade year) Scouts had to have a family youth protection discussion at home. This is the first requirement in the manual. Note that the organization placed emphasis on having the family involved and not leaving it up to a third person who might intentionally or unintentionally shape on minimize the dialogue. I encourage every family to take responsibility for this and communicate their own family values and rules.
3. Background checks (while never perfect) should also be performed on a national level.
4. Under no circumstances is a child to be left with a lone adult (unless it’s the parent/guardian). A child cannot share sleeping quarters with an adult who is not the parent or guardian.
5. Every event needs a designated adult “safety officer,” at a minimum. That adult MUST have been trained.
Sadly, the former Boy Scouts are now Scouts of America and they are "inclusive". No one should be supporting them now. The Girls Scouts went down this lane years ago.
Well done Keith. Very important. Years ago I was a child abuse investigator. The horrors some of those kids endured! And... people routinely tried to ignore it, cover it up, pretend it didn't happen. I hope every church takes a hard look at your article.
The shootings, stabbings, and other violent crime never really bothered me. The sexual abuse endured by these children crushed me. People often asked me what’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen as a cop. I can’t repeat it because they’ll never get that nightmare out of their head.
Absolutely. The mandatory reporter model is something that needs to be reinforced at every house of worship. The right background check application will strike fear into any potential predator. Wonderful article.
I love this. I am a Dad of a child who was a victim of this sort of abuse. While this did not happen in a church, I have also been involved in a church where this sort of abuse was perpetuated by a leader and was then concealed.
If you need any help with the curriculum please let me know, I am happy to help.
We do all of these things to protect our children. Not all churches are negligent. Training is essential and building a culture of "if you see something say something" is important. I plan on taking all our workers through this training. You can't do too much.
Someone had to say this!
The Boy Scouts stumbled with their forthrightness in regard to child abuse incidents. Nevertheless, they came away from the storm with the implementation of new programs and policies that church leaders would be wise to adopt. Several of them are enumerated in the article. Some of the ones that I experienced when my son participated in Scouting, were very forward thinking and pro-active.
Therefore, similarly, I suggest:
1. Every adult leader must be re-certified each year.
2. In Scouting, for each new award level (grade year) Scouts had to have a family youth protection discussion at home. This is the first requirement in the manual. Note that the organization placed emphasis on having the family involved and not leaving it up to a third person who might intentionally or unintentionally shape on minimize the dialogue. I encourage every family to take responsibility for this and communicate their own family values and rules.
3. Background checks (while never perfect) should also be performed on a national level.
4. Under no circumstances is a child to be left with a lone adult (unless it’s the parent/guardian). A child cannot share sleeping quarters with an adult who is not the parent or guardian.
5. Every event needs a designated adult “safety officer,” at a minimum. That adult MUST have been trained.
Sadly, the former Boy Scouts are now Scouts of America and they are "inclusive". No one should be supporting them now. The Girls Scouts went down this lane years ago.
Well done Keith. Very important. Years ago I was a child abuse investigator. The horrors some of those kids endured! And... people routinely tried to ignore it, cover it up, pretend it didn't happen. I hope every church takes a hard look at your article.
The shootings, stabbings, and other violent crime never really bothered me. The sexual abuse endured by these children crushed me. People often asked me what’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen as a cop. I can’t repeat it because they’ll never get that nightmare out of their head.
Hi there Keith, is there an answer sheet for the quizzes?
Absolutely. The mandatory reporter model is something that needs to be reinforced at every house of worship. The right background check application will strike fear into any potential predator. Wonderful article.
Keith,
I love this. I am a Dad of a child who was a victim of this sort of abuse. While this did not happen in a church, I have also been involved in a church where this sort of abuse was perpetuated by a leader and was then concealed.
If you need any help with the curriculum please let me know, I am happy to help.
We do all of these things to protect our children. Not all churches are negligent. Training is essential and building a culture of "if you see something say something" is important. I plan on taking all our workers through this training. You can't do too much.