Safe Church Programming
Your Boundaries. Your Call! helps teens stay safe
Upcoming Training Events
Safeguarding God's Children Trainings
St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church in North Atlanta will be hosting a Safeguarding God's Children training for anyone who needs it on Saturday, August 16 from 9:00am to 12:00 noon. You must RSVP by Monday, August 11th to Kim Branch at 404-266-1018 or at stdunstansatl@earthlink.net.
St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Dunwoody will host two Safeguarding God's Children trainings in August:
Sunday, August 17 from 1 pm - 4 pm
Saturday, August 23 from 9:30am - 12:30pm
The trainer is The Rev. Mary Erickson and there will be a charge of $5.00 per person. Please email Mary at merickson@stmartins.org to register for either class. Be sure you specify which class you will be attending.
If your parish is interested in hosting a training, please contact Linda at the Episcopal diocesan office and we will schedule one for you.
Protecting Our Children: We must prevent and respond to all kinds of abuse
by Katharine Jefferts Schori (Presiding Bishop)
[from Episcopal Life] I had a remarkable encounter recently with a young woman who still bears the scars from abuse she experienced as a child. She has a deep and abiding faith in God, but not much use for religion. She asked me a hard question: "How can your church help to prevent the same thing from happening to other children?"
It's a haunting question, but it is one that many, many Episcopalians and their congregations are engaged in addressing. How do we answer her question, and the same question that is asked on behalf of those who have not yet found their voices?
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_84669_ENG_HTM.htm
Your Boundaries. Your Call! helps teens stay safe
A new course from Praesidium is now available in the Diocese of Atlanta. It's called Your Boundaries. Your Call! and it specifically designed to teach middle-and high-school youths self-protection skills. It uses a three-part DVD series and guided group discussion to teach kids how to recognize their personal boundaries, how to respond if someone tries to violate their boundaries, and what to do if someone is sexually abusing them or someone they know.
This course will be taught initially at the parish level by one of our diocesan credentialed professional trainers. We are also available to provide additional information about the class to clergy, staff and parents prior to the class being offered to the youth. We think this is an excellent course for this age group and recommend it to you. To learn more online, click HERE to connect with a description and sample.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the possibility of using it in your parish, please contact Linda Scott or phone her at 404-601-5353 or 800-537-6743 x 155.
Online Training Opportunity to Prevent Child Abuse
The Church Pension Group has announced that the Armatus internet-based training is now called SAFEGUARDING ONLINE. First offered as a pilot program in the Dioceses of Atlanta and Central Florida, it is now being made available to other Episcopal Dioceses. It is an internet-based training program that teaches your employees and volunteers how to keep children in your care safe from sexual abuse.
Developed by Praesidium, the national leader in abuse risk mangement, SAFEGUARDING ONLINE combines science and technology to deliver the most up-to-date and useful information available. It is based on the Safeguarding God's Children training our diocese requires and its use is FREE in all parishes in the Diocese of Atlanta.The program is internet-based so you can access it anytime by going to www.SafeguardingOnline.org and clicking on the link to reach the login page. Logins are assigned by a person in each parish designated as the Safeguarding Online Administrator. If your parish does not currently have an administrator, ask your rector about appointing one. Contact Linda Scott at the diocesan office to get your parish up and running with Safeguarding Online.
Once you are logged on through a high-speed internet connection, you can complete your course modules which are engaging to watch and easy to understand. Each course ends with a brief quiz to ensure that you understand all of this important information. You will also have a chance to provide feedback on the course content and usability.
The online course modules available cover: types of abusers and their methods; effects of of sexual abuse on children and youth; keeping your church safe; preventing sexual activity between young children; and the Model Policies for Protection of Children and Youth from Abuse. There is also a short training module for people who will work with children and/or you only a few times a year.
Along with with Safeguarding God's Children group training, Safeguarding Online is another tool for your parish to use in providing knowledge and safe church practices for staff, volunteers and church leaders. Clergy who have already had the group training are encouraged to sign up for the course through their parish online administrator to familiarize themselves with its content.
If you have questions about this new training opportunity, please contact Linda Scott at the Diocese - 404-601-5353; 800-537-6743.
Safeguarding God's Children protection Program is a Popular Course
For the past four years, clergy and lay parish staff and volunteers throughout the Diocese of Atlanta have experienced Safeguarding God's Children, a training program developed by the Church Pension Group and Praesidium Religious Services, a company, based in Arlington, Texas that specializes in prevention of sexual abuse of children, youth, adults and the elderly. The program consists of two main components:
For Parents and Congregations: a 30 minute video and follow-up discussion designed to give all adults who are concerned about children and youth a basic understanding of the dynamics of child sexual abuse, how to recognize signs that a child may have been abused, and what to do if you have concerns about a person's behavior towards a child or youth, or if you suspect that a child or youth has been molested; and
For Ministries: a 22 minute video and follow-up discussion designed for clergy, employees of churches and church organizations, and volunteers responsible for planning, implementing or supervising ministries, activities or programs for children and youth. It shows what steps can be taken to prevent child sexual abuse in church and other organizational settings.
The Diocese of Atlanta expects churches in the diocese to use this training program and/or the new Armatus Online program to make their clergy, staff, volunteers, church leaders and other members aware of the problem of child sexual abuse and how they can use well defined strategies in their parish to prevent its occurance.
Model Policies are an Important Step in Safe Church Status
Another part of the training involves each church working to adopt the Model Policies for the Protection of Children and Youth from Abuse. Included in the training events is the introduction of this new set of policies which can help churches reduce the risk of danger to their children and youth. Some of the areas addressed by the policies include: screening, interacting, monitoring, training and responding. The policies provide help in determining hiring and recruiting procedures as well as who should be trained and at what level.
Note: The policies may be viewed and downloaded at the Church Pension Group website, www.cpg.org. The policies as written do not require teachers of children and youth Sunday school classes to take both portions of the training. However, the Diocese of Atlanta is strongly advising that both portions of the training be provided to these groups.
For more information...
On Safeguarding God's Children training in the Diocese of Atlanta, or if your parish would like to host a training, OR for questions or information on Sexual Misconduct Training for clergy, program staff and lay persons involved in adult to adult ministries...
Please contact Linda Scott at the diocesan offices, or call 404-601-5353 or
1- 800-537-6743 x 155.
