In a perfect world coaches instill a strong work ethic, teach life skills, and leave kids and teens with a lifelong passion for their sport. Blindly trusting those wanting to coach children is never a good idea. News stories of sexual assaults, emotional or physical abuse remind us that coaches and mentors need to have
Five Years After McGirt v Oklahoma: Are Your Background Checks Keeping Pace?
In July 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a historic decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma. The case reaffirmed that much of eastern Oklahoma (over half the state) remains legally recognized as tribal land. The McGirt decision effectively restored reservation status to roughly 43–52% of Oklahoma land, allowing for the shifting of criminal jurisdiction away from local
Florida’s New Background Check Law
What Every Youth Sports Organization Needs to Know about Florida Statute 943.0438 Before 2026 When parents drop off their children for practice, they are entrusting your organization not only with their development as athletes but also with their safety. Since 90% of child abuse cases involve someone the child knows and trusts, Florida Statute 943.0438 aims to protect children
7 Ways Your Church HR Misses the Mark
Church HR requires a specific balance between compliance and culture and having gaps could cost you money and time, not to mention staff morale and relational capital with your congregation. If you’re juggling 17 different hats (including “HR” anything) but don’t have the time or experience to figure out what church HR actually looks like,
AT YOUR SERVICE: How You Can Tailor Service Alerts for Your Background Checks
Have you heard of Protect My Ministry’s Service Alerts feature? It’s a powerful new tool you can add-on to your screening process, to uncover potential gaps in address and criminal reporting and ensure you’re able to make the most informed decisions possible for your organization’s safety. Filling in the Gaps As you may know, even
Four Proven Ways to Improve the Safety at Your Church
Throughout the upheaval of COVID-19, discussions of church safety have primarily focused on masks, hand sanitizer, and social distancing. But as churches continue to reopen and resume in-person programs for families and children – and with mass shootings continuing to undermine Americans’ sense of safety, and the legacy of past church violence still painful –
Protect My Ministry Ready to Connect at the Church Network Conference
While premier data connections are what drive churches to Protect My Ministry’s background screening solutions, the team is excited to reestablish the people connections that put the human touch in technology. Protect My Ministry will be at the 65th annual Church Network Conference July 7-10 at the Minneapolis Convention Center, armed with the information you
The Ban the Box Loophole Sex Offenders Don’t Want You to Know About
A violent attack in South Florida is exposing the dangers of not conducting background checks on employees, and shedding light on a unforeseen consequence of employers based in Ban the Box states. If you don’t already know what Ban the Box is, here is a rough (and long-winded) explanation: Job applications used to universally ask
Inside the Mind of a Sexual Predator
“We let him into our lives, our home. We trusted him with our children, and he betrayed us in the worst way possible,” the mother told the judge. “It is inconceivable to think that this man was able to maintain the lie of who he was for eight years in our community.’’ Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/05/sex_offender_left_oregon_and_d.html Those
When Should Your Church Re-Screen Employees and Volunteers?
Recently, a church found itself at the center of every congregation’s worst nightmare; One of its former volunteers is accused of sexually abusing several children he met through the church. The worst part is that these newest charges come years after similar allegations plagued the man and the church. Once a clean record, not always a clean a