New 2019 Features
Accomplish more in 2019 with these new features! Duplicate User Protection Duplicate User Protection protects administrators from inadvertently adding a single user multiple times. Our system now alerts an administrator before adding a user with the same first or last name and email address. Software Integration We’ve created API to enable organizations to integrate services provided…
New Federal Law to Prevent Sexual Abuse in Youth Sports
A new law passed by Congress is aimed at preventing child sexual abuse. The Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act introduces new standards that all youth sport organizations must meet, including programs offered by local leagues, churches, schools, camps, and non-profits. The Act introduces three new requirements:1. Mandatory Reporting2.…
New at MinistrySafe and Abuse Prevention Systems!
NEW WEBSITE COMING SOON! The Abuse Prevention Systems team has been hard at work designing a new and improved online system to protect children and those who serve them. Everything from paperless screening tools, editable policies and procedures, training videos and advanced tools utilizing the Control Panel have been updated. Our goal is to help you better…
Pennsylvania Law Changes
New Requirements for Organizations Serving Children What are ‘clearances’? Who needs to get them, and how often? Who is a ‘mandatory reporter’ in Pennsylvania, and what does that mean? What is an ‘employment history review’ and what process is required [for schools]? The Pennsylvania legislature was active during the 2014 legislative session. Governor Tom Corbett…
Expanding Abuse Reporting Requirements: Texas, South Carolina, Colorado and National Trends
Counselors in university and camping contexts… Am I a mandatory reporter? If an adult describes having been abused as a child, am I required to report? When? How do expanding reporting requirements impact college and university counselors? How do reporting requirements impact individuals providing spiritual guidance? Around the country, state legislatures are pursuing aggressive strategies to reduce the…
Reducing the Risk of Sexual Abuse at Camp
In the last five years, several nationally reported sexual abuse allegations at camp received significant press and attention. Concerned parents are asking camps: “What are you doing to protect MY child at THIS camp?” “What should camps be doing to address this risk?” Why are children at risk at camp? Summer camp fills an important role in American culture, but camps…
Criminal Background Checks: What You Should Know
No flawless criminal records search exists. Why? To reduce the risk of sexual abuse, organizations rely on criminal background checks to assess the risk of a staff member or volunteer – and they should. BUT, a criminal background check is not the stand-alone answer. Below is some information about criminal background checks that organizations must have to understand the weaknesses of…
Third-Party Use of Facilities and Sexual Abuse Risk
Observations for Camps, Conference Centers, Colleges and Churches Any activity or locale where children are gathered engenders the risk of sexual abuse. Many of these gatherings take place in camps, conference centers, colleges and churches. All child-serving organizations should make reasonable effort to reduce the risk of child sexual abuse. What constitutes ‘reasonable’ effort is…
Sexual Abuse Fire Drill
Put Preparation to the Test In classrooms across the country, school administrators lead faculty and students through mock disasters (fires, shootings, bomb threats, tornados, etc.) to ensure the existence of sound safety plans, communicate expectations to all involved, and determine any necessary changes or improvements. A failure to drill potential disasters can lead to catastrophic…
Preventing Sexual Abuse in Youth Sports – What’s Working, What’s Not
Can we take one more news report of a child being sexually abused by a coach? In the last calendar year, no area of youth sports has remained untouched by child sexual abuse. Take for example: Robert ‘Bobby’ Dodd: former president of the Amateur Athletic Union and youth sports basketball coach. Dodd is currently under investigation by Memphis…
Sexual Abuse Awareness Training Required at Texas Colleges and Universities – Senate Bill 1414
Effective September 1, 2011 On June 17, 2011, the Texas Governor signed SB 1414, which creates new requirements for ‘institutions of higher education’ that provide or host campus programs for minors. Sexual Abuse Awareness Training is now required by the newly enacted Section 51.976 of the Texas Education Code. What is a ‘Campus Program for…
Texas SB 471 – Changes in the Law for Child Placing Agencies and Day Care Centers – Preventing Sexual Abuse and Maltreatment
Gregory S. Love, Esq Kimberlee D. Norris, Esq in mid-June 2011, the Governor of Texas signed SB 471 into law, amending current laws related to public schools, charter schools, daycare centers, and child-placing agencies. The overarching purpose of SB 471 requires child abuse and neglect training and policies in schools and child care facilities. Though entities who are impacted…