IMPORTANT RESOURCES
The following resources are available to help you build a Culture of Care at your church and ministry. You will find information and outside resources to support fielding disclosures, reporting abuse, mandated reporting, screening employees and volunteers, and connecting with other agencies and training opportunities.
HANDLING A DISCLOSURE OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
It is common for a child to choose someone they trust outside of their home or family to tell about abuse. Children's ministers and volunteers should be well equipped to hear and respond to these disclosures. Children are often aware of the impact their disclosure can have and it takes courage for them to step forward. If the initial conversation is not handled carefully and with a trauma-informed approach, it can lead to recantations or an unwillingness on the child's part to acknowledge or discuss the abuse further.
The resource below contains recommendations to follow if a child tells you that they are being abused. This short resource should be shared with all child serving employees and volunteers.
REPORT CHILD ABUSE
Missouri Child Abuse or Neglect Hotline
1-800-392-3738
MANDATED REPORTING
This document contains details about mandated reporting laws and guidelines in every state. Even if staff or volunteers at your church or ministry are not mandated reporters, it can still be a policy at your organization.
BACKGROUND CHECKS AND REGISTRIES
While background checks and screenings alone are not sufficient for protection, it is a great way to send a message that your church or organization does not tolerate abuse.
Here are resources for conducting background checks and searching registries in the US:
CONNECT WITH A CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER
Most people have a child advocacy center nearby. We recommend connecting with a child advocacy center, a child protection agency, or other child serving organization for training on mandated reporting and ongoing partnership in child protection.
Find your local child advocacy center:
RECOMMENDED ORGANIZATIONS
There are organizations that exist to help safeguard child safety in churches and ministries. They can assist with training, standards of practice, institutional response investigations, and more. Two we recommend are GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in a Christian Environment) and ECAP (Evangelical Counsel on Abuse Prevention).
GENERAL RESOURCES
Evidence-based training for all adults on recognizing and responding to child sexual abuse.
Data, research, and training about human trafficking in the United States.
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Research-driven publications, resources, and learning tools about child welfare and the systems that support it.