Safe Sanctuary

POLICY SUMMARY

Those in charge of children or youth shall be trained in Safe Sanctuary Procedures.
No matter the size of the group, there will always be two non-related adults present. This may include the presence of an adult “roamer” who moves in and out of rooms.
No person shall supervise an age group unless he/she is AT LEAST 5 years older than the children or youth with whom he/she is working.
Each room or space where children or youth are being cared for shall have a window in the door or the door shall be left open. All activities should occur in open view.
Stewartstown Summer Theatre and Stewartstown united Methodist Church are intentional in making its campus and ministries a safe place for children and youth. The church follows safe sanctuary guidelines as adopted by the church. The church also is following the new (effective July 1, 2015) Pennsylvania laws for all adults (18 and older) who are responsible for the welfare of or who have regular contact with children and youth. This includes the following:

PAID EMPLOYEES

All paid employees having direct contact with youth and/or children must submit:
  1. PA Criminal History Report from PA state police
  2. Certification from PA Dept of Human Services (child abuse clearances)
  3. FBI Criminal History Report (fingerprinting)
Summer Theatre is in compliance for all twelve paid staff members.

VOLUNTEERS

All individuals age 18 and above who volunteer and are responsible for the welfare of a child/youth or have direct contact with children/youth will be required to submit the same information as set forth above for paid employees. The fingerprinting requirement will be waived if all of the following three conditions apply:
  • the volunteer position is in fact unpaid
  • the prospective volunteer has been a Pennsylvania resident for a period of no less than ten years immediately prior to the application for a volunteer position
  • the prospective volunteer swears or affirms in writing that he/she is not disqualified from service under the provisions of the law. (This affidavit has been prepared by our church conference’s legal counsel.)

MANDATORY REPORTING

Anyone who works with youth or children as a volunteer or paid employee who has witnessed a case of abuse, or who has cause to believe an act(s) of abuse has occurred, must directly file a report to the CHILDLINE: 800-932-0313 in addition to notifying those entrusted with the leadership of the program.