“I Can’t Promise Not to Tell” Youth workers have ethical and legal duties they must fulfill. Laura J. Brown
Protecting the Elderly from Abuse Create policies and procedures to protect older adults in your church. Lindsey Learn
Why Your Church Needs Counseling Policies One case illustrates why you need to be proactive in your counseling procedures. Richard R. Hammar
Staying Above Reproach 7 rules to help volunteer leaders protect themselves and the kids they serve. Frank Sommerville
New Best Practices for Protecting Children Penn State's Freeh report emphasizes building a culture of risk management. Richard R. Hammar
12 Lessons from Penn State’s Abuse Scandal Church leaders must set and follow policies—and keep watch. Richard R. Hammar
Q&A: How Long Should We Keep Volunteer Applications and Background Check Documents? The simple answer is the longer, the better. Richard R. Hammar
Q&A: Screening Host Families Is our church required to perform background checks on families hosting our youth? Michael Allison Â
Screening and Selecting Children’s Workers at Church There's no substitute for a good screening program. Laura Brown
Q&A: Six-Month Rule Before Serving Should the six-month rule apply to pastors' spouses? Richard R. Hammar
Assessing Sex Offenders’ Risk of Reoffending How diagnostic tools can help measure the danger. Richard R. Hammar
Q&A: Notifying the Congregation of a Sex Offender Church leaders must consider several points to make an informed decision. Richard R. Hammar
Sex Offenders in Church 1. Introduction Church leaders are increasingly confronted with a challenging and novel question: How do Richard R. Hammar
Q&A: Sex Offender Wants to Serve in Children’s Ministry Should we allow him to volunteer? Frank Sommerville
Q&A: Enforcing Restraining Orders What is our church's responsibility when presented with a restraining order? Frank Sommerville
Q&A: Frequency of Background Checks How often should background checks be done for existing staff and volunteers? Mike McCarty
Q&A: Screening Volunteers for Visitation Ministries Do we need to do background checks on adults who will be visiting shut-ins? Michael Allison
Church Liability for Sexual Conduct An Overview: 13 of the most significant risks associated with sexual conduct plus strategies to manage each. Richard R. Hammar
Q&A: Screening Underage Workers How can we adequately screen adolescents before recruiting them to work in our children's ministries? Richard R. Hammar
Q&A: Reliable Screening Services How do you know if you're using a "good" background screening service? Mike McCarty