Child Safety Assessment
The law firm of Love & Norris provides Safety Assessments for ministry organizations intent upon providing the safest possible experience for children and youth.
Assessment Process
In an Assessment, the law firm evaluates a ministry’s existing child protection system, interviewing child-serving staff members and employees, and reviewing existing screening practices and policies, as well as training content.
A Safety Assessment includes the following components:
- Assessment of Training: An effective training plan assists employees and volunteers in understanding child safety policy, and gives staff members the ‘why’ related to the spirit and purpose behind policy. Effective training addresses risk while mindful of mission.
- Assessment of Screening Practices: Effective screening practices can limit the possibility that an applicant with inappropriate sexual motives gains access to children or youth through child-serving programs.
- Assessment of Policies: Clear policies facilitate safe programming, create standards for employee and volunteer conduct, and identify high-risk activities.
- Assessment of Systems for Monitoring and Oversight: Effective oversight of employees and volunteers creates a culture of openness and communication where abuse is less likely to occur, allegations are more easily investigated and reported, and offender characteristics are understood.
An Assessment includes these Training opportunities:
- Leadership Meeting: This meeting addresses each leader’s role in risk management protocols related to child sexual abuse, and gives leaders an opportunity to ask questions and better understand the implementation process.
- Staff Training: One full day of training provides staff members with an understanding of offender characteristics, risk indicators, recidivism rates and common grooming behaviors utilized by offenders and legal reporting requirements.
- Volunteer Training: Training volunteers to recognize common misconceptions about sexual abuse, offender characteristics, the offender’s ‘grooming process’, common grooming behaviors and legal reporting requirements, utilizing fact patterns and examples from actual cases.
Next Steps
To request an Assessment Proposal (including pricing), please complete the firm’s Diagnostic Questions Form.
Questions about the Assessment process?
Please contact Megan Van at Megan@LoveNorris.com.