October 15, 2001
A simple policy could have averted jail
___COCOA, Fla. (ABP)--Child care providers call it the "two-adult rule." Simply put, two adults always should be present during any church activity involving children and teens.
___Pastor Bill Marr believes it would have saved his congregation in Cocoa, Fla., thousands of dollars in legal fees. John Barber believes it would have prevented his wife from going to prison for a crime they contend she did not commit.
___The two-adult rule is printed in all publications published by Lifeway Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. It is taught in training sessions sponsored by the Florida Baptist Convention as well.
___Russ Hughes, associate in the state convention's Sunday School department, offers three reasons for the two-adult rule:
___ Safety. In case a worker must leave the room, such as with a sick child or an accident.
___ Security. To be sure children are protected from any outside dangers, like an intruder, or hazard, such as fire or disaster.
___ Mutual support, "backstopping each other particularly at the point of being able to say it didn't happen," Hughes said.
___The book "Reducing the Risk of Child Sexual Abuse in Your Church" also advocates the two-adult rule, stating that it "reduces the risk of sexual molestation and also reduces the risk of false accusations of molestations by individuals seeking a quick legal settlement."
___The two-adult rule is now a policy at First Baptist Church of Cocoa, Fla., Marr said. But for his church, it came too late.
___"Tell our churches to protect their workers, one adult in a room is not enough," John Barber advised. "Otherwise, you're asking for trouble."
___Just weeks before the incident, the church had considered purchasing video cameras for each of the rooms, but an expenditure of $5,000 seemed too costly at the time.
___"What a difference that would have made in our case. We could have proved her innocence," said Barber, minister of music and senior adults.
___After Ann Barber was convicted, the parents of the two children sued the church, only to have the church's insurance company deny coverage. Marr has been forced to hire lawyers to defend the church and to sue the insurance company for coverage.
___The situation has drained energy from the congregation, Marr said. "And money we have had to collect for legal fees should be used for God's work instead of paying lawyers."
___Hughes further recommends that every children's room in a church building have a window to allow anyone to observe at any time.
The Baptist Standard
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