Norris : So here ’ s the good news : many aspects of the abuser ’ s grooming process are VISIBLE . And because it ’ s visible , it ’ s preventable . If we train our staff members and volunteers to recognize common grooming behaviors , and we have and enforce policies around these common behaviors , we can protect children in the Church . It ’ s really not rocket science , but it ’ s not intuitive either : it takes training and intentionality .
# 6 : Policies are what you do , not what you say you do When an allegation of sexual abuse results in civil litigation , both defense counsel and plaintiff ’ s counsel will immediately request a ministry ’ s written policies . Policies demonstrate a ministry ’ s reasonable efforts to address the known risk of child sexual abuse , but they ’ re only effective if enforced . Often , staff members and volunteers need to understand the ‘ why ’ of preventative protocols in order to adopt the ‘ what ,’ and that boils down to training .
Norris : In my experience , some ministries have policies that read like “ legalese ” or look like War and Peace . My first question to any client is , “ How many of your boots in the sand know what this says ? And what assurance do you have that this is actually happening ?” Good policy dovetails with training and addresses common grooming behaviors . I ’ m a big fan of bright lines — very explicit written communication that ‘ this is OK ’ and ‘ this is NOT OK ’, particularly where touch and physical interaction with children is concerned . At the same time , great policies that aren ’ t enforced are pretty useless , and might be detrimental : they create an internal standard of care that isn ’ t followed .
# 7 : Criminal background checks are not enough Criminal background checks are no ‘ silver bullet ’, because less than 10 % of sexual abusers will encounter the criminal justice system , ever . Background checks alone cannot eliminate risk , but they can provide useful information when used effectively . For each staff member or volunteer , the depth of a criminal background check should be determined by the level of trust and extent of direct contact with children .
Norris : There are staff members and high-profile volunteers in your ministry program about whom you cannot afford to be wrong ! These high-trust positions require a deeper background check , which is going to cost more . There simply is no ‘ one size fits all ’ background check , and if you are running all your employees and volunteers through the same level of check , you aren ’ t meeting the current legal standard of care where background checks are concerned . This is another area where training is key : ministry managers who hire or screen employees and volunteers should be trained to recognize pleadown , stair step and grooming criminal offenses .
# 8 : ‘ Matching tags ’ do not solve the problem Matching tags rely on the concept of ‘ Stranger Danger ’ — not an effective preventative protocol , because 90 % of children are victimized by someone they know and trust — not a stranger . The child check-in system was simply not designed to address the risk of child sexual abuse .
Norris : Basic security measures are reasonable , like limitations on who can access the children ’ s wing , or who has easy access to the youth ministry area . Security teams and video cameras have value for basic security issues , but the majority of sexual abuse cases in the church involve a perpetrator inside the proverbial ‘ fence ’, not a stranger on property .
# 9 : Sexual abusers are looking for trusted time alone with your kids
Norris : That means churches should have a two-adult rule in place and , at minimum , a mandate that prohibits one-to-one , unsupervised , unstructured interaction between an adult and a child in ministry programs . Molesters groom the gatekeepers — ministry leaders and co-workers — to believe they are trustworthy , responsible people . This is intentional : you are not going to trust someone alone with a child in your program unless you believe that person to be trustworthy . This is why , when a sexual abuse crisis is revealed , and people around that circumstance are asked about the alleged perpetrator , we almost always hear “ He seemed like the nicest guy ” or “ She seemed so responsible .” This isn ’ t coincidental ! Molesters groom ministry leaders to get access to children .
# 10 : Prevention of child sexual abuse requires a system of protection There is no standalone safety protocol . An effective Safety System includes :
• Sexual Abuse Awareness Training to equip staff members and volunteers with a better understanding of the characteristics , grooming process and common grooming behaviors of sexual offenders .
• Skillful Screening which uses screening forms and processes meant to elicit a high-risk response , thereby keeping the wolf out of the sheep pen . Skillful screening requires training of intake coordinators and interviewers , providing them with information and tools to recognize high-risk responses on applications , reference forms , or during an interview .
• Appropriate Criminal Background Checks which , while they cannot eliminate risk , can be a helpful tool when used effectively . For each staff member or volunteer , the depth of a criminal background check should be determined by the level of trust or extent of direct contact with children .
• Tailored Policies and Procedures that illustrate a ministry ’ s reasonable efforts to address the risk of child sexual abuse . Policies should be succinct , understandable , and tailored to ministry programs . Remember , policies are what you do , not what you say you do .
• Monitoring and Oversight which requires a periodic review of safety system elements , evaluating new programs and addressing ongoing need for policy updates .
Georgia McKnight is a third-year law student at Duke University School of Law . She is the author of Children Should Win : The FCRA Amendment Necessary to Facilitate Child Protection , addressing the use of background checks in childserving contexts , and has recently completed a rotation in the Duke Law Children ’ s Clinic , providing access to legal services and representation to low-income families .
Kimberlee Norris is a partner in the Fort Worth , Texas law firm of Love & Norris and a co-founder of MinistrySafe , providing child sexual abuse expertise to ministries worldwide . After representing victims of child sexual abuse for more than 30 years , Gregory Love and Kimberlee Norris saw recurring , predictable patterns in predatory behavior . MinistrySafe [ ministrysafe . com ] grew out of a desire to place this information into the hands of ministry professionals , providing effective safety protocols to protect the Church and its children from the devastating impact of child sexual abuse . MinistrySafe trains more than 60,000 ministry personnel each month in live and online formats . Representative clients include the United States Olympic Committee , Awana International , Church of the Nazarene , Methodist Conferences , the Christian
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