Anyone who has concerns about inappropriate behavior or suspected sexual/physical abuse or harassment, should report their concerns immediately to the Minister, DRE, or other member of the Response Group by submitting a Report of Suspected Incident of Abuse. When an allegation is made, the responsible person receiving the allegation should take the necessary steps to establish a Response Team and convene a meeting of the Response Team (see below for definitions).
The Board will appoint, with input from the Minister and DRE, a Response Group of 6- 10 responsible and knowledgeable people who could be called upon to form a Response Team and who will be available to hear confidential concerns about abuse or harassment.
The Response Group will be composed of at least 3 women and 3 men and an effort will be made to reflect the diversity of the congregation. These people will be qualified by their (1) participation in regularly offered training OR professional/volunteer experience in working with abuse issues; (2) understanding of this policy and other UUA “Safe Congregation” material; and (3) knowledge about available resources and reporting procedures for children, including applicable Georgia state laws.
The DRE will keep an up-to-date list of the names and phone numbers of all members of the Response Group and will ensure that this list is posted at all times and available to all members and friends of the congregation.
In response to a specific situation, a Response Team will be formed within 24 hours by the person who receives the initial complaint, in consultation with the Minister, DRE, and Board President. The Response Team will consist of three individuals from the Response Group uninvolved in the incident and will include the Minister (ex-officio). If the incident involves children or youth, the DRE (ex-officio) will be included in the Response Team.
If the incident or allegation involves the Minister or DRE, then that person will be removed from the Response Team and the Board will be notified immediately.
The Response Team does not have legal authority or expertise to determine guilt or innocence. It is designed instead to protect members of the congregation and to ensure that the victim and accused are treated with dignity and respect. The team responding to an allegation involving any congregant(s) should:
Consider the safety of the children: Regardless of whether or not children were involved in the alleged incident, the safety of the congregation’s children should be of primary importance. Reasonable and timely action should be taken to ensure their safety based upon the credibility and severity of the allegation and other pertinent factors. All allegations will be taken seriously.
If child abuse is suspected, follow state law regarding mandated reporting of child abuse: A copy of GA state law on child abuse should be kept in the child abuse policy notebook (maintained in the DRE’s office) and should be referenced when an incident is reported. The DRE or designated member of the Response Team will make appropriate and timely reporting to the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS). The current number will be posted in the church office at all times:
The Georgia Department of Human Resources
Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS)
Please call the DFCS Child Protective Center at:
1-855-GACHILD / 1-855-422-4453
For general inquiries, contact 1-877-423-4746
Explore professional resources: The Response Team should call on or refer involved parties to professional resources that they deem appropriate, both within the congregation and outside of the congregation.
Consider whom to inform: Decisions about whom to inform about the incident (parents, teachers, the congregation, the child or children in question if children are involved, classmates, the alleged perpetrator) and the information to be provided should be made in a careful but timely manner by the Board of Trustees in conjunction with the Response Team. The decision should be made based upon the individual situation (e.g. severity and credibility of allegation; does the threat to the safety of the children still exist).
Notify the Northwest Board and UUA Regional Executives: If any action is taken or recommended by the Response Team, the UUA Southern Region Consultant will be notified 1) that a Response Team has been convened, 2) of the nature of the issue and 3) if child(ren) are involved, whether a report has been or will be made to DFCS. The President will report to the full board in a closed meeting at the earliest appropriate time.
Respect confidentiality: Since these matters are sensitive, it is important that all persons involved, including the reporting person and the accused, maintain the level of confidentiality recommended by the Response Team.
Mitigate false accusations: The protection from false or mistaken allegations is an important goal of this policy. A key way to prevent false or mistaken allegations is to abide by the guidelines outlined in this policy. We should be sensitive to the disruption and damage a false accusation may cause, even when the accusation is due to a misunderstanding or misinterpretation.
Under Georgia law, any persons whose duties, either as an employee or volunteer, involves attending to a child is required to report child abuse. Any reports should be made orally or in writing immediately to the Minister, DRE or member of the Northwest Response Group. The Minister, DRE or Northwest Response Group member, in turn, is required to make a report to the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services within 24 hours at 1-855-422-4453. The responsible individual receiving the report should immediately take appropriate action to ensure protection of the children in the congregation.
Any person who has reasonable cause to believe that a child is abused may report or cause reports to be made.
In order to protect the children and youth in our programs from potential risk and to protect the accused from further suspicion, decisions about removing or suspending the alleged perpetrator from interacting with children in the RE program or other congregational programs will be made by the Response Team. A decision should be made and action taken in a timely manner based on the possible threat to the children, the seriousness of the allegation, and other factors that may relate to the situation.
The Response Team may also determine, even without an accusation of abuse, that they have reason(s) for concern that a volunteer’s contact with children or youth in our congregation potentially places both the volunteer and the children at risk of incident or accusation. For this reason, the Response Team is authorized to restrict an individual from teaching in the RE program or otherwise volunteering or chaperoning for children's events.
Some incidents or allegations may involve behavior that is not clearly abuse or harassment, but may be in other ways deemed inappropriate by an individual, a parent or by the DRE. In such cases a Response Team, including the DRE (if children or youth are involved), the Minister and a member of the Response Group, may be called together to review the situation and decide what action to take.
The Board of Directors of the NWUUC will make the final determination of any additional consequences appropriate to the violation of this policy, including but not limited to, termination of a staff person (termination of the Minister would require a congregational vote) and any additional action in the case of volunteers beyond that for which the Response Team is authorized. Violations of this policy by the Minister or DRE shall constitute good cause for discipline under the terms of the Minister’s or DRE’s Letter of Agreement. The Board shall also inform the following of any determination of serious violations by the Minister of this policy: