Negligent training Effective training is the single most important step a ministry can take to reduce the risk of child sexual abuse . When staff members and volunteers are equipped with the ‘ eyes to see ’ the grooming process of an abuser and key indicators of child sexual abuse , they are better able to protect children in their care . Without effective training , forms are just paper , and policies lack the appropriate foundation . Training should be refreshed regularly , at least every two to three years , and training records must be preserved indefinitely as evidence that appropriate training actually occurred .
Negligent supervision This is the most common cause of action in sexual abuse lawsuits , stemming from any circumstance wherein a child is victimized during church programming — whether or not by a church representative . While in a church ’ s care or participating in a ministry program , children must be properly supervised to ensure safety , including bathroom use and ‘ free play ’ areas — the most common locations of peer-to-peer sexual abuse .
Every ministry program should have written policies in place to ensure sufficient supervision and prevent inappropriate sexual behavior . Policies should address staffing ratios , bathroom use , electronic communication and peer-to-peer interaction , limiting oneto-one interaction between a single worker and child . Policies should be tailored to the specific program , given the age ( s ) of children , facility challenges and inherent risks in the population served , providing a written description of what IS and IS NOT appropriate behavior in that ministry program . Policies should be periodically updated to address change , growth and facility modifications . Each policy version should be preserved to demonstrate policies in place during a particular time frame . Ministry staff members and volunteers must be trained to understand sexual abuse risk associated with specific ministry programs and populations served . Each worker should receive written Policies & Procedures and provide an acknowledgment of ( 1 ) receipt of the policies , and ( 2 ) his or her willingness to embrace and enforce policy provisions . To demonstrate adequate supervision in ministry programs , every ministry should preserve ( 1 ) training records ; ( 2 ) copies of relevant policies , year by year ; and ( 3 ) policy acknowledgments .
RECORD KEEPING FIRE DRILL Like a fire or weather drill , it ’ s imperative to test systems and processes by ‘ drilling ’ a worst-case scenario of any foreseeable risk . Where child sexual abuse is concerned , learning from a past failure may ensure a better result in the future . For purposes of assessment , assume that an allegation is communicated this week forming the basis of claim in five years . Today , what child protection Safety System is in place ? Are staff members and volunteers trained ? Does the ministry have an effective screening process in place , supported by appropriate training ? Are appropriate Background Checks occurring , keyed to position or level of trust ? ( Remember , there is no one-size-fits-all Background Check !) Does the ministry have written policies in each program , tailored to the program in which the policies are used ? Do policies address the abuser ’ s grooming process ? ( For reference , see our most recent article at www . churchexecutive . com / archives / childsexual-abuse-and-background-checks .) If so , can this information be documented and accessed years from now ? The value of the ‘ fire drill ’ is to better evaluate additional steps to beef up preventative efforts while determining which records should be preserved . Based on what the church is doing today , can the following questions be answered in 2028 :
• How was the matter addressed in 2023 , and who was involved in this response ?
• Was the allegation reported to the authorities ? If so , by whom and when ?
• What sexual abuse prevention system was in place in 2023 ?
• If an effective Safety System was in place , do records provide evidence of the System ?
The purpose of this exercise is multifold : does the drill reveal weaknesses that must be addressed to avoid harm to a child ? Is the church ’ s existing Safety System effective ? Does the church have an intentional process in place to create and indefinitely preserve documentation demonstrating the ministry ’ s Safety System ? If not , now is the time to make those changes . Learn more about an effective Safety System [ MinistrySafe . com / the-safetysystem ] or take an online Self-Assessment at MinistrySafe . com / SelfAssessments .
CHURCH MANAGEMENT SOFTWARES If the church relies on Church Management Software ( ChMS ), is there a plan or process in place to periodically document child protection compliance ? ChMS systems typically display information as it currently exists — constantly refreshing to allow church administrators to see real-time information . Does the church ’ s ChMS support a periodic ‘ snapshot ’ of the dashboard or display , capturing time-stamped electronic depictions of compliance at that particular time ? In the future , if a church has a need to demonstrate child protection compliance in 2023 , the ChMS may not be helpful — simply depicting the ‘ data of the day ’. In general , information available through most ChMS systems is current — not past .
MinistrySafe Snapshot / Archive feature MinistrySafe was created by legal professionals who are sexual abuse experts . After decades of litigating sexual abuse cases , MinistrySafe was founded to help churches meet legal standards of care and reduce the risk of sexual abuse using cutting-edge resources and a management system to implement , track and refresh Safety System elements . Given the need for record keeping , MinistrySafe provides a Snapshot / Archive feature , allowing members to periodically take an electronic ‘ snapshot ’ of the Control Panel depicting Safety System compliance . This creates an electronic library entry each time a ‘ snapshot ’ occurs , allowing the church to access and demonstrate Safety System compliance on or near the date when an allegation comes to light . MinistrySafe recommends that each ministry implement the 5-Part Safety System , periodically taking a ‘ snapshot ’ of the member ’ s Control Panel , which visually depicts Safety System elements ( training , Background Checks , applications , reference checks and interviews ). If an allegation from 2023 becomes the subject of litigation in 2028 , the church is able to demonstrate Safety System compliance through time-stamped , electronically archived ‘ snapshots ’. Child sexual abuse constitutes an ongoing risk to churches and ministries , and this will undoubtedly continue . Clearly , prevention is KEY ; in the interim , so long as the possibility of future civil litigation remains , records must be preserved .
Kimberlee Norris and Gregory Love are partners in the Fort Worth , Texas law firm of Love & Norris [ www . LoveNorris . com ] and founders of MinistrySafe [ www . MinistrySafe . com ], providing child sexual abuse expertise to ministries worldwide . After representing victims of child sexual abuse for more than two decades , Love and Norris saw recurring , predictable patterns in predatory behavior . MinistrySafe grew out of their desire to place proactive tools into the hands of ministry professionals . Love and Norris teach the only graduate-level course on ‘ Preventing Sexual Abuse in Ministry Contexts ’ as Visiting Faculty at Dallas Theological Seminary .
80 CHURCH EXECUTIVE • STOP CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE churchexecutive . com