The Boy Scouts stumbled with their forthrightness in regard to child abuse incidents. Nevertheless, they came away from the storm with the implementation of new programs and policies that church leaders would be wise to adopt. Several of them are enumerated in the article. Some of the ones that I experienced when my son participated in S…
The Boy Scouts stumbled with their forthrightness in regard to child abuse incidents. Nevertheless, they came away from the storm with the implementation of new programs and policies that church leaders would be wise to adopt. Several of them are enumerated in the article. Some of the ones that I experienced when my son participated in Scouting, were very forward thinking and pro-active.
Therefore, similarly, I suggest:
1. Every adult leader must be re-certified each year.
2. In Scouting, for each new award level (grade year) Scouts had to have a family youth protection discussion at home. This is the first requirement in the manual. Note that the organization placed emphasis on having the family involved and not leaving it up to a third person who might intentionally or unintentionally shape on minimize the dialogue. I encourage every family to take responsibility for this and communicate their own family values and rules.
3. Background checks (while never perfect) should also be performed on a national level.
4. Under no circumstances is a child to be left with a lone adult (unless it’s the parent/guardian). A child cannot share sleeping quarters with an adult who is not the parent or guardian.
5. Every event needs a designated adult “safety officer,” at a minimum. That adult MUST have been trained.
Sadly, the former Boy Scouts are now Scouts of America and they are "inclusive". No one should be supporting them now. The Girls Scouts went down this lane years ago.
The Boy Scouts stumbled with their forthrightness in regard to child abuse incidents. Nevertheless, they came away from the storm with the implementation of new programs and policies that church leaders would be wise to adopt. Several of them are enumerated in the article. Some of the ones that I experienced when my son participated in Scouting, were very forward thinking and pro-active.
Therefore, similarly, I suggest:
1. Every adult leader must be re-certified each year.
2. In Scouting, for each new award level (grade year) Scouts had to have a family youth protection discussion at home. This is the first requirement in the manual. Note that the organization placed emphasis on having the family involved and not leaving it up to a third person who might intentionally or unintentionally shape on minimize the dialogue. I encourage every family to take responsibility for this and communicate their own family values and rules.
3. Background checks (while never perfect) should also be performed on a national level.
4. Under no circumstances is a child to be left with a lone adult (unless it’s the parent/guardian). A child cannot share sleeping quarters with an adult who is not the parent or guardian.
5. Every event needs a designated adult “safety officer,” at a minimum. That adult MUST have been trained.
Sadly, the former Boy Scouts are now Scouts of America and they are "inclusive". No one should be supporting them now. The Girls Scouts went down this lane years ago.