• Why do you need that?
• How do you keep that information safe?
• How are we supposed to keep that information safe?

These questions and more just like them have been brought to the forefront of our industry because of identity theft and I completely understand the concern. But I think before we can even address those issues it’s important to understand the “why” behind it all. Why do we ask for the SSN in the first place?

The History

Once upon a time social security numbers could be found on criminal records. When you requested someone’s background report you would submit the name, date of birth, and social. That is no longer the case. Because most criminal records are public information, individuals with criminal records on file were having their identity stolen because of the amount of information listed on those public files. Now only certain law enforcement records have criminal data files with the social still attached.

The Present

The social security number provides valuable information on your volunteer, including their previous addresses as well any names that have been associated with that SSN. This is important for two reasons: First, it verifies that the person is who they are telling you they are. Second, it will help you determine where you should be focusing your attention as far as your criminal search goes. If your applicant tells you they have lived their whole life in Florida but the SSN shows addresses in WA, NC, TX, etc…well now you have some questions to ask.

New and Improved!

 While those features are valuable in and of themselves, Protect My Ministry has added even more new features to our SSN trace. With our new and improved national, we automatically run every alias that is under the social security number through the national database. This means if you do a background check on a married woman but you only search the married name, as long as her maiden name is listed under the social, we will search both names through the national database automatically at no additional charge to you! We will also re-verify any records we find to make sure it belongs to your person. This new feature will help eliminate cases of human error because it will automatically run the name reported on the SSN trace as well as the name requested, so if you misspell your applicants name our system will catch it for you! This added value is available through Protect My Ministry and ensures that we will continue to consistently provide the best, most accurate background check at the lowest possible price to churches.

For more information about this and other background screening programs by Protect My Ministry please visit - www.protectmyministry.com

Penn State Scandal

As I am sure you have heard by now, Penn State university has been rocked by the scandal of a former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, who is accused of sexually assaulting young boys beginning as early as the mid 90’s and continuing throughout and after his tenure at Penn State.

Where Did Coach Paterno Go Wrong?

According to the attorney general report there are several accusations of assault happening both on and off campus property with one in particular being witnessed by a graduate assistant who reported what he witnessed to head football coach Joe Paterno. Paterno then reported the incident to his immediate supervisor who escalated the incident to senior staff, but never University Police or local officials.

The Grand Jury concluded that the sexual assault of a minor male in 2002 should have been reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare and/or a law enforcement agency such as University Police or the Pennsylvania State Police in accordance with Pennsylvania’s mandatory reporting statute for suspected child abuse.

Most people don’t disagree with Joe Paterno first reporting to his direct supervisor what he heard from his graduate assistant about Jerry Sandusky assaulting a boy in a Penn State athletics facility shower room. You shouldn’t have to go over your supervisor’s head and report an incident to the police. What we can’t accept is why he waited a day to tell Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and why he didn’t make sure that Curley went immediately to the police with the report. We now know that Curley did not go to the police at all – and Paterno left the matter alone.

What Can We Learn?

In the light of this horrific tragedy, being angry and shocked is simply not enough. What happened at Penn State needs to go beyond anger, surprise, sensationalism, and lengthy news coverage. Every organization that works with children needs to look at what happened and do some self-evaluation of their current sexual abuse prevention strategies. Don’t be afraid to make changes.

Policies Protect Children

Start with a clear policy and guidelines on what is acceptable and not acceptable.  The consequences of not having a child protection policy in place far outweigh the cost of implementing them.  As fathers, mothers and caretakers we don’t care what the cost is to protect our own children.  Churches and ministries should have the same level of protection in place that you would choose for your own children. 

It’s not difficult to establish a policy with clear, enforceable child protection guidelines.  The basic tenants of your policy should include background checks for staff and volunteers in the church that work with minors, including criminal and sex offender history checks.  And because only 1 in 10 sexual abusers has a criminal history it is also imperative to have mandatory child safety training on the topic of sexual abuse prevention and awareness.  

Be sure to get signed agreements from volunteers stating they have read and understand the policy and agree to adhere to the requirements of the policy. Enforcing the policy is essential to demonstrating that your organization has performed the necessary due diligence, in case someone still manages to slip through the cracks.

