Safe Sanctuaries Policies and Procedures for the Prevention of Abuse

1. Safe SanctuariesPolicies and Procedures for the Prevention of Abuse

2. Prayer of Invocation Gracious and most merciful God, you have brought us together in witness to your love for all children. Open our hearts and minds in this moment and prepare us to receive your message. Show us your will and fill us to overflowing with courage to face the reality of abuse within our midst. Give us energy and dedication enough, to make this, your church, a holy and hallowed place where all your children may be safe and secure as they grow in faith and in their knowledge of your presence in their lives! Amen. Opening Invocation

3. Exodus 22:21-23 – You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry. • Matthew 19:14 – Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” • Luke 9:46-48 – An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side, and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.” Scriptures

4. The short answer … 1996 • Since 1996 there has been a push to encourage every church to have a Safe Sanctuaries policy and procedure. • The United Methodist Church is the leader across all denominations in Safe Sanctuaries. Other churches are coming to The UMC for policies and procedures as well as training How long has Safe Sanctuaries been around?

5. Yes, abuse really does happen in the church. Abuse happens in churches of all sizes and in all areas. • We can help prevent most of the abuse that happens in a church with a set of procedures. • We will not eliminate 100 % of abuse, but by having procedures in place within a local congregation, predators will be deterred. Does abuse really happen in the church?

6. Sheffield, AL (7/31) Sheffield Police are investigating a former youth and music minister after allegations of child sexual abuse.  • MONTGOMERY, AL (03/2011) - A former Montgomery church employee and author has been arrested on accusations of child abuse and sexual torture. • A Dekalb County preacher charged with sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy at his church. • A church piano player accused of molesting a 7-year-old girl in Etowah County. • May 4, 2013 Tallassee man charged in 'horrific' child sexual abuse case. According to police, Stephen Norman Conrad Jr., 31, of Worthington Circle, Tallassee, has confessed to the sexual abuse of at least eight children. (Montgomery Advertiser) Abuse Cases

7. CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT In 2010, Alabama had 20,159 total referrals for child abuse and neglect. Of those, 19,900 reports were referred for investigation. In 2010, 9,586 children were victims of abuse or neglect in Alabama, a rate of 9.5 per 1,000 children, representing a 15.6% increase from 2009. Of these children, 37.6% were neglected, 50.0% were physically abused, and 22.5% were sexually abused. The number of child victims has increased 2.2% in comparison to the number of victims in 2006. In 2010, 13 children in Alabama died as a result of abuse or neglect. http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/statefactsheets/2012/alabama.pdf State of Alabama Statistics

8. 2011 NATIONAL ABUSE STATISTICS • During 2011, an estimated 3.4 million referrals involving the alleged maltreatment of approximately 6.2 million children were made to CPS agencies. • For 2011, nearly three-fifths (57.6 percent) of all reports of alleged child abuse or neglect were made by professionals. The term “professional” means that the person had contact with the alleged child maltreatment victim as part of the report source’s job. The remaining reports were made by nonprofessionals and other unclassified reporters, including friends, neighbors, sports coaches, and relatives. • In 2011, an estimated 681,000 children were victims of abuse and neglect nationwide (unique count). Among the children confirmed as victims by CPS agencies in 2011 (all of the following numbers refer to unique victims): • Children in the age group of birth to 1 year had the highest rate of victimization at 21.2 per 1,000 children of the same age group in the national population. • Slightly more than one-half (51.1 percent) of the child victims were girls, and 48.6 percent were boys. The gender was unknown for less than 1 percent of victims. National Statistics

9. 2011 NATIONAL ABUSE STATISTICS • As in prior years, neglect was the most common form of child maltreatment. CPS investigations determined the following (all of the following numbers refer to unique victims): More than 75 percent (78.5 percent) of victims suffered neglect. More than 15 percent (17.6 percent) of the victims suffered physical abuse. Fewer than 10 percent (9.1 percent) of the victims suffered sexual abuse. Fewer than 10 percent (9.0 percent) of the victims suffered psychological maltreatment. • In 2011, States reported a total duplicate count of 885,003 perpetrators (counting an individual each time a report is made) and a total unique count of 508,849 perpetrators (each perpetrator counted once, regardless of the number of children or reports involved). • Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2013). Child Maltreatment 2011: Summary of key findings. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau. National Statistics

10. These reports and data demonstrate that we cannot ignore the possibility that abuse could happen here. For the sake of our children and youth and the protection of our workers against false allegations, we need to intentionally work to prevent abuse. Safe Sanctuaries

11. 1. Our church is a community of faith that can offer a safe haven and sanctuary where children, youth, and adults can seek advice, help, and nurture. • 2. Our church is a place where more than just facts of abuse can be taught. We can also teach and proclaim our Christian values: compassion, justice, repentance, and grace. • 3. Our church is the place where all can come to learn and develop the inner strength and spiritual resources they will need to feel truly connected to God and to face suffering and evil. • 4. Our church can be the place where children and adults are able to learn how to respond to painful and confusing events using the wisdom of the Scripture. Why does our church need a policy?

