Child Safety Resources
Child safety is one of the most important parts of any children's minister's job, yet for so many churches, it is completely overlooked. With such high numbers of children being hurt each year, churches must be a safe haven! So many don't want to believe this problem really exists, or that it couldn't happen to my child or at my church. Unless you've been living in a hole, you know it happens in "your" church and to "your" kids. Not only are children in danger of child molesters (who, by the way, often seek out churches because of the lack of screening and the atmosphere of trust) but your congregation may be at a greater risk of being sued. As someone who has personally worked with children of all ages, races and sex who have been physically, emotionally and sexually abused, please take this seriously. By the way, most children are abused by people they know, and often these people abuse many, many children before they are caught. By checking and screening out those with past child abuse issues, we are not saying we do not acknowledge or accept the grace and forgive of Jesus Christ. However, we are saying people with these past issues can not work with our children, but will be directed to other areas of service in the Lord's church.
Church Safety Programs/Resources
Good Shepherd Program - This is a complete church safety program. It comes with a manual and CD-Rom so you can tailor the program to your needs. All forms, policies and booklets are included and reproducible. A very complete program created for churches by ministers, legal experts. A Nexus-Solutions product. I CAN NO LONGER FIND THIS PROGRAM AT THEIR PREVIOUS SITE, SO IT MAY NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE.
Caring for Sexually Abused Children: A Handbook for Families &
Churches
- by Dr. R. Timothy Kearney. You can
buy this book at Christian Book
Distributor's web page. click here
to order
Sex Offender Data Bases - most states have sex offenders listed online (many are free). I have heard that churches could possibly be liable if someone is on a list and they don't check and a child gets hurt. Liable or not, we owe it to our children to keep them safe.
Texas Sex Offender Data Bases
http://records.txdps.state.tx.us/soSearch/soSearch.cfm
www.openrecords.org/records/sexual_offenders/texas/
I also use Public Data.com for criminal checks. It is a subscription service, but it's price is incomparable.