Creating caring communities

Posted Sep 21, 2015 in Culture

Ask your average congregation member about the Uniting Church in South Australia’s Called to Care initiative and they will probably be able to tell you very little. However, this small section within the Pastoral Relations and Mission Planning team has a huge impact on the daily activities and service of congregations and faith communities. Called to Care provides vital information and training for ministry leaders and volunteers.

“We want to make our churches safe places for everyone,” says Sharonne Price, the Executive Officer of the Pastoral Relations and Mission Planning team. “That’s the central message behind the work of Called to Care.”

Based on the Uniting Church SA’s “A Safe Place” statement, Called to Care provides information and training courses to ensure Uniting Church communities foster environments that are safe – physically, emotionally and spiritually.

“We assist church councils and the Synod to meet compliance requirements in a number of different fields – from child safe environments training to risk management,” explains Linda Vinall, the Called to Care Training and Development Officer.

“It’s all about partnering together to ensure congregations have a safe base from which to effectively focus on ministry.”

Called to Care seeks to emphasise the collective responsibility of the Uniting Church SA and congregations to care for those who may be vulnerable to harm, injury or abuse.

Unsurprisingly, the initiative has a particular focus on areas such as duty of care, oversight of police history checks, and reporting child abuse and neglect training. Some of these courses and checks are mandatory for compliance with legislation and regulations; others are required within the Uniting Church SA, or are simply encouraged (see the table opposite for further information).

“The topics we address through our Called to Care training are all related to how we love one another as a community within the Uniting Church,” Sharonne explains. “But they’re also areas we often prefer not to pay attention to or talk about.”

This is certainly true of the mandatory National Police History Check, which all Uniting Church SA leaders and volunteers are required to complete.

The Called to Care initiative, along with the Uniting Church SA Screening Unit, works hard to make the process of completing this check as easy and affordable as possible. While Uniting Church SA employees must pay a fee of $35 to process this check, volunteers are able to do so for free – the only cost is the postage.

The requirement for volunteers to undertake a National Police History Check is not a new one. However, through Called to Care orientation sessions, a number of churches were recently reminded that their volunteer leaders must undertake this process.

Unfortunately, the Uniting Church cannot rely on criminal checking processes undertaken through another organisation – a specific check must be undertaken through the Uniting Church SA Screening Unit. This is part of our compliance with insurance, child safe regulations and the Aged Care Act.

“By having volunteers undergo a National Police History Check we’re helping our churches to build trust and foster safe relationships,” says Linda.

“Churches often have a high level of expectationfrom the wider community, which also demands a high level of trust,” Sharonne adds. “Having this level of transparency helps build trust between churches and the community.”

The Uniting Church is legally liable to state authorities to ensure that the Church has conducted its own assessments in this area. This includes compliance to the Uniting Church’s responsibility of being a child safe organisation.

In order to meet this responsibility within congregations, the Called to Care initiative requires the nomination of a congregational contact from each church community. In an effort to more accurately reflect Called to Care’s focus on safe environments, the congregational contact’s role recently changed from “Duty of Care Liaison” to “Safe Church Contact”.

“All congregations have been advised of this change and are required to nominate a Safe Church Contact,” says Linda. “We’ve also compiled a Called to Care handbook detailing the responsibilities of this congregational contact person. This book will be sent to each congregation and minister in September.”

These responsibilities include:

• Assisting leaders and volunteers working with children, young people and other vulnerable people in congregational activities in dealing with child protection and any other concerns that may arise during the course of these activities.
• Promoting awareness of and adherence to the Uniting Church SA’s Safe Church Policy and Code of Conduct.
• Bringing “Safe Church” matters to the attention of the church council and the Presbytery/Synod when necessary and in a timely manner.

The handbook provides further details about tasks the Safe Church Contact person must undertake, relating to the areas of administration, reporting and complaints, and training. This person is also responsible for ensuring the congregation is kept informed about safe church practices.

“This role is really important in making sure our churches are safe environments for everyone,” says Sharonne.

A Called to Care orientation session providing more information about the duties of Safe Church Contacts are held several times a year, with information provided through UC e-News and New Times online. Key leaders and members of church council are encouraged to attend these sessions.

For further information about Called to Care and upcoming training, please visit sa.uca.org.au/called-to-care or contact Called to Care on 8236 4262 or Turn on Javascript!

For further information about National Police History Checks, please contact the Uniting Church SA Screening Unit on 8236 4282 or Turn on Javascript!

 

Who needs training?

It can sometimes be difficult to determine who in our Uniting Church SA congregations and communities need training – let along figure out what kind of training is needed.

The table below seeks to clearly explain what training or checks provided by Called to Care are mandatory for legal compliance, required by the Uniting Church SA, or encouraged by the Called to Care initiative.

The table details various roles within congregations and faith communities and four types of training/checks. It then specifies whether training is mandatory (M), required (R), encouraged (E) or not applicable (NA) for people in these ministry roles.

For more information about any of the training courses and/or checks detailed in the table, please contact Called to Care on Turn on Javascript! or 8236 4262.

Please note that the Screening and Authority (which includes the National Police History Check) must be renewed every three years Child Safe Environments and Code of Ethics are completed once as a full day, with refresher sessions undertaken every three years.

	Screening and Authority (National Police History Check)	Child Safe Environments: Reporting Child Abuse & Neglect	Called to Care	Code of Ethics
Ministry leaders	M	M	R	M
Ministry of Pastors	M	M	R	M
Employees: children, family & youth ministry	M	M	R	NA
Employees: admin roles	M	E	R	NA
Church council members	M	E	E	NA
Elders	M	E	E	NA
Key leaders &/or volunteers in roles of responsibility	M	E	E	NA
Children, family & youth leaders	M	R	E	NA

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