Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Children’s Safety
A recent newspaper article reported that a pastor, a Catholic school principal, and a teacher had all resigned their positions at a large suburban parish on the East Coast. The reason was that for the previous 6 weeks, male elementary students had complained on more than one occasion that a janitor had been using their bathroom at the school – a bathroom that was for student use only – and that he had allegedly exposed himself. No one to whom the children disclosed the incident reported it to either public or church authorities – even though all who resigned were mandated reporters under both state law and organizational policy in place for more than a decade. At an international school across the globe, with longstanding safety policies and procedures in place, a similar situation occurred recently, and resulted in the repeated sexual molestation of a 6-year old boy. A recent national survey found that 27% of the pediatricians who responded admitted that they did not report injuries to children they observed – even though they deemed the injuries to be “likely” or “very likely” caused by abuse. Although state laws are very clear about the need to immediately report suspected, observed, or disclosed child abuse and neglect to law enforcement or to child protective service agencies, reluctance to do so still exists – and that reluctance puts children at risk.
It has been 12 years since the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse crisis was in the daily news and in public consciousness. The response – not only by the church, but by many school districts, states, and public and private youth-serving organizations – was immediate. Policies and procedures were strengthened, pre-employment screening was augmented, prevention education and training programs were selected and taught to millions of adults and children, and state mandated reporter laws were expanded to include additional professions as well as stronger penalties for failing to report suspected abuse. One wonders why anyone who works with children – particularly those in positions of responsibility – would be unclear at this point about who should be trained, or who needs a background check, or what a person should do if he or she suspects (or is told) that a child is in danger of being harmed.
Research in organizational change suggests that large-scale, foundational change to any organization will not be a linear process or a one-time event. In times of crisis (or even when a crisis is perceived to have passed), organizations undergoing a change process that is not yet complete often tend to revert to traditional ways of behaving. Similarly, a sustained level of vigilance, encouragement, and support by senior leadership is necessary for all levels of the organization undergoing change, lest the perceived commitment to the change is seen as waning – further encouraging a backward slide toward “the way business is usually done around here.”
As a crisis fades into the past, and communication about it becomes less frequent, organizations and people have a tendency over time to view policies, programs or initiatives created during the crisis as having sufficiently addressed the situation – thus allowing them to turn their attention to the many other tasks, activities and daily problems that normally demand their time. This is when the “corporate memory” begins to weaken and vigilance can suffer. If we let that happen, we do so at great risk.
Turnover of staff and volunteers can also add to this effect, as each succeeding “generation” of leaders, employees and volunteers is further removed from the crisis environment. Unless there is regular and frequent communication to the organization about the importance of the abuse prevention programs, policies, and procedures, why they are in place, and what they are intended to do, the practice of safe environments weakens. So what can we do to maintain its strength?
In attempting organizational change, leadership must make the case – and provide mechanisms -for enabling the change and its assessment. Top leadership must then hold itself, all management, and all employees to “be” the desired change in all their attitudes and actions. An important element for sustaining forward momentum in child abuse prevention initiatives is communication about how the effort is evolving, and feedback from leadership reflecting its ongoing commitment to the process. This feedback should include:
- Regular reminders (newsletters, bulletins, newspaper articles, etc.) of the responsibilities associated with maintaining safe environments and the results associated with doing so;
- Periodic statements by the organization’s leadership concerning the ongoing commitment to the organization’s child protection policy and to the vigilance necessary to protect children;
- Organization-wide distribution of policies and procedures for child protection, the code of conduct, abuse reporting protocols and procedures, etc.;
- Organizational updates about the status of programs, schedules for training, lists of the categories of people to be trained;
- A regular flow of information and data from departments and organizations about their particular “piece” of the requirements; and
- Internal audits and data collection concerning outcomes that demonstrate whether and how the desired results are being achieved and maintained.
With these elements in place, organizations work to build a culture of safety that maintains a strong and permanent vigilance over the well-being of the children entrusted to their care – not because it is some “requirement” imposed by “people up the chain”, but because it is part and parcel of an ongoing personal and behavioral commitment to keep the children safe and protected.
By Deacon Anthony P. Rizzuto, PhD
Information provided The Team Platform