AN EFFECTIVE SAFETY SYSTEM Prevention starts with understanding . What does your church do to protect children from sexual abuse ? This question jump-starts any discussion about child sexual abuse risk and preparation . When asked , ministry leaders commonly refer to criminal background checks , child check-in systems , policies , video cameras , and security teams . Sadly , this list is minimally helpful in protecting children from the dozens of abusers featured in media reports across the nation within the past five years . Yet the Church continues to double down on the ‘ list ’ as if it were the solution to the problem . As civil trial attorneys who deal with standards of care , we stand over scores of ‘ train wrecks ’ in Christ-based environments . In nearly all cases , the ministry in the media crosshairs employed a variation of the practices listed previously ; the problem is that these do not address the real risk . In layperson language , standards of care constitute reasonable measures to prevent a foreseeable risk . Child sexual abuse is a foreseeable risk in every child-serving organization : it is every ministry ’ s legal obligation , and a current standard of care , to implement reasonable measures to prevent child sexual abuse . By now , every church should have replaced the myths with FACTS :
Myths : “ Sexual abuse won ’ t happen here .” “ Background checks will solve the problem .” “ I ’ m certain I would spot a sexual abuser .” “ We teach our kids about ‘ stranger danger .’”
Facts : Sexual abuse skips NO demographic . 90 % of abusers have no past criminal history . Abusers have no visual profile . 90 % of kids are abused by a trusted individual .
Every church must employ an effective Safety System aimed at these foreseeable risks : the Preferential Offender and Peer Sexual Abuse ( Read our previous articles in the Church Executive " Stop Child Sexual Abuse " series at https :// bit . ly / 3SEzE6J ).
An effective Safety System includes the following elements :
• Sexual Abuse Awareness Training
• Skillful Screening Processes
• Appropriate Criminal Background Checks
• Tailored Policies & Procedures
• Systems for Monitoring and Oversight
In addition to these elements , every church must create an internal communications process and plan to ensure that allegations and suspicions of abuse are reported to the appropriate authorities . Insurance carriers are beginning to require that churches confirm the existence of Safety System elements as a condition of coverage . This occurs in the application process , whether initiating or renewing coverage .
Application process An application for insurance is a comprehensive document seeking information about various aspects of possible risk — from detailed questions about the building and the roof to a list of all autos and passenger vans . In the past , very few questions related to child sexual abuse and prevention efforts .
Today , insurance applications have dozens of questions seeking very specific information about all aspects of training , screening , supervision , policies , reporting processes , populations served and more . Some carriers require churches to complete a Sexual Misconduct Supplemental Application , which gets granular regarding safety system efforts , reporting practices and past situations involving sexual misconduct . Each of these applications require the signer to acknowledge that he or she has made reasonable inquiry and that the information is true , correct and complete , followed by a warning : knowingly providing false information on the application is a crime and doing so might result in criminal penalties and might void coverage .
Case study # 1 An understaffed church in Missouri tasked a Family Pastor to ‘ handle ’ the church ’ s insurance renewal . The online renewal application was completed by the Family Pastor , providing the answers he believed the carrier ‘ wanted to see ’ to ensure renewal . Notwithstanding a slight increase in premium , the policy was renewed . Ten months later , a student ministry volunteer was arrested and charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Minor in connection with his interaction with a 12-year-old boy . During depositions , it became clear the church was doing very little related to abuse prevention , in sharp contrast to the representations made on the renewal application . The Family Pastor was not criminally charged , but the insurance company initiated civil litigation to eventually void all coverages based on these misrepresentations . The church was forced to sell property to retain legal counsel .
Every church must install and maintain an effective Safety System addressing the known risk of child sexual abuse . Clearly , protection of children is priority , but navigating insurance issues provides yet another reason church leaders must understand sexual abuse risk .
FINDING GOOD RESOURCES The complexities and challenges of sexual abuse risk are significant and will continue to grow . Help is available through insurance professionals who have committed to understand :
• Child sexual abuse risk ;
• How sexual abuse risk is likely to manifest in the Church ;
• How to identify and introduce prevention resources ;
• Reporting requirements and communication strategies ;
• Navigating insurance application questions ;
• Understanding sexual misconduct policy terms ;
• Creating an insurance plan that secures appropriate coverages and limits ; and
• Navigating the initial steps of an allegation response .
Not every insurance professional has invested the time and effort to provide these services : choose your insurance relationships wisely !
Case study # 2 A large church in Tennessee allowed its long-term insurance agent to complete an insurance application on the church ’ s behalf . In the years prior , the church ’ s business administrator appreciated the agent ’ s willingness to go through the painstaking process of completing the applications for various carriers , simply presenting the finished product to church leaders for signature . The agent knew a great deal about the church ’ s roof , facility and vehicles , but very little about sexual misconduct . A subsequent sexual abuse claim revealed that the church ’ s Sexual Misconduct coverage was limited to adult-to-adult behavior : all other forms of sexual misconduct ( child sexual abuse and peer sexual abuse ) were specifically excluded . The application included various misrepresentations concerning the church ’ s sexual abuse prevention efforts , but the misrepresentations were irrelevant because there was no coverage to void . The church replaced the agent , but not before experiencing an avoidable failure — in both prevention and coverage .
60 CHURCH EXECUTIVE • STOP CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE churchexecutive . com