“We strongly encourage every church in the Indiana Annual Conference to develop and follow its own Abuse Protection Policy.”

- from The Indiana Conference Abuse Protection Policy for Children, Youth, and Vulnerable Adults

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Resources for Creating a Policy

.For Church Mutual insurance resources, click here.

For Safe Sanctuary resources from the General Board of Discipleship, click here.

For a process for developing your policy, we recommend the book Safe Sanctuaries – available from Cokesbury.

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Background Check Resources

The policy of the conference recommends at minimum that background screenings for all volunteers with youth and children include a National Sex Offender Registry screening and a Multi-State Felony Background check.  We recommend starting with a conversation with your insurance provider about screening options.  See below for the conference connected screening option:

Church Mutual with LexisNexis Screening – For churches using the conference insurance through Church Mutual, you qualify for reduced screening rates through LexisNexis.  Click here for more information and to sign up.

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Sample Forms & Permission Slips

The following forms are posted as a resource.  Local churches should update the form for use in their own context and according to their insurance guidelines:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conference Guidelines for Local Church Abuse Protection Policies

A copy of each local church policy should be on file in the church and District Office.  Administrative bodies of the local church shall be responsible for implementing and monitoring their own policy and accompanying procedures.

To see the full Indiana Conference Policy, click one of the links below: