calendar October 21, 2014 in Congregations

Child Protection Changes in PA

In October 2014, the General Assembly and Gov. Tom Corbett  completed a two-year effort to improve Pennsylvania’s child protection laws, with a series of bills that were officially part of the House and Senate child protection packages and based on recommendations of the Task Force on Child Protection. Two areas that will be of particular interest to churches and ministries are new definitions of mandated reporters and background check requirements for volunteers who work with children and youth programs. Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania has provided a helpful backgrounder on the changes at http://www.lutheranadvocacypa.org/child-protect-changes-in-pa/