Children Won’t Always Tell

Next it is paramount that we figure out how to get kids to understand when something wrong has been done to them – and then report it to the right people. It is terrifying how pedophiles are able to keep their victims silent. Children remain silent because their abuser scares them into silence; there can also be shame and embarrassment, and sometimes even a feeling of affection for the person molesting them. Silence is terrible because it protects and enables the molester to keep on molesting, and it deprives the victims of the help they need. Studies have shown the average sexual predator victimizes 120 before being caught.

Predators Are On The Prowl

It is not enough to say “we know everyone” or “that will never happen here.” The church is a target for predators.  Predators are eager to volunteer to work with children and typically won’t wait long before gaining access.  If access is not permitted they will move to another target.  The six-month rule is a great way to weed out any potential predators.

About Protect My Ministry

Protect My Ministry continues to work diligently to educate churches in the area of ministry protection and provides resources can assist any ministry in the creating and maintain a safe environment for those entrusted to their care.  Our proprietary processes, products and solutions have made Protect My Ministry the industry leader for volunteer background checks, child safety training and risk management solutions.

For more information go to www.protectmyministry.com

As the session came to a close everyone was asked to fill out a background check authorization form and put them in a bin on their way out the door. As my friend, who has a professional security background, completed his form and dropped it in the bin he later confided in me that he was uncomfortable dropping a piece of paper in an open-lid box when that piece of paper contained his full legal name, date of birth, and social security number on it. That information is all anyone would need to open a credit card in his name and steal his identity, but what choice did he have?

Protect My Ministry recognized this as a problem several years ago and created Ministry Moblizer, a completely paperless system that allows churches to process background checks online without the need for a paper application. Here are 3 reasons paperless is the best way to go:

1. Convenience

For the church and the volunteer, being able to submit an application online from the privacy of your home is much easier than filling out a paper form. And the church doesn’t have to enter any of the volunteer information since it is electronically sent to an online account for the church. The background check can then be ordered with the click of a button making your life much easier.

2. Security

Many people just like my friend are nervous about leaving their information on a paper form in a filing cabinet that can be accessed by others, even if it is locked. Having no paper forms on-site at the church will put many of your volunteers’ minds at ease.

3. Speed

I remember sitting in a volunteer meeting one Sunday after church going over new safety procedures. We walked through several handbooks and we were given our paperwork to take home, fill out, and bring back the following week. I wish I could say I was a responsible adult in this situation, but unfortunately I cannot. And according to the many of the church employees I talk to neither can a lot of other volunteers. Actually, I’m pretty sure it’s still on a desk somewhere…two years later. Being able to fill something out quickly and conveniently online makes your volunteers much more likely to complete the necessary paperwork in a timely manner.

So if you are tired of filing paperwork, data entry, and collecting dozens or even hundreds of forms, give us a call. We can help!

Please visit http://www.protectmyministry.com/Background-Checks for more information.

As a child I remember every summer experiencing summer heat, baseball, trips to the beach, and VBS. No matter how busy my parents were or what the rest of the summer looked like VBS was always a part of my childhood.

Somewhere between kickball and macaroni art that my parents still have in a box somewhere, the teachers and volunteers taught that Jesus loved me and wanted to know me. There were puppets and videos all pointing to a message that was God-centered and child-specific. Methods have evolved and the curriculum is new and exciting, but the goal has remained the same: To create a safe environment where kids can learn about Jesus and have fun!  

Unfortunately times have changed and there is one area where things are very different; the threat and concerns for the safety of our children. Twenty years ago very few churches had detailed safety procedures in place for VBS or children’s ministry in general! Today child protection is something we can’t be too careful about and even though VBS is a one-time event it deserves the same care and attention we give to our weekly programs.

This means implementing a child protection policy that includes the careful screening of volunteers through a criminal background check and personal interviews. Some churches check referrals or have child-safety training to help volunteers spot signs of abuse and ways to prevent it from occurring. Making sure you have these measures in place not only protects the children in your care, but also gives directors and parents a sense of peace about those who are watching the children which will increase attendance.

