Churches of Christ (Vic/Tas) and Kids Vision are committed to providing safe environments where children can experience God.Creating a safe environment, for all involved, is important in any activity of the Churches of Christ. It is also important that the attitude and behaviour of those with authority facilitates this.
Where the activity involves children, there is added responsibility. Those in leadership are to care for the children in such a way that their total wellbeing - including emotional, physical, social and spiritual health - is protected.

For a Churches of Christ ChildSafe update (July 09) download the following file which was found in the July Conference Newsletter (1Mb)

http://vic.kidsvision.org.au/cms/uploads/downloads/documents/ChildSafe%20newsletter%20pages.pdf 

An Effective Church Safety System
An effective safety system for the church should include the following components. Each of these components is valuable as part of a program, but cannot create a safe environment standing alone.
1. Sexual abuse awareness training (for staff members and volunteers).
2. Appropriate screening
3. Appropriate criminal background checks.
4. Tailored policies and procedures
5. Effective monitoring and oversight of all ministry programs involving children or youth.
Churches of Christ is in the process of subscribing to and implementing the Childsafe Risk Management System

The following download provides an overview of the childsafe system and some of the key factors and questions related to the implementation of childsafe at a local church level.

http://vic.kidsvision.org.au/cms/uploads/downloads/documents/Childsafe%20mailout%202.pdf

ChildSafe has two key thrusts: Child Protection and Safety (Risk) Management. The system has a strong emphasis on preventing the maltreatment of children, and responding appropriately when child abuse comes to light. ChildSafe also assists the organisation to plan safe activities and programs using a risk management framework. The system covers a broad range of topics such as:
* Screening and recruiting
* Duty of care issues, with a code of practice for working with children and young people
* Supervision and work within a safe team
* Signs and indicators of child abuse, responding sensitively to disclosure of abuse
* Dealing with suspicions, disclosures and allegations relating to child protection issues
* Transportation and water-based activities as a particular risk focus
* Hygiene, medical safety, infection, food handling
* Accident and incident reporting, processing and analysis
* An Emergency Response process

Churches of Christ (Vic/Tas) has a policy governing Responsible Leadership with Children (2007). To download this and other sample duty of care documents head to our Downloads page under