12. Children are birth through about 6th grade depending on the school system you follow • Youth are about 7th grade through 12th graders • Vulnerable adults are two groups • Those who are mentally and / or physically disabled • Those adults who volunteer or are staff under the assumption that the church is protecting them -- all of our Sunday School teachers, volunteers, and other staff. What are children, youth, and vulnerable adults?

13. Definitions of Abuse: • Physical abuse – abuse in which a person deliberately and intentionally causes bodily harm to a child. • Emotional abuse – abuse in which a person exposes a child to spoken and/or unspoken violence or emotional cruelty. Definitions of Abuse

14. Neglect – abuse in which a person endangers a child’s health, safety, or welfare through negligence. • Sexual abuse – abuse in which sexual contact between a child and an adult (or another older and more powerful youth) occurs. • Ritual abuse – abuse in which physical, sexual, or psychological violations of a child are inflicted regularly, intentionally, and in a stylized way by a person or persons responsible for the child’s welfare. • Abuse of vulnerable adults – ritual, emotional, or sexual abuse of any person over 19 years of age with physical, mental and/or developmental disabilities. Definitions of Abuse

15. Abusers of children and youth are more often than not familiar adults trusted by others. • Less than twenty percent of child abuse is perpetrated by strangers. Just as victims of abuse come from all segments of society, abusers can be from any racial, ethnic, economic, and social group. They will come into contact with their victim through their work in ministry or through their association with the congregation. Who are Abusers?

16. DUMC Policy – refer to handout Safe Sanctuaries

17. Screening of Staff • All staff undergo a background check conducted by Trak-1 Technologies. This is a 50 state multi-level background check. All documents are maintained in the Office of the Ministry Coordinator. Safe Sanctuaries

18. Training of Staff • Participation in this workshop. • Complete understanding of DUMC policies and procedures. Safe Sanctuaries

19. Alabama’s mandatory child abuse and neglect reporting law states that all school teachers and officials, social workers, day care workers or employees, mental health professionals, members of the clergy as defined in Rule 505 of the Alabama Rules of Evidence, or any other person called upon to render aid or medical assistance to any child, when the child is known or suspected to be a victim of child abuse or neglect, shall be required to report, or cause a report to be made of the same, orally, either by telephone or direct communication immediately, followed by a written report, to a duly constituted authority. When an initial report is made to a law enforcement official, the official subsequently shall inform the Department of Human Resources of the report so that the department can carry out its responsibility to provide protective services when deemed appropriate to the respective child or children. Reporting abuse or alleged abuse in Alabama

20. All suspicions or concerns of abuse are to be brought to the Preschool Director ONLY!. • Do not under any circumstances talk about suspicions or concerns of abuse with ANYONE other than the Preschool Director (i.e. other staff, parents, family members, etc.). • Appropriate steps will be taken by the Preschool or Church Office and staff. Reporting abuse or alleged abuse in Alabama

21. Protecting Your Image (Literally!) • Posting pictures on the internet has become a common practice. Social networking • sites such as Facebook and Myspace encourage users to post albums of pictures for • friends to see. Entire websites, including Flickr and Webshots, use picture posting as • a primary means of building community. Similarly, our names are showing up in more • places around the web. As more and more of our lives move into the online realm, • our names are finding their way into increasing numbers of online databases. E-mail • lists, newsletters, online purchases – all of these activities increase the exposure of • our names and other pieces of personal information. • Our need for vigilance, then, needs to increase as well. As we seek to be “wise as • serpents” in our connected world, we must recognize the possibility for danger as our • online presence grows. Some suggestions to help in this effort: • ƒ Be mindful of the pictures you post. Once an image is online, it is available • to anyone who wants to download it and use it – for good and bad. Even if • you remove the image eventually, there is no way to tell who already has it • stored on their hard drive somewhere else. • ƒ If you are posting pictures on a church website, post group pictures, not • pictures of individuals. Don’t use identifying information such as names; • instead, just label the picture with the activity, such as “Ski Trip 2009” or • “District Rally.” • ƒ Make sure that you have permission to post pictures on websites or use • pictures in publicity pieces. • Common sense is the rule of the day. Remember – if you wouldn’t give that picture or • your personal information to a complete stranger in the real world, it shouldn’t • happen online either.

22. What happens if you do not have a policy and procedure and an incident happens? • Without a policy and procedure, if there is an incident, you are liable. A church that has even an accusation can find itself in spiritual, emotional, and financial ruin. If you do not have a policy and you are sued you will find that there is not much leg to stand on. If you have a policy and have not followed your procedures you are in as bad a place. Still not convinced?

23. If you have a policy and procedure and you have been following it and there is an incident • One you know what to do • Two you have done due diligence to protect the children, youth, and vulnerable adults • You have a higher chance of not being found at fault in a law suit Still not convinced?

24. Luke 9:46-48 – An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side, and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.” Safe Sanctuaries

25. Questions and Answers…. ???

26. Benediction May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit guide and direct you in all you do. Amen. Safe Sanctuaries