The care and protection of children at any public, private, religious, or secular organization or institution that supports children or vulnerable adults should be, one of, if not their highest priority. Accordingly, these organizations and institutions must ensure that their child abuse protection policies and procedures are comprehensive and current. Here are 10 key elements to consider when determining whether your institution or organization is child abuse protection ready.
In addition to these 10 key elements, a comprehensive child abuse protection policy will also include a number of other important policies and procedures. With the variety of issues to consider when constructing a complete and detailed child abuse protection policy, it may benefit your organization to engage a compliance or child abuse subject matter expert or compliance professional to help create or revise your current policy. These same experts may also serve as compliance consultants on an as needed basis for advising leadership and advisory committees on policy, communications, and crisis response. The emotional, psychological, and physical toll on survivors of sexual abuse is immeasurable. Investing in a strong and comprehensive child abuse prevention policy can help reduce the occurrence of sexual abuse and is far less costly than the alternative.