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Children are one of our greatest treasures. “Safeguarding” is about recognizing what it means to provide safe places, good boundaries, and critical advocacy on their behalf.
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Tuesday, 25 August 2009 15:05 |
Safeguarding in the Diocese of Indianapolis Q & A
Q: I recently took an online training program. Now I hear there is another training program I need to attend. Is that true?
A: There are THREE components to Safeguarding Training:
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Safeguarding God’s Children may now be taken two ways: online or in person. We encourage you to take Safeguarding God’s Children online. You can take your courses any time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Contact your parish administrator to get signed up for Safeguarding God’s Children online. The platform (in person) version of Safeguarding God’s Children will continue to be offered at least twice a year in the diocese for those who do not have access to high-speed internet connections or those parishes that feel that “in person” simply works better.
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Safeguarding God’s People: Preventing Sexual Exploitation in Communities of Faith addresses the development or attempted development of a sexual relationship between a person in any ministerial position and an individual with whom he or she has a pastoral relationship; this is commonly called adult sexual exploitation.
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Safeguarding God’s People: Preventing Sexual Harassment of Church Workers provides training for employees, volunteers, clergy, managers, supervisors and church leaders about sexual harassment.
Safeguarding God’s People is a new program and will be offered only in platform (in person) version at this time. This program will first be offered by a professional trainer on September 17 at Christian Theological Seminary. You can register for this program at by clicking here. Within a few months following the September 17th offering, additional events will be held at different locations throughout the diocese for those who were not able to attend on September 17. Watch the diocesan website and the weekly mailbag for dates and locations.
Q: Who needs to take these trainings and how often?
A: All trainings are to be refreshed every three years. A quick list of those who need to take the trainings can be found below. For a comprehensive understanding of who need to take the trainings, please review the policies found online at:  Abuse Policies.
- Safeguarding God’s Children:
- all clergy (whether stipendiary or non-stipendiary)
- all employees
- any person (paid or volunteer) who works with, transports or chaperones overnight programs for children or youth
- any person who has keys giving them access to buildings or whose living quarters are on church grounds
- any person who is involved in the screening, selection, and monitoring process of those who work with children and youth (ie. vestry, bishop’s committee, and other institution board members)
- Safeguarding God’s People: Preventing Sexual Exploitation in Communities of Faith:
- all clergy (whether stipendiary or non-stipendiary)
- all employees
- any person (paid or volunteer) who is engaged in a Pastoral Relationship as defined in the policy (ie. Pastoral Leaders, Worship Leaders, Preachers, Eucharistic Visitors, Catechists, etc.)
- any person who appoints, approves, or oversees persons who have a Pastoral Relationship (ie. Standing Committees, Diocesan Councils/Executive Boards, Vestries, Bishop’s committees, Commissions on Ministry, Boards of Directors of schools and diocesan institutions, etc.)
- Safeguarding God’s People: Preventing Sexual Harassment of Church Workers:
- all clergy (whether stipendiary or non-stipendiary)
- all employees, anyone (paid or volunteer) who offers him or herself for a church related service
- any person who appoints, approves, or oversees persons who offer themselves for a church related service (ie. Standing Committees, Diocesan Councils/Executive Boards, Vestries, Bishop’s committees, Commissions on Ministry, Boards of Directors of schools and diocesan institutions, etc.)
- interns, persons in the ordination process and persons serving in field education assignments
On the website you will find one policy statement for each of the three trainings. Additionally you will find a response policy to be used should a sexual abuse situation occur as well as a supporting documents statement. The supporting documents include everything from forms to report an incident and an employment and volunteer application form to suggested interview questions and the history of the Episcopal Church’s stance on keeping our ministries and people safe plus more!
Q. What is a “Pastoral Relationship?”
A. A Pastoral Relationship is a relationship between any clergy person and any person who attends a congregation or other ministry setting in which the clergy person serves and who seeks ministry from the clergy person OR between any clergy person or any duly-appointed lay person (whether employee or volunteer) who is authorized to provide and does provide: counseling; pastoral care; spiritual direction or spiritual guidance; ministration of any Sacrament (other than the distribution of the Bread and Wine by a lay person at a public service of Holy Communion); life/leadership/peer coaching; hearing a person’s confession, in the course of the duly-authorized ministry; OR the following ministers licensed under Canon III.4: Pastoral Leaders, Worship Leaders, Preachers, Eucharistic Visitors, and Catechists and those they serve in the course of these ministries. |
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Last Updated on Sunday, 25 October 2009 21:35 |
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Wednesday, 17 September 2008 09:03 |
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Safeguarding Online™ Rolls Out to Train Church Employees and
Volunteers in Keeping Children Safe From Abuse
The Diocese of Indianapolis is pleased to announce Safeguarding Online™. Safeguarding Online™, the only internet-based training program of its kind, teaching our employees and volunteers how to keep children in our care safe from abuse. Developed by Praesidium, the national leader in abuse risk management and provided by the Church Pension Group, Safeguarding Online™ combines science and technology to deliver the most up-to-date and useful information available.
Safeguarding Online™ is internet-based so you can access it anytime, from anywhere. You just logon to a high-speed internet connection and complete your courses. The step-by-step courses are fun to watch and easy to understand! Each course ends with a brief quiz to ensure that you understand all of this important information. You'll also have a chance to provide feedback on the course content and usability.
The following courses are required by our diocese:
- Meet Sam: Sam abuses children. In this course, he tells you how he gets away with it in programs just like yours. You learn the types of sexual abusers and the methods they use to meet their own needs. You also learn how to spot interactions between adults and children that may indicate danger.
- It Happened to Me: Temper outbursts. Failing grades. Depression. Suicide. These are just a few of the effects of sexual abuse. In this course, you hear children and adults describe the devastating effects abuse has had on their lives. You learn about the prevalence of abuse and specific characteristics that may put some children at higher risk of abuse.
- Keeping Your Church Safe: Children come to us throughout the day, week after week, month after month, and year after year. They expect to learn about God, have fun, make friends, practice skills, and grow in faith. They expect to be safe. In this course, you will learn when and where abuse is most likely to occur in church programs, the steps you can take to keep children safe, and how you can protect yourself from false allegations of abuse.
- Diocese of Indianapolis Policies: This course outlines our policies relevant to the prevention of abuse. To complete the course, you must indicate that you have read, understand, and agree to comply with our policies. For ease of reading you can download them and read a hard copy instead of reading those online (Policies for the Protection of Children and Youth from Abuse).
Documents:
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 19 August 2009 13:05 |
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Friday, 12 October 2007 14:49 |
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Training in the prevention of child sexual abuse is a part of the Church's commitment to provide for the safety and well-being of all children and youth.
Part 1, Safeguarding God's Children for Parents and Congregations, provides a basic understanding of child sexual abuse, how to recognize and respond to signs of abuse, and what to do if you have concerns about an adult's behavior towards a child or youth. This training is required for clergy, church employees, church school teachers, all volunteers who work with children or youth, and Vestry/Bishop's Committee members.
Part 2, Safeguarding God's Children for Ministries, presents information on monitoring and screening procedures that congregations can implement to prevent child sexual abuse. This training is designed for clergy, church employees, and volunteers responsible for planning, implementing or supervising programs for children and youth.
Each part of the training takes approximately 90 minutes.
Contact the diocesan office to schedule trainings.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 05 May 2009 05:52 |
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