Stop right there, ma'am; you're not allowed
Saturday, March 03, 2007
ISABEL WOLSELEY TORREY
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

"The day of the unlocked church door has passed," my husband said a while back. I mumbled something in response which I cannot recall and continued whatever I'd been doing.

However, the words suddenly resurfaced recently.

Lawrence and I attend Manlius' Eastern Hills Bible Church, a flourishing, lively, growing group in a new facility. A couple of Sundays ago, I decided to wander down the windowed hallway to the children's wing to observe the kids and their teachers in their pristine rooms, whose walls my husband and I, along with other volunteers, had helped paint.

My innocent decision was abruptly reversed by a pair of young women who noticing I displayed no badge politely stopped me at its entrance. I was a bit taken aback. As I told Lawrence later, "After all, they recognized me!" On the other hand, it was an impressive show of security for children in the areas beyond.

Coincidentally, the next morning, The Post-Standard's front-page headline said, "Sex Charges Against Teachers Up," with a secondary headline, "Number of accusations against teachers has doubled in five years." That was enough; I decided to check further into EHBC's security and was referred to Kathy Schreiber, children's ministries coordinator.

"Yes," Kathy told me. "Each of the 130 volunteers who work with our kids go through a criminal background search, via a national company, 'Volunteer Select.' And, as a further precaution, we also check the federal sex-offender register."

No one is allowed in the children's wings unless he or she displays a teacher/helper badge or one that matches that of a child they're dropping off or picking up.
...

More and more, large churches are adopting policies like this.

The irony is if you have a glass-walled wing, having random eyeballs traveling through that wing can improve accountability.

• ( http link ) http://www.syracuse.com/articles/cny/index.ssf?/base/living-3/117291654644940.xml+coll=1
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