THE CHILD PROTECTION PROGRAM OF
Hope Lutheran Church
I - DEFINITIONS:
The State Michigan defines a child as “a person who is under eighteen (18) years of age or who is reasonably presumed to be under eighteen (18) years of age." Throughout this document, all references to “child” or “children” will assume this definition, as set by the State of Michigan.
II - PURPOSE:
Hope Lutheran Church will provide a safe environment for all children, and comfortable working conditions for all persons who wish to work with children.
III - OBJECTIVES:
A. All children will be treated with courtesy, respect, and Christian concern while attending the programs and activities of Hope Lutheran Church.
B. The activities and programs of Hope Lutheran Church will be as safe as it is humanly possible to make them, and the children will be well supervised while in the care of the church.
C. Paid staff and volunteers who work with children must submit a completed Application as part of the Child Protection Review.
D. Hope Lutheran Church will have adequate preparation for, prevention of, and protection from unnecessary legal liabilities.
IV - PROCEDURES:
A. The Elders or a committee appointed by them will review all persons who work with children. All paid staff of the church and all volunteer workers will be required to complete the Child Protection Review. Only those persons who have completed the Review, and whose Application has been approved by the Elders, will be allowed to teach, transport, or counsel children. Application for the Child Protection Review can be made to the Board of Elders.
B. The church will periodically review The Child Protection Program of Hope Lutheran Church and update it as needed. All paid staff and volunteers will be informed of any updates to The Child Protection Program of Hope Lutheran Church.
C. The Board of Elders will periodically schedule appropriate educational programs concerning child safety for the church at large and those who work with children.
V - WORKER SELECTION - THE CHILD PROTECTION REVIEW
A. Any person who wishes to work with children at Hope Lutheran Church must complete the Child Protection Review through the Elders or an Elder appointed committee. The Child Protection Review requirements include but are not limited to: Reading The Child Protection Program of Hope Lutheran Church, and the submission of a signed Application to Work with Children.
B. Paid Staff:
1. All paid staff will complete The Child Protection Review through the Board of Elders or a committee appointed by the Board of Elders. This review will be conducted before the hiring process is completed in the case of new personnel. The signed Application to Work with Children will be recorded by the secretary of the Board and copies given to the staff member being reviewed if requested.
2. No person may serve on the staff of Hope Lutheran Church who has at any time been found guilty or who has entered a guilty plea in a court of law in any state or locality to charges of physical or sexual abuse of a child.
3. Any active staff member who is convicted of physical or sexual abuse of a child, or who pleads guilty to such charges, will be dismissed from the staff of Hope Lutheran Church by the Elders according to the procedures in the official bylaws of the church.
C. Volunteer Workers:
1. Volunteer workers who wish to work with children in the Sunday School program, children’s church program or any of the youth activity programs for more than two consecutive weeks must be members of Hope Lutheran Church for a period of at least six (6) months as defined by the church bylaws. Occasional exceptions to this guideline can be made by the Board of Elders and should be noted in the official minutes of the Board.
2. Volunteer workers who wish to work in the Sunday School program, children’s church program or any of the youth activities programs for more than two consecutive weeks must apply to the Elders for the Child Protection Review. The review should be completed and the references checked before the volunteer worker is allowed to work in the programs of the church. A signed copy of the Application to Work with Children will be recorded by the secretary of the Board of Elders and copies given to the volunteer being reviewed if requested.
3. Persons who plead guilty or are convicted in a court of law of any form of physical or sexual abuse of a child will be immediately, permanently, and completely disqualified by the Elders from youth work at Hope Lutheran Church. Persons who confess to the Elders any type of physical or sexual abuse of a child, but who have not appeared in a court of law can likewise be disqualified from youth work at Hope Lutheran Church. Volunteer workers can be temporarily disqualified from youth work by the Elders while such charges are investigated.
4. Volunteer workers under the age of 18 who are in direct contact with children will be supervised by an adult who has completed the Child Protection Review.
5. Volunteer workers who are working for less than 2 consecutive weeks that are in direct contact with children will be supervised by an adult who has completed the Child Protection Review.
VI - WORKER SUPERVISION:
A. The Three Adult Rule - At least three adult supervisors (must be at least one of the opposite gender) will be present during all official, scheduled, and public Hope Lutheran Church activities involving children and youth. At least one of the adult supervisors will be over 21 years of age. All supervisors shall have completed the Child Protection Review.
B. The Parental Permission Rule - Hope Lutheran Church staff, long term volunteer workers, and short term volunteer workers will not under the auspices of the church spend time alone with a child in an unsupervised activity unless parental permission is secured in advance of the activity. Notice of the activity should also be given in advance to the Board of Elders or the church staff. As a general principle, there should always be two adults present with a child. Adult supervisors should generally avoid all situations in which one adult and one child are alone together. Private counseling situations in which one child and one adult will be alone together should be arranged only with the permission of parents or guardians and with prior notification given to the Elders or staff, and only at a time and place acceptable to the parents or guardians and the Board of Elders.
C. The Transportation Rule - No Hope Lutheran Church staff or volunteer may transport a child to or from any Hope Lutheran activity without securing either written or verbal permission from the parents or guardians in advance. Anyone transporting children will have a valid driver’s license and current proof of insurance copied and on file in the church office.
