Child Safety Policies

Introduction

In response to the Jerry Sandusky trial of 2011 and other abuses of the Catholic church, the state of Pennsylvania (PA) has enacted multiple pieces of legislation which take effect in 2014-2016. The new laws include requiring the clearance of any adult volunteer or employee (≥18 years of age) who has direct supervision of minors (≤17 years of age). The laws also mandate that anyone with direct supervision of children report suspected abuse (mandated reporters). While we do not believe a background check can reveal the heart, we also feel Christians are obligated by conscience to respect civil ordinances (1 Peter 2). Therefore, Church at Cross Keys requires all of it’s volunteers with direct supervision of minors to maintain background checks as required by law. Interested volunteers may find further information linked below.

Application

To apply for approval to supervise minors at Church at Cross Keys, you must submit the following items to the Child Safety Team:

  1. Complete Application; print and complete the application
  2. Complete all required clearances
    • You must follow the instruction guide completely for your application to be processed
    • It is strongly recommended you print the instruction guide in order to be able to follow the instructions for each clearance website.
  3. Submit application and clearance proof in one of the options listed:
    • Scan/email electronic documents to …………………..
    • Return paper documents to ………………………….

Following receipt of all items, your application can be processed.

Additional Resources:

Abuse Definitions

Mandated Reporting