Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Protecting Children of the Storm
Protecting Children in the Aftermath of Disaster
The historic tornado outbreak of April 27, 2011 has not only changed the physical landscape of the Alabama but the landscape of families as well. Parents and others charged with safeguarding children must understand that while the very young can be quite resilient they must be protected after disasters as well. And there are special threats that need consideration.
We are seeing a great outpouring of compassion and generosity all over the region. Neighbors, churches and local charities were the first on the scene to offer a helping hand. With each passing day more help arrives to the stricken areas. Situations like these bring out the best in people. But there are a small percentage of people who will attempt to cause additional harm by preying on our children.
From my decades of experience as a law enforcement officer, criminal investigator, foster parent and serving with Alabama’s most diverse and comprehensive, faith-based child and family service agency www.alabamachild.org I can assure you that those who would prey on our children are often the least suspected and often include those well known to the victims and their families.
Ironically, last weekend I was scheduled to conduct training for hundreds of church leaders providing weekday care for children in schools, day cares and other weekday activities. I will share with you a brief glimpse of what I would have shared with childcare providers.
Sexual Predators
As with all states, there are thousands of convicted sex offenders in Alabama. While some have been discovered, many live and work among us undetected. Sexual predators will often attempt “infiltrate” churches, charities, schools and other organizations serving children. Here's just a few ways to help protect "Children of the Storm."
- If you know a family staying in a disaster shelters insure that they are vigilant in knowing where there children are at all time. Shelters provided by the American Red Cross http://www.redcross.org/ and the Salvation Army www.salvationarmyusa.org/ are among those who know the risk related to children and seek to provide adequate security and safeguards.
- Churches are second only to the public school system in the number of children served weekly. Yet, churches are vulnerable because they are a community of trust. Child predators sometimes seek affiliation with churches to access children. Ask the church providing disaster services for children whether or not they follow Child Protection First or similar policies. A sample of this policy can be found at http://www.alsbom.org/clientimages/36469/sbom_offices/leadercare_church_administration/protectingchildrenandyouthfromsexualmisconductinyourchurchcorrect.pdf
- When seeking childcare verify that all employees and volunteers with unaccompanied access to children have undergone a background screening. A sex offender central registry check is available at no cost through your county child protection agency. In Alabama, contact the county DHR Office. You can find the location at www.dhr.alabama.gov
- Insure that the child care facility has a child identification procedure that will prohibit unauthorized people from "checking out" children without proper authorization.
- If you suspect anyone of preying on children, abusing or attempting to abuse a child in anyway contact local law enforcement or your child protection agency. In Alabama a list of the county offices can be found at to http://dhr.alabama.gov/
- If you know of children whose parent(s) is/are hospitalized or were killed in this disaster and are not in the care of a legal guardian contact your county child protection agency.
- To learn who the registered sex offenders are in your community each state maintaining a database with public access. In Alabama the registry is found at http://dps.alabama.gov/Community/
For more information on protecting children in life’s storms please feel free to contact me.
In a future post I plan to share about the emotional health of children following disasters.
Blessings,
Bob
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