Let’s do all we can to keep VBS a safe, fun environment for our children to learn the good news of Jesus Christ for the glory of God!

Read this definition of grooming as taken from Wikipedia:

Child grooming refers to actions deliberately undertaken with the aim of befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a child, in order to lower the child’s inhibitions in preparation for sexual activity with the child, or exploitation.  Child grooming may be used to lure minors into illicit businesses such as child prostitution or the production of child pornography.^[1][2][3]

Although worldwide case law has an inherently heterogeneous history of offenders, generally child sexual abuse occurs at the hands of someone personally close and well known to that child. Thus, abuse is usually preceded by grooming.^[4]

Child grooming involves psychological manipulation in the form of positive reinforcement and foot-in-the-door tactics, using activities that are typically legal but later lead to illegal activities. This is done to gain the child’s trust as well as the trust of those responsible for the child’s well-being. Additionally, a trusting relationship with the family means the child’s parents are less likely to believe potential accusations.^[5]

In the case of sexual grooming, child pornography images are often shown to the child as part of the grooming process.^[1][2][3]

To establish a good relationship with the child and the child’s family, child groomers might do several things. For example, they might take an undue interest in someone else’s child, to be the child’s “special” friend to gain the child’s trust. They might give gifts or money to the child for no apparent reason (toys, dolls, etc.). They may show pornography—videos or pictures—to the child, hoping to make it easy for the child to accept such acts, thus normalizing the behavior. They may simply talk about sexual topics. These are just some of the methods a child groomer might use to gain a child’s trust and affection in order to allow them to do what they want. Hugging and kissing or other physical contact, even when the child does not want it, can happen. To the groomer, this is a way to get close. They might talk about problems normally discussed between adults, or at least people of the same age. Topics might include marital problems and other conflicts. They may try to gain the child’s parents’ trust by befriending them, with the goal of easy access to the child. The child groomer might look for opportunities to have time alone with the child. This can be done by offering to babysit. The groomer may invite the child for sleepovers. This gives them the opportunity to sleep in the same room or even the same bed with the child.

Actions such as online communication have been defended by suspected offenders using the so-called ‘fantasy defense’, in which those accused argue that they were only expressing fantasies and not plans of future behavior. In the U.S., case law draws a distinction between those two and some people accused of ‘grooming’ have successfully used this defense.^[4]

If you are a church or volunteer at a church and want to implement a child safety system then you might find information available at www.protectmyministry.com - they have solutions that can help.

• Written policies with signed agreements from all volunteers
• Camera systems/video monitoring
• Sophisticated check-in systems
• Two-person rule for all classroom settings
• Child Safety Training

The value of these and especially the Child Safety training cannot be overstated. In fact, 90% of those that commit crimes in the church do not have a criminal history so the background checks are limited in preventing predators from making it through the front door. Take the following case as an example:

Upon investigating the home of Joseph Emil Klug in September of 2009, FBI agents found the equivalent of a truckload of child pornography. Klug volunteered for the Royal Rangers program, a church ministry for boys, and frequently had access to camping trips and other overnight activites. During those activities Klug would secretly film boys in his group showering and going to the bathroom. Klug had no prior criminal records that would have indicated he was a sexual predator.

A final report concluded that Klug had collected about 59,000 images and 12,000 videos of minors engaging in sex. Some of those images contained sexual assaults involving infants and prepubescent children, bondage, and bestiality. Klug had also falsely portrayed himself as a father of a boy in online chat rooms and provided advice on how to groom and assault children while avoiding getting caught.

And that is the key. There is a method and a process that predators follow in order to gain access to vulnerable persons and build a relationship with those they intend to abuse. Protect My Ministry offers a child safety training  program to help churches put safeguards in place and teach other volunteers how to spot signs of grooming and other red flags. This can help stop an abuser before they ever gain the trust of other parents and volunteers and help make your church a safe place.

For more information about Protect My Ministry’s child safety training click here.

Go to www.protectmyministry.com for more information about volunteer background checks.

Church Child Protection By Protect My Ministry

What steps can a church take to increase church child protection that is practical and affordable? The first step is to honestly assess where your church stands right now. It is important to recognize there are external threats and internal threats.

