Comments on: Are you enforcing your church’s child protection policy? http://grace-ed.org/blog/archives/927 Christian Education at its best! Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:34:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: linda http://grace-ed.org/blog/archives/927#comment-9458 linda Wed, 07 May 2008 13:42:38 +0000 http://grace-ed.org/blog/archives/927#comment-9458 Our church has a protection policy that was established with my predecessor. Unfortunately though, I have run into a dilemma this year. We have three teachers per class, with the practice they rotate with one another with two in the room and one who has a "day off". I have teachers who are overly committed and on several sundays throughout the year, more than one misses the same sunday. When that happens, we leave the doors to the classroom open. For the nursery, the practice in New England is to hire two people who are on payroll, and who I supervise, to work in the nursery on Sundays. This way, nobody needs to volunteer to help. (this is new to me. I have never had to pay anybody to work in the nursery) One was terminated in March and now, the last "paid" nursery worker is leaving in June and we have a congregation who is hesitant in helping in the nursery. We are already canceling children's programming this summer due to lack of attendance (our congregation numbers drop 60% + during the summer months. as soon as school lets out, we don't see them again until Sept) and at the same time, two infants that are about to be born. I am begging for help and trying to squeeze from a turnip. When I am lucky to get one person to be able to help, do I cancel because of lack of volunteers? I just shared this with the Board of Education last night and put the responsibility /decision on them because I am out of options on my own. Our church has a protection policy that was established with my predecessor. Unfortunately though, I have run into a dilemma this year. We have three teachers per class, with the practice they rotate with one another with two in the room and one who has a “day off”. I have teachers who are overly committed and on several sundays throughout the year, more than one misses the same sunday. When that happens, we leave the doors to the classroom open.

For the nursery, the practice in New England is to hire two people who are on payroll, and who I supervise, to work in the nursery on Sundays. This way, nobody needs to volunteer to help. (this is new to me. I have never had to pay anybody to work in the nursery) One was terminated in March and now, the last “paid” nursery worker is leaving in June and we have a congregation who is hesitant in helping in the nursery.

We are already canceling children’s programming this summer due to lack of attendance (our congregation numbers drop 60% + during the summer months. as soon as school lets out, we don’t see them again until Sept) and at the same time, two infants that are about to be born. I am begging for help and trying to squeeze from a turnip. When I am lucky to get one person to be able to help, do I cancel because of lack of volunteers?

I just shared this with the Board of Education last night and put the responsibility /decision on them because I am out of options on my own.

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