D. The Overnight Rule - Any program of Hope Lutheran Church, which includes the supervision of children during overnight activities, will observe the following procedures:
1. Written permission from the parents or guardians of the children involved will be secured in advance.
2. Only those adult supervisors who have completed the Child Protection Interview and who have been approved by the Elders, in advance of the event, will be allowed to attend the activity. There should be at least two approved adults on site with the children at all times.
3. Children will not be allowed to leave the location of the overnight event with anyone except a
parent or guardian, or without written permission of the parents or guardians given in advance.
E. The Nursery Identification Rule - All infants and children who are kept in the church nursery will be supervised by their parent or an adult selected by their parent. Infants and children are not to be left in the nursery unattended at any time.
F. The Suspicious Behavior Rule - Any inappropriate conduct or relationship between an adult and a child should be confronted immediately and investigated by the adult supervisors and the Pastor. This information should be conveyed immediately to the Board of Elders for their discussion and action. Any criminal behavior will be reported immediately to the Pastor or the Department of Human Services according to the official procedures of the church and the Child Abuse Law of 1978. If the youth activities include travel to other states, the laws of the states where the abuse has occurred will also be followed. The parents of the child involved will also be immediately notified by the Pastor or Elders of the church.
VII - OFFICIAL REPORTING PROCEDURES
A. Michigan State Law
1. The State of Michigan’s Child Abuse Law of 1978 requires that persons who have knowledge of abuse or neglect of children report the abuse or neglect to the Department of Human Services within twenty-four hours. Failure to do so can result in criminal or civil action against the person who has knowledge of abuse but does not report it. The penalty for failure to report can be a fine or up to three months imprisonment. The legal concepts of "passive perpetrator”, or “negligent supervision", or “failure to protect" have been used against persons/agencies who did not report cases of abuse. There could be serious implications for civil suits if abuse is not promptly reported
2. In cases of child abuse, the State of Michigan does not recognize “evidentiary privilege.” This means that Pastors, counselors, and others who work with children can be held accountable in court even if there has been a confession of the abuse in a privileged-counseling situation. The State of Michigan holds the safety of the child to be of greater importance than the confidentiality of the counselor. The state law does allow workers within an organization to report the abuse to their direct supervisors, or in the case the Pastors, who in turn can report to the Department of Human Services, if the reporting policy has been submitted in advance to the Department of Human Services for approval.
3. Any youth worker or any other person at Hope Lutheran Church may report abuse directly to the Pastor, who will in turn report to the Department of Human Services. If no Pastor can be located within the 24 hour reporting period required by Michigan law, the youth worker or other persons should report directly to the Department of Human Services at 586-427-0600 or the DHS 24/7 Hotline - 1-855-444-3911.
4. No person, who in good faith, reports an abusive situation can be sued in civil court or charged in criminal court for the accusation. The State of Michigan holds anyone who reports child abuse to be immune from liability. Likewise, no person who in good faith reports an abusive situation can be dismissed from a job for doing so. All reports are held to be confidential by the Department of Human Services.
B. Summary of Reporting Procedures.
1. Any person who has knowledge of child abuse or neglect is obligated by the Michigan
Child Abuse Law of 1978 to report the abuse or neglect to the Department of Human Services at 586-427-0600 or the DHS 24/7 Hotline - 1-855-444-3911, within twenty-four (24) hours. The report will include, to the extent known by the reporter, the name, address, and age of the child; the name and address of the person responsible for the care of the child; and the facts requiring the report.
2. Any staff member or volunteer worker who has knowledge of the abuse of a child is under obligation to report the abuse to the Pastor of the church within twenty-four (24) hours. The Pastor is authorized to report for the church. If a Pastor cannot be located within twenty-four hours, the staff member or volunteer worker must report directly to the Department of Human Services at 586-427-0600 or the DHS 24/7 Hotline - 1-855-444-3911.
3. The parents of the children involved will be notified immediately by the Pastor of the church. If the Pastor cannot be located, the Elders will be contacted to notify the parents.
VIII - THE DEFINITION OF CHILD ABUSE:
3. A. State Requirements in the Child Abuse Law of 1978. - “Any person having knowledge of or called upon to render aid to any child who is suffering from or has sustained any wound, injury, disability, or physical or mental condition which is of such a nature as to reasonably indicate that it has been caused by brutality, abuse or neglect or which on the basis of available information reasonably appears to have been caused by brutality, abuse or neglect, shall report such harm immediately, by telephone or otherwise, to the judge having juvenile jurisdiction or to the county office of the department, (Department of Human Services, 586-427-0600 or the DHS 24/7 Hotline - 1-855-444-3911 or to the office of the sheriff or the chief law enforcement official of the municipality where the child resides."
B. Sexual Abuse - The legal definition of sexual abuse varies from state to state. In most cases, sexual abuse generally includes any form of sexual contact or exploitation in which a minor is being used for the sexual stimulation of the perpetrator. The National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse defines sexual abuse as follows: "Any sexual activity with a child - whether in the home by a caretaker, in a day care situation, a foster/residential setting, or in any other setting, including on the street by a person unknown to the child. The abuser may be an adult, an adolescent, or another child, provided the child is four years older than the victim." For the purposes of Hope Lutheran Church, any sexual activity with a child is considered abuse and must be reported. Child sexual abuse may be violent or non-violent. It may include touching, but does not necessarily need to include touching to be classified as sexual abuse. Any form of sexual activity with a child will immediately, completely, and permanently disqualify any person from working with children at Hope Lutheran Church.