It is the policy of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference that every local church shall:
- Develop and implement an ongoing education plan for the congregation and its leaders on the reality of child abuse, risk factors leading to child abuse and strategies for prevention.
- Adopt screening procedures for all workers with children and youth that are in accordance with the current policy of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Camping Board policy in any given year.
- Develop and implement safety procedures for church activities that will work to limit risks to children and youth.
- Provide resources for persons who suspect child abuse or who have suffered abuse.
Resources available to local churches for this purpose include:
- Safe Sanctuaries: Reducing the Risk of Child Abuse in the Church and Safe Sanctuaries for Youth: Reducing the Risk of Abuse in Youth Ministry, both by Joy Thornburg Melton, published by Discipleship Resources, Nashville, TN. These books, together with a video available in VHS or DVD, are available through Cokesbury.
- Guide developed by the EPA Conference Nurturing Disciples Resource Team in 2002. These VHS tapes and booklets are available from the Conference Office. Contact Jim Wilkin, 610-666-9090 ext. 225 or jim.wilkin@epaumc.org.
- The Safe Sanctuaries pages of the General Board of Discipleship website (www.gbod.org/ministries/family/safe).
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