Dear Colleague:

Greetings in the Grace of our Lord and in the Law of Pennsylvania! Recently 23 pieces of legislation were enacted in Pennsylvania changing how Pennsylvania responds to child abuse. These changes affect all of our churches regarding the protection of our children. The law went into affect on 12/31/14.

Pennsylvania law now broadens the definition of who is a "mandated reporter" to include the clergy, all paid church staff and volunteers who work with children and youth in any capacity. The mandated reporter will be required to make reports of suspected abuse directly, rather than report it to a supervisor. Willful failure to report suspected child abuse can result in misdemeanor or felony charges, depending on the severity of the alleged abuse. More information for mandated reporters.

Pennsylvania now requires all employees of the church and volunteers that work with children and youth (18 and under) to have background checks every 36 months.

The following checks are now required:

Report of criminal history from the Pennsylvania State Police: http://www.dhs.state.pa.us/findaform/childabusehistoryclearanceforms/S_001769 If you have questions about the Pennsylvania State Police Request for Criminal Record Checks form (SP4 164), please call: (717) 783-9973 or toll free 1-888-783-7972. Cost $10.00. Criminal history checks may be obtained from third-party vendors.
Child Abuse History Clearance from Department of Human Services: http://www.dhs.state.pa.us/findaform/childabusehistoryclearanceforms/S_001762 For questions related to the Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance, please contact the ChildLine Verification Unit at 717-783-6211 or toll free at 1-877-371-5422. Cost $10.00. This clearance must be obtained through the state.
Employees are required to have a FBI Fingerprint clearance.

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services is utilizing Cogent Systems to process fingerprint-based FBI criminal background checks. The fingerprint based background check is a multiple step process. For more information and to begin the registration process, go to http://www.pa.cogentid.com//index_dpw.htm . For question about your FBI Clearance, please contact the FBI/Adam Walsh Unit at 717-783-6211 or 1-877-371-5422. Cost $27.50

Effective 12/31/14, all employee clearance, including FBI, must be obtained every 36 months; churches have a one year period or until 12/31/15 to bring all employees current. Rostered leaders, church staff, church volunteers are required to have current (less than 36 months old) background checks by 7/1/15.

In addition, according to Act 31 all licensed professionals, employees who have direct contact with children and foster parents are also required to receive additional training on recognizing and reporting child abuse.

Bishop Burkat and I strongly recommend that all pastors and rostered leaders whose daily work brings them into contact with children, and all church staff and volunteers working with children, complete a FREE three-hour online training conducted by the University of Pittsburgh at www.ReportAbusePa.Pitt.edu

Persons will be able to stop the training at various intervals and complete it at their convenience. At the completion of this online training the participant will print out a Certificate of Completion, which should be printed out and presented to the church office and placed in a file for all church staff for volunteers working with children.

Rostered Leaders: After securing the Certificate of Completion, please send to the Synod Office so that the certificate can be placed in your file. You may also send a copy electronically to Yvonne Curtis at ycurtis@sepa.org.

I strongly recommend that all congregations update their Safe Church Policies to reflect the changes in the law.

For your reflection, here is a link to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services fact sheet to help you to understand the law that has been enacted to protect our children. Another excellent resource for you and the members of your church can be found at: http://keepkidssafe.pa.gov/

If you have questions about this law and its requirements after you complete the online training, please feel free to email me at DrDee3@gmail.com and I will do my best to help guide you through the process. I also encourage you to speak to your congregation's legal counsel for advice on implanting this law in your place of ministry.

In Mutual Ministry with you,

Rev. Dr. Dolores E. Littleton, LMFT

Advisor to the Bishop for Fitness for Ministry

SEPA Synod of the ELCA