Screening Ministry Volunteers
Steps to safeguard children and youth

By Jan Beckstrom

Since so many churches use volunteers with little or no scrutiny, volunteer screening is crucial--even if the individual only occasionally works with children or youth. Consider taking the following precautions:

• Seek assistance from a local attorney when developing all forms and procedures to be sure they comply with state law.
• For reference, review similar forms used by other organizations such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the YMCA.
• Ask your church's insurance carrier to review the forms.
• Understand that the highest risk category is male workers participating in both children's and youth programs, especially when overnight activities are involved.
• Keep all records strictly confidential.
• Require a six-month waiting period prior to working with minors.
• Establish policies and procedures for child/youth activities and follow them. (For example, always maintain the "two-adult rule" which requires two unrelated adults to be present with children and youth at all times.)
• Continuously supervise, train and educate volunteers.
• Develop a policy for reporting any allegations of misconduct.

Require screening forms

A screening form should supplement the application and request information that goes beyond basic employment questions. Information a proper screening form might request about an applicant includes:

• Name (Confirm their identity with a state driver's license or photo)
• Address
• Prior criminal convictions? (If yes, ask him or her to provide a full explanation of any convictions for sexual abuse, molestation or related crimes.)
• Type of child/youth work the applicant is interested in
• Training and education in child/youth-related work
• Description of church volunteer work within the past five years
• Description of youth work (at churches or any other organization) in the past five years
• Names and addresses of three references

Just how important are screening procedures? According to ChoicePoint, the largest provider of background and criminal record checks in the United States, 34 percent of resumes and 73 percent of job applications contain falsified or embellished information.

Conduct personal interviews

A responsible staff member who has been trained to screen child and youth workers should personally interview all volunteers who will have contact with young people. This is especially important for applicants requesting to work in higher risk positions--with youth groups, scouts, camps, overnight retreats or largely unsupervised activities. Local law enforcement and state agencies can provide materials to help train your staff to conduct the personal interviews.

Contact all references

Following up and contacting each reference an applicant provides is another essential step. Also contact any church or organization where the applicant has indicated prior experience working with children or youth. Each reference check should be documented by recording the date, method of contact, person making the contact, person who responded and a summary of the reference's remarks. Keep all documentation and written records in the applicant's confidential personnel file.

Criminal record check

You may proceed in a number of ways when it comes to conducting criminal record checks. You could contact a local law enforcement agency such as the police, sheriff's department or highway patrol to inquire about doing the check, or outsource the duty to a commercial company.

Why screening works

History has shown that sexual predators are often repeat offenders who will seek out situations that provide them with easy access to minors. Unfortunately, this is why churches are so vulnerable. But if a predator learns that your church has screening procedures in place, he or she might be reluctant to apply for a position.

According to Dr. James F. Cobble, Jr., a respected authority on church legal issues, if your church ever faces a charge of negligence related to a case of child sexual molestation, the outcome of the case largely depends upon two factors: first, what policies and procedures your church followed regarding the selection and supervision of church workers (both volunteer and paid employees), and second, to what degree such policies and procedures were followed in the case under consideration.

If you do nothing to prevent an incident of sexual misconduct, the consequences could literally destroy the organization. Your organization is subject to punitive damages, which can exceed or might not be covered by your standard liability insurance policy. A lawsuit also can expose board members to personal liability. To further protect your church, consider adding sexual misconduct liability insurance to your policy.

Overcome the obstacles

Like many organizations, your church might encounter one or more obstacles when implementing screening procedures. Some congregation members might believe the procedures are not necessary, an invasion of privacy, impractical, ineffective or too difficult to administer. But if a child is violated while in the church's care, those arguments are meaningless and have no value in a court of law. In short, consistent screening procedures are the best way to protect minors and reduce your church's risk.

Jan Beckstrom is the chief operating officer at GuideOne Insurance. Founded in 1947 as America's first auto insurance company for nondrinkers, GuideOne offers a broad array of commercial products and services for churches, not-for-profit senior living communities, private colleges, schools and universities.