Our Safeguarding Toolkits present practical tools that churches, and especially church leaders, may find useful. All resources are public access and reproducible.
Developing a Safeguarding Team
The simple goal of a standing Safeguarding Team (or Safety Team) is to facilitate the essential prevention and response actions within a church or organization. It is recommended that leaders outline the exact duties of and expectations for a Safeguarding Team. There is no cost to view, download, and share this resource. If you have any questions about this material or would like further assistance in setting up a safety team, you are welcome to contact our Safeguarding Initiative experts here.
Safety on Student Trips
When taking students on a trip, the starting point is to uphold key boundaries from your policy that usually apply. This consistency will help you. You take the same approach as you do with other activities, you just apply key policy commitments in the trip context. So policy boundaries will still apply to issues of isolation, respect in touch, respect in words, and not sharing sexualized content.The key is to think about how the boundaries apply in the specific context of the trip and bring clarity to these expectations.
Also see GRACE’s article on “Questions To Ask Before Sending Your Child on a Church Trip”
Supporting Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence
These are some practical words of advice if you are in the position to provide support to someone experiencing intimate partner violence.
Children’s Bureau (January 2018): The Risk and Prevention of Maltreatment of Children With Disabilities
This bulletin for professionals describes the scope of the problem, risk factors, and strategies for prevention. It examines the problem in terms of statistics and research; covers critical issues encountered when assessing a child with a disability for maltreatment; and provides information about promising prevention, collaboration, and training approaches. The bulletin also includes a listing of helpful resources.
Victor Veith (2011): Suffer The Children: Developing Effective Church Policies On Child Maltreatment
This article includes ten concrete suggestions for faith institutions that will aid in developing and implementing policies more likely to keep children safe. According to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” Faith communities must recognize the attraction of child abusers to their institutions and must be proactive in keeping children safe. Failure to do so will result in additional cases of abuse, and in lifetimes of agonizing physical, emotional and spiritual damage.
Pete Singer (2018): Coordinating Pastoral Care of Survivors with Mental Health Providers
Individual efforts to coordinate spiritual and mental health care tend to give people in both arenas more pause than community efforts. Vestiges of the historic mistrust between these fields emerge, and people wonder if collaboration is an admission of inadequacy.! Viewing this partnership as cooperative with defined roles, rather than an abdication of authority and expertise, can ease both of these concerns.
Children’s Bureau (April 2019): What Is Child Abuse and Neglect? Recognizing the Signs and Symptoms
The first step in helping children who have been abused or neglected is learning to recognize the signs of maltreatment. The presence of a single sign does not necessarily mean that child maltreatment is occurring in a family, but a closer look at the situation may be warranted when these signs appear repeatedly or in combination. This factsheet is intended to help you better understand the Federal definition of child abuse and neglect; learn about the different types of abuse and neglect, including human trafficking; and recognize their signs and symptoms. It also includes additional resources with information on how to effectively identify and report maltreatment and refer children who have been maltreated.
Boz Tchividjian (2018): Responding with Excellence to an Allegation of Sexual Abuse within the Church
It's not a matter of if, but when, a church is faced with reports of child sexual abuse perpetrated by a member of their own community, whether it be pastoral staff, a volunteer, or a member of the congregation. Al too often, this alleged offender will be a widely respected, influential, and well-loved individual. How a faith institution confronts and responds to such a disclosure will not only have potential to save or destroy lives but wil also speak volumes about whether it places the lives of individuals over the reputation and life of the institution. The purpose of this article is to provide some fundamentals on effective ways for congregations to respond to child sexual abuse disclosures.
SAMHSA (2014): Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach
Trauma researchers, practitioners and survivors have recognized that the understanding of trauma and trauma-specific interventions is not sufficient to optimize outcomes for trauma survivors. Referred to variably as “trauma-informed care” or “trauma- informed approach” this framework is regarded as essential to the context of care. SAMHSA’s concept of a trauma-informed approach is grounded in a set of four assumptions and six key principles.
Cory Jewell Jensen (2018): Understanding and Working with Adult Sex Offenders in the Church
Understanding the complexities involved in child sexual abuse and sex offender behavior (i.e., the prevalence, etiology, grooming and treatment/risk management strategies) can go a long way in helping religious institutions become better equipped to safeguard children, fulfill their missions and help offenders avoid putting their own lives and souls at further risk. Although this article cannot address all of the complexities involved, ti can serve as an introduction and a guide for obtaining additional resources.
Cory Jewell Jensen M.S., CCSOT, is a sex offender treatment provider who currently works for CBI Consulting, Inc. as a trainer and consultant on Child Abuse Prevention, and Sex Offender Behavior and Risk Management.