Executive Council approved an updated policy to protect children and vulnerable adults at its July 2022 meeting. Previously known as Safeguarding, the new Safe Church, Safe Communities Policy (“Safe Church”) is based on a model policy adopted by The Episcopal Church in 2017 and reflects new courses released by Praesidium this spring and summer.
As of August 12, the 20-year-old videos Meet Sam and It Happened to Me have been decommissioned and are no longer available on the Praesidium Academy. In their stead are a core of five universal training courses that are required under the newly approved Safe Church policy for clergy and lay leaders and everyone who cares for children or vulnerable adults or otherwise participates in leadership roles in a church setting. The five universal training courses are:
- Introduction & Theological Background
- Organizational Rules & Policies
- Healthy Boundaries
- Inclusion
- Reporting (A new course is expected to be available Fall 2022, until it is available, please take “Duty to Report: Mandated Reporter”)
In addition, as set forth in Appendix A of the Safe Church policy, many people in our Diocese will need to take some or all the Specialty Courses which include:
- Power and Relationships
- Pastoral Relationships
- Anti-Harassment (A new course is expected to be available Fall 2022, until it is available, please take either “Safeguarding God’s People: Preventing Sexual Harassment for Managers & Supervisors” OR “Safeguarding God’s People: Preventing Sexual harassment for Workers.”)
- Abuse and Neglect
- Bullying
- Best Practices for Intentional Communities (a resource guide) (Expected to be available later this fall)
This fall we will roll out integrated background checks through Praesidium. Until this integration has been completed, please continue to use the background check vendor and processes in place.
If you have any questions about Safe Church please contact Kelly Nickson at nickson@indydio.org. Kelly may be reached at (317) 926-5454.