The most obvious external threat is a child abduction attempt. This happens rarely. Many churches have adopted strict policies regarding check in and check out procedures, and numerous software programs have been introduced into the market to help church staff keep track of children entering into their ministry area. These are often expensive software programs that require hardware purchases as well.

The unfortunate truth is most incidents of violence against children in church are committed by people internally.

Church child abuse usually involves a trusted adult, who tenaciously works to groom and develop relationships with children under their care. A church can easily implement several steps to dramatically increase the safety and security of children at church.

First, churches should write comprehensive policies and procedures covering access points to the child ministry area, releasing of children to responsible adults, who is allowed to teach, and the requirements for anyone given this responsibility.

It is important to train your staff and volunteers in the policies and procedures. The weakest point in any policy is when someone doesn’t follow a policy. It leaves children vulnerable and having a weak link in the process exposes children to unnecessary risk. Training staff and volunteers should include expectations of each volunteer, explicit directions for carrying out the policy, and a review of the policy every year.

Secondly, a comprehensive church child protection strategy should include training all staff and volunteers in recognizing child predators, signs of abuse, and the important reporting steps they should take if they believe a child is being abused. This is an area that should not be ignored due to the liability churches may face if a child is abused. Churches often have good intentions of providing training to their staff and volunteers, but this is one area that falls through the cracks due to the turnover rate and influx of new people into the children’s ministry. It is difficult to keep accurate records and track who has taken the training and who has not.

Thirdly, churches should consider instituting a church background check program for all staff and volunteers who have access to children or children’s ministry areas. A background check program for churches may be enough to dissuade child predators from becoming involved in the children’s ministry, and may provide information on any applicant that may disqualify him from teaching.

The biggest obstacle for most churches is admitting a child left in their care could be hurt on church property by one of their own members. The next obstacle may be where to begin with the large task of implementing a church child safety policy. Protect My Ministry, the nation’s leading background check company, offers churches guidance on the best course of action to reduce church child abuse. They offer a complete risk management solution that saves time, helps churches organize the church background check process, and offers an opportunity for easily trackable child safety training through its Ministry Mobilizer solution.

Church leaders can now easily implement a child safety program that tracks all activity, helps conduct background checks easily, alerts when background checks needs to be completed, provides release forms, and provides internet based software that allows both ministry leaders and volunteers to securely input personal information. Protect My Ministry also provides a complete online child safety course that allows volunteers to watch videos when convenient for them and notifies ministry leaders when this has been accomplished.

If you are researching church child protection policies, church background checks or child safety training for your staff and volunteers, you are invited to contact Protect My Ministry at 800-319-5581. They also provide free videos for anyone seeking more information about how to implement church background checks. Click here to sign up for the church child protection videos.

Myth # 3 – “I am running a national search, so I am getting everything from every state.”

Fact – There is not a national database that comprehensively covers all 50 states criminal information. One of the reasons Protect My Ministry created an online consultation is because the type of information we get from the national database varies from state to state. Some states, like North Carolina and Texas, update their information regularly and include details on felonies, misdemeanors, convictions, and non-convictions. Other states, like Georgia and Alabama, only report felony convictions. So the type of search you run really varies depending on how much information you are looking for and how well your state reports.

Myth # 4 – “It’s not in the budget right now; we’ll just use people we know.”

Fact – You really cannot afford not to screen your volunteers. Within this objection are really two problems. First there is the assumption that you actually do know everyone in your congregation. No matter the size, one could question how well you know each person that comes through your doors. I know of a case where there was a check run on an assistant pastor who had just graduated from Bible College. After investigation it was discovered that while he was in college he had two felony arrests for spouse abuse and child abuse, as well as a restraining order against him. Sometimes you just never know. The other problem with this line of thinking is the court and legal cost the church could face if there is an allegation and there is not a child safety policy in place that includes background screening of volunteers. I have heard on several occasions that the cost to defend a church against a frivolous child molestation lawsuit can be $80,000-$100,000! And that’s just to prove that nothing happened! Background checks are cheap insurance compared to that.

For more information go to www.protectmyministry.com