New laws have churches seeking guidance on identifying abuse, abusers

By Peter Smith
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
March 22, 2015

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2015/03/22/New-laws-have-churches-seeking-guidance-on-identifying-abuse-abusers/stories/201503220057

Many religious congregations have been seeking help to navigate new state laws requiring more training on child abuse and mandating more people report suspected abuse.

Some want to know what the law requires of volunteers and paid staff. Others want training in recognizing the symptoms of abuse. Others have a crisis and need immediate help — what to do about a new allegation of abuse or a sex offender who wants to attend church.

Such growing awareness is good, but only a start, said Michelle Snyder, executive director of the Pittsburgh Pastoral Institute, an interfaith agency that provides counseling services and training for religious organizations.

“There’s a way the legislation is unhelpful if it takes our eyes off the spirit and onto the details,” she said, “as opposed to these larger conversations of, ‘Who do we really want to be, and what is our theology of safe church, and how do we create havens?’ ”

Even in 2015, after years of headlines about sexual abuse and cover-up involving Catholic priests and former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky, Ms. Snyder said she regularly encounters churches that believe they would not repeat the mistakes of leaders who failed to recognize and control pedophiles in their midst.

“One of the things I say to people is, when you say, ‘It couldn't happen here,’ we need to define ‘it,’ ” Ms. Snyder said.

In smaller congregations, there’s often the mindset that “we know everybody, and everybody’s safe,” Ms. Snyder said. “Well, maybe, maybe not.” Stories are legion of sexual predators who exploit the trust of others.

But even without egregious predators, “if you expand your definition of ‘it’ to teenagers groped by a dirty old man during coffee hour,” or women enduring inappropriate sexual comments, “it’s already happening here.”

Ms. Snyder said that in the two churches she attended while growing up, she was subjected to such conduct. And when she tells that story in workshops to churches, at least one woman in the audience will recount a similar episode.

Given the rates of sexual abuse in the general population, it’s a statistical certainly that abuse survivors are in the pews.

“What does it look like to be a haven to people who have trauma, who have walked through the door?” she said.

To those who lament that elaborate checks and balances erode the culture of trust in a church, “I push back on that and say it’s a myth that people don’t hurt each other,” Ms. Snyder said.

“That’s the nature of relationship for one thing,” she said. “But for another, just because it’s sad doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

Legislation that took effect at the start of 2015 has prompted schools and other organizations to update their policies and procedures. For religious congregations, Ms. Snyder said, here are some of the key implications:

• Volunteers who work regularly with children are now “mandated reporters,” meaning that like many professionals, they must report suspected child abuse to the state ChildLine (800-932-0313).

• All paid employees who regularly interact with children must have three clearances — Pennsylvania child-abuse history and criminal records checks and an FBI fingerprint record check, updated every three years.

• Volunteers must have the two Pennsylvania clearances and, if they haven’t lived in Pennsylvania for the past 10 years, the FBI fingerprint check. These must be updated every three years.

The center is sponsoring training sessions on abuse, “UnHoly Secrets,” on March 25 and April 22 at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, both from 8:30 to 10 a.m., at $10 per person with the option to purchase breakfast as well. (More information is at ppi-online.org/​event/​unholy-secrets.) The institute, part of the Samaritan Counseling Center network, also provides consulting for congregations and regional religious groups on the issue.

The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has provided training and conducted background checks on workers involved with children for close to a decade, said the Rev. Ronald Lengwin, spokesman for the diocese.

One effect of the new law is that, with more mandated reporters and required clearances, the state Department of Human Services has been deluged with calls, said Ted Dallas, acting secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services.

“The good news is that a lot of folks are trying to reach the hotline,” he said. Staff members have been “working very hard to clear the backlog, but it’s clear we need to give them help to do their job.”

The department, he said, has added about 30 staff members, bringing to about 90 those doing clearances and fielding ChildLine calls.

The department is also upgrading its information systems, evaluating the management of the system to improve efficiency and seeking to spread the word that people can get clearances done online at keepkidssafe.pa.gov.