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Abuse 21-November-1996 
 
 
96470           Prevention Is the Key to Churches' 
                Handling of  Potential Child Abuse 
 
                          by Alexa Smith 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--Proper screening, selection, training and supervision for 
both staff and volunteers who work in church nurseries, Sunday schools, and 
day-care centers are fast becoming a moral necessity with legal 
repercussions. 
 
     "People who are inclined to molest children ... seek out venues where 
they have easy access to children.  The church is one of the last places," 
said Bedford, Ind., psychologist and Presbyterian Lois Rifner, a member of 
the Presbyterian Child Advocacy Network (PCAN). 
 
     Rifner believes that churches under pressure to find volunteers to 
work with children and youth are frequently too casual in recruiting help 
-- and it is a set-up for trouble.  "The reality is," she told the 
Presbyterian News Service, "the fewer other places that [molesters] have 
access to kids, the more the church is going to be a venue." 
 
     With that premise, Rifner and her PCAN colleague, Susan Keil Smith, 
told participants in a workshop entitled "We Won't Let It Happen Here!" 
that prevention needs to be the focus of churches these days rather than, 
as Smith said, "react[ing]" to an accusation after possible molestation has 
occurred.  Smith directs a child-care center in New Mexico. 
 
     The workshop was part of a three-day women's advocacy consultation, 
"Women's Voices: A Ministry of Advocacy," held here Oct. 25-27, sponsored 
by the Women's Ministries program area. 
 
     "It's a big problem," said the Rev. Carol Hornbeck, associate for 
women's ministries in the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, speaking for both 
the number of abuse cases involving children and the lack of training in 
churches in how to respond to an accusation once it is leveled.  
 
     "What does it mean when we baptize a child?  We are making a promise 
to the child ... from the whole community of God," she said, adding that 
church communities then have to wrestle with how to fulfill that promise 
without being naive, which is a hard thing to do in communities built on 
trust. 
 
     But the reality is, na‹vet‚ too often places children at risk for harm 
and churches at risk for not only devastation, but lawsuits. 
 
     That dilemma is a familiar one to the Rev. James F. Cobble Jr., who 
works with "The Church Law and Tax Report," a bimonthly publication of 
legal and tax developments affecting churches, headquartered near 
Charlotte, N.C.  It also offers child abuse prevention materials for 
congregations.  It has conducted a survey of 1,700 congregations, 
collecting data on abuse cases. 
 
     "Four percent [of those churches] have responded to an allegation of 
child molestation during a church activity, on church property or by a 
church worker.  Another way of saying it: One out of 25 churches has an 
allegation," Cobble told the Presbyterian News Service.  "Seventy-five 
percent of those churches -- three out of four -- were able to determine 
that the allegation was, in fact, true." 
 
     Cobble said that cases are much less likely to go to court if a church 
is able to respond appropriately and compassionately to the allegations. 
But when cases do go to court, he said, legal fees and judgments can total 
near $1 million -- and many congregations are insured for only up to 
$50-100,000. 
 
     "If a case goes to court, most churches are going to be exposed beyond 
the coverage they have," he said, adding that some insurance companies will 
provide up to $1 million in coverage only if documentable screening and 
abuse-prevention programming is in place. 
 
     Rifner advocates criminal history checks and follow-up on references 
even for volunteers in churches.  She said, too, that at least six months' 
membership ought to be required before a new member is allowed to work with 
children or young adults.   
 
     "That's not a guarantee," she said, "but it does keep a pedophile from 
having immediate access. It discourages somebody who has come to a specific 
congregation to have access to children." 
 
     Other ways to minimize risk are more complex, according to Smith, who 
recommends consultation with insurance companies and with lawyers.  She 
said some congregations have added windows to classroom doors and toilet 
facilities to classrooms so that it is harder for adults to have 
unsupervised time with youngsters.  Hall monitors have been employed in 
some settings, she said, so that children do not wander empty church 
corridors alone, particularly where there is street access. 
 
     Smith said training is also necessary for staff and volunteers so they 
recognize the symptoms of abuse and know how to report incidents to state 
authorities. 
 
     "I think the church has primary responsibility here ... for all kinds 
of reasons," said Rifner, who has worked with survivors of abuse in her 
counseling practice.  "We make a commitment to children when they are 
baptized in our churches to help develop their spiritual lives.  We can't 
ignore their physical and emotional needs." 
 
     Joan Thompson, PCAN's Louisville-based coordinator, said she receives 
about 15 calls monthly from Presbyterian churches seeking information about 
abuse prevention for congregations.  "They're in various stages.  Some call 
after the fact," she said, "after a case is already under way.  Some call 
before." 
 
     Acknowledging that abuse prevention is often difficult for churches to 
consider, Smith said most parents appreciate the effort to make both 
buildings and programming as safe as possible.  "We don't want to think 
that anybody ... would ever [abuse a child]," she said, stressing that many 
churches simply avoid the conversation. 
 
     Some congregations avoid the discussion because of fear of the cost, 
she said.  "They'll say,  We can't afford to implement the procedures. ...' 
 
     "They can't afford the cost of a lawsuit either." 

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