Policy on child abuse
Orange County Friends Meeting knows that in the wider world children (and others) have been victims of physical, sexual and verbal abuse in places of religion, and we know also that in these places the companion problem of false accusations of such abuse against innocent childcare providers has occurred. While we believe such events are unlikely in our own meeting, we also believe that recognizing that such problems may occur increases our capacity to prevent them. Therefore, this Meeting states the following:
- We will obey the spirit and letter of the law that mandates persons such as teachers and ministers to report instances of suspected child abuse to the appropriate authorities. Any member or attender of this meeting who takes charge of children coming under the Meeting’s care will accept the responsibilities of a mandated reporter.
- Persons in our meeting who are engaged in the care of children will read some materials on the nature of child abuse, how to recognize it, and what the responsibilities of a mandated reporter are. These materials will be provided and periodically revised by the Religious Education committee.
- We will avoid as much as we can situations in which the possibility of child abuse might arise. In particular, only persons well-known to us will assume care of our children, and as much as is practical in a small meeting, we will have at least two adults present during any program involving our children.
- Children under our care will never be exposed to sexually related material that is beyond their capacity to understand.
- All persons involved with the care of children will be aware of our policies, and will agree to follow them.
The committee on Religious Education is charged with seeing that this policy is carried out. It will report to the Meeting for Business annually on what it has done, and at which time this policy will be reviewed, and, if necessary, changed to address changing circumstances, laws and events.