- Scenario: At the end of the day’s activities, one child’s parent is running late to pick him up. Staff and volunteers are packing up to leave and all the other kids are gone.
Solution: The two adult leaders for the child’s group should remain present with the child until he gets picked up. If one or both adults need to leave, then they should communicate with the children’s ministry director to ensure at least two other trained adults remain with the child until the parent arrives.
- Scenario: A child’s parent cannot pick her up, due to the parent’s unexpected work conflict.
Solution: This scenario presents an especially high risk. Ideally, your church has already established policies for transportation that include:
(1) Written consent from parents or guardians
(2) Review of insurance coverage with the church’s insurance carrier
(3) Screening drivers for suitability
Beyond this, two trained adults and other children should be present in a vehicle to provide the child a ride, assuming the child will be dropped off to a parent or approved guardian.
The bottom line: One adult providing one child a ride should be prohibited, including scenarios where one adult drives multiple children to their destinations, thus eventually leaving one child alone with the adult. Safe Kids Thrive, an organization serving Massachusetts, offers additional helpful tips regarding transportation.
Why The Two-Adult Rule Exists
Some might believe the two-adult rule is excessive—even unrealistic—given the challenges of finding enough volunteer help for children’s ministries and VBS.
But countless cases of abuse involving church leaders and minors could have been prevented by the two-adult rule. That includes the rape of a 13-year-old by a church volunteer who was supposed to drive her to a church activity, and the rape of a 14-year-old by a youth pastor who conducted events as the only adult present.
That’s why adopting and following a two-adult rule should be central to every church’s child-abuse prevention efforts. As your church readies itself for VBS and other ministry activities, take time now to ensure you have the rule–and everyone knows how to comply with it.
