Child and Youth Protection Policies and Related Guidelines

 

A protection policy in a faith community helps to ensure safety for children and youth. Dove's Nest recommends that every faith community develop and implement a policy suited to its context.

Responding in times of crisis is very difficult, so it is best to be proactive and develop a robust policy before it is needed. Provided below are checklists on what to include in a policy and some sample policies. Other resources are also available for writing a child and protection policy. 

Dove's Nest offers policy consultations for a modest fee. Typically, we offer written feedback for a policy or policy draft, and then we set up a phone or video call to discuss the feedback. Contact Nancy Major at Nmajor [at] dovesnest.net (Nmajor@dovesnest.net) for more information.

CHILD AND YOUTH PROTECTION POLICY CHECKLISTS

MODEL POLICY #1: Long Version 

This child protection policy, entitled “Franconia Mennonite Conference Child Protection Plan,” is outstanding and thorough. (Franconia Mennonite Conference is a member of Mennonite Church USA.) The plan was originally approved in 2007, but it was updated and approved by conference leadership in 2015. According to the introduction, “Franconia Mennonite Conference commits to a collaborative, strategic approach to child protection, which includes identifying and addressing the threats and opportunities the Conference faces. This collaborative effort culminated in the creation of the following Child Protection Plan.”

The plan is seventy-four pages long and includes many helpful forms, as well as materials on understanding physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Also, as an area conference with most of its churches in Pennsylvania, this plan includes the latest requirements for background screenings based on Pennsylvania law (see page 10–11). 

It is important to note that not all church’s need to implement a policy as comprehensive as this one. Dove’s Nest recommends that a church or conference carefully adapt this policy to their unique context and make it their own.

Franconia Mennonite Conference Child Protection Plan

 

MODEL POLICY #2: Short Version (2020 update)

For smaller churches, or churches just beginning their journeys into child abuse prevention work, this is our favorite shorter sample child protection and abuse response policy. This sample policy is based off of appendix 4 (page 181–185) of Let the Children Come: Preparing Faith Communities to End Child Abuse and Neglect by Jeanette Harder (2010).

It includes these important components, which are also outlined in this checklist:

  • An introduction
  • Abuse definitions
  • Prevention within church: trainings, facility safety, supervision of children, personnel issues
  • How to deal with offenders and allegations of abuse
  • Abuse prevention within other communities

We highly recommend using the rest of Let the Children Come as a resource for the committee working with abuse prevention and the protection policy. 

Dove's Nest's Model Policy 2020: PDF or Word

Muestra póliza en Español: PDF or Word

PROTECTION & INCLUSION/ OFFENDERS

Protection and Inclusion: Guide for Faith Communities on Safely Including Person Who Have Committed Sexual Offenses [pdf] Dove's Nest, 2018.

Known Offenders: Five Things to Know. GRACE. 2019.

RELATED GUIDELINES

Healthy Touch & Boundaries:
Appropriate Touch Guidelines. 2016.
Guidelines for Healthy Relationships. 2019.
Guidelines for Interactions Between Adults and Children. 2019.
Rules for Touch. The Child Safeguarding Policy Guide, 2017.
Not Hit Zone Policy for Churches. 

7 Tips on Electronic Communication for Churches. 

Mentoring the Safe Way. 2017.

Reporting Abuse and Keeping the Victim at the Center. 2017.

Responding to Disruptions During Worship [pdf] from Faith Mennonite Church, Minneapolis.

Young Children and Bathroom Use [pdf] by Marlene Bogard.

 

POLICY EXAMPLES

Listed below are examples from some Mennonite Church USA congregations (separated by conference) and other denominations that have child protection policies along with links to those policy. If you wish to borrow substantial portions of a church's policy, please request an electronic file directly from that congregation. Contact information is available from the directory on the Mennonite Church USA website. If you wish to add your church's child protection policy to this list, please email it to info [at] dovesnest.net. Dove's Nest offers these policies as examples only and does not necessarily endorse them. 

Atlantic Coast Conference

Blossom Hill Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA

East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA: "Staff and Volunteer Safe Church Covenant"

Frazer Mennonite Church, Frazer, PA

Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship, New York City, NY

Central District

First Mennonite Church, Bluffton, OH

First Mennonite Church, Urbana-Champaign, IL  (Illinois Mennonite conference as well)

Silverwood Mennonite Church, Goshen, IN

Central Plains Mennonite Conference

Faith Mennonite Church, Minneapolis, MN

First Mennonite Church, Lincoln, NE

Lower Deer Creek Mennonite Church, Kalona, IA

Mosaic Mennonite Conference

SAMPLE Congregational Misconduct Policy for Lay Leaders and Congregants

Franconia Mennonite Conference template

Vincent Mennonite Church, Spring City, PA

Germantown Mennonite Church, Philadelphia, PA

Gulf States Mennonite Conference

Jubilee Mennonite Fellowship, Meridian, MS

Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference

College Mennonite Church, Goshen, IN

Waterford Mennonite Church, Goshen, IN: Color packet instructions, permission form

Lancaster Conference

Mountville Mennonite Church, Mountville, PA

Mountain States Mennonite Conference

First Mennonite Church, Denver, CO

Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference

Shalom Mennonite Fellowship, Tucson, AZ

Virginia Mennonite Conference

Park View Mennonite Church

Western District Conference

Peace Mennonite Church, Lawrence, KS: Protection and Abuse Response Policy

Rainbow Mennonite Church, Kansas City, MO

First Mennonite Church, Newton, KS: Policy for the Care of Survivors of Sexual Abuse

Mennonite Church USA AREA CONFERENCE

Mountain States Mennonite Conference

BRETHREN IN CHRIST CHURCH

Grantham Brethren in Christ Church, Grantham, PA 

BAPTIST

First Baptist Church, Holdrege, NE

PRESBYTERIAN

Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church, Sunnyvale, CA