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When the Rubber Meets the Road – “Plan to Protect”

Carol Wiebe

Receiving the “Plan to Protect” manual in the mail is one matter – implementing the “Plan to Protect” is another.

The “Plan to Protect” was sent to Alliance churches in June of 1996 to address the issue of volunteerism and child abuse. Our goal was to encourage churches to be proactive rather than reactive in protecting their children, their workers, and their churches.

Let me tell you how it worked at Unionville Alliance Church. The first thing we did was to set up a committee to work through the “Plan to Protect” materials, and we “Unionvilleized” them. As we worked with the materials, we asked the question, “What does this mean for us?” Now, this committee is one of the best committees I have worked with. One lady is a retired teacher who serves as a guidance counselor in the school system. She has had extensive experience with Social Services. Another woman is an administrative assistant who gave years of leadership to the Pioneer Club program that ran in our church. Another woman is a young mom and a school teacher. Our fourth member is a man who works in the graphic arts industry and his favorite job is ministering as the greeter–secretary to our four and five year olds. There is an abundance of wisdom, experience and insight on that committee, and all us think better than any one of us.

After “Unionvilleizing” the document, we made a presentation to our board of elders. We viewed the “Reducing the Risk” video, talked them through the types of questions they may receive from congregational members, and then we outlined the implementation process we would undertake.

The next step was a presentation made to all existing workers in children’s ministries. We held two “Dessert, Coffee and a Morsel of Truth” evenings where we presented the “Plan to Protect” program. Our first session dealt with understanding the need, our child protection procedures, the recruitment rationale, and the procedure we would follow as we looked for new workers. At the end of that session, we walked our workers through the application form, and handed it out at that time. The second training evening covered the church’s vulnerability, different signs of child abuse and then we focused on our reporting procedures and obligations, along with our response plan to any allegations of abuse. Each session was open to dialogue, and the interaction was helpful in that it brought a broader understanding of the need for the plan, as well as a wider acceptance of its implementation.

Subsequent to that, we informed our family units through a letter of our plans to protect their children and then we made the congregation as a whole aware of our plans to deal with the matter of child protection.

Then the follow up began. It took work to follow up on who attended which training session, who handed in their application forms and who didn’t, and filling in the blanks. Again my committee did a superb job. Now, we are into year two of this program and there were an additional 55 people that needed to be taken through the training. As a committee we have learned it is better to:

Introduce the application form in person at the training.
Ask trainees to read selected materials to prepare for the training.
Use the “Reducing the Risk” video available from your District Office.
Complete the training in a one evening two hour session.

The “Plan to Protect” program is a process, and as I’ve listened to many share their experiences, there are varied responses to the program. You need to be sensitive to your congregation and its needs, but it must be done. Many questions have come up along the way, and our goal as National Church Education Committee is to try to stay on top of any changes or adjustments that need to be made . . .

We are in the process of coming up with answers. I trust that you will be patient with us as we pursue the protection of our children, our volunteers and our churches.

The Smaller Church and “Plan to Protect”

Debbie Palsky, Western Canadian District

It would be easy to think of our “Plan to Protect” program as being an unneeded effort in smaller churches. Quite the contrary. In fact, many of the reports of violation of children in church settings have taken place in churches with an average attendance of less than 200. In my role in the Western Canadian District, there are five areas that I am seeing done well in smaller churches.

Window in classroom doors so nothing is done in secret. Even old buildings can accommodate this change.
Classes have two workers in the room at any time. Some classes have been combined and, in other situations, teens have become “teachers in training” with the class teacher. Assistant workers bring a ray of light, too.
Children are kept in class until released to their parents. A wandering child either inside or outside of the church is inviting trouble to appear.
Medical release forms and proper written consent from parents when children are going on outings can save a lot of headaches and give the parents peace of mind.

Keeping application forms on volunteers is a must. If the pastor and his wife, or the Board of Elders, stand before the congregation with applications in hand, it lessens the “Why do I have to do this?” attitude. Newcomers quickly learn that this is the norm, and will not view it as an invasion of their privacy. These steps should all be preceded by the Board of Elder’s acceptance of a system for their church and a careful “information to the people” plan. Think of this as an insurance plan for both the children and the church you love and serve.

“Plan to Protect” Resources

It’s My Body, Lory Freeman – A book to teach young children how to resist uncomfortable touch.
Protect Your Child from Sexual Abuse: A Parent’s Guide, Janie Hart-Rossi.
Private Zone – a read together book to help parents help children deal with and prevent sexual assault.
Let’s Talk About Child Abuse – a resource from Pioneer Clubs Canada which includes four Bible explorations to help kids learn what abuse is and how to protect themselves.
It’s Not Your Fault, Judith A. Jance – the message here: You are not to blame and it is good that you told someone.
Canada’s Law on Child Sexual Abuse, Mary Wells – a handbook from the Department of Justice.
What To Do If A Child Tells You of Sexual Abuse, Department of Justice.
I Won’t Let Them Hurt You, Linda Barr – a novel.
A Door of Hope, Jan Frank – helps people to recognize and resolve pains of the past.
Reducing the Risk, video by Church Law and Tax Report – two copies available from the district office.