Church Security – Part II – Children’s Check-in

Budget, personnel, and program cuts are hot topics for many churches as the year draws to a close. New budgets mean big decisions, especially duing the current economic conditions. In the area of church security - particularly children’s security - cutbacks are not only unwise, but dangerous; dangerous for children and for the church as a whole. The second installment of this three-part series on church security focuses on the importance and necessity of good children’s check-in processes and software.

Why Check-in - The Law

It is important to know the law as it pertains to liability and negligence. This applies to children’s security as well as hiring and volunteer screening practices as we discussed in the first installment last week. It is naïve to think that because you are a church or nonprofit that you and your staff would not be held legally liable in the event of a mishap. David Middlebrook with The Church Law Group in Grapevine, Texas covers this topic extensively in his book The Guardian System. He states that the law defines negligence as “conduct that creates an unreasonable risk of foreseeable harm to others.” According to Middlebrook, a church takes on the responsibility or duty of “reasonable care” when it takes the child from his or her guardian. If a mishap occurs, then negligence can be charged if it can be proven that there was a “breach of the duty of reasonable care.” In other words, the mishap could have been prevented by taking adequate safety measures (background checks, hiring/volunteer screening, children’s check-in process, etc.). Once the church is found liable, the degree of liability is determined by the damages caused by the breach, which is completely subjective and decided solely by the courts. It is imperative that churches understand this and for church leadership to take every step to avoid these situations, which is why children’s check-in, among other things, is so important.

How Check-in Helps

A robust children’s check-in helps staff and volunteers handle emergencies if they arise, but the preventive measures alone are incentive for church leaders to embrace these methodologies. In general, the sight of check-in and staff or volunteers promotes a welcoming atmosphere and assurance that church members’ and volunteers' children are safe. More importantly, the visibility of an organized check-in process can deter a stranger or estranged family member from even trying to pick up a child without permission. “Open-door” policies are fantastic when inviting new-comers to worship but when it comes to children’s safety, visitors will not begrudge a church the check-in process if it enhances children’s security during services. The safety that check-in affords a church is inarguably worth the investment.

The Process – The Software

To begin, configure the children’s check-in process to follow the existing security guidelines for the church. You can look for software that fits these guidelines, which makes your software decision easier in the long run. If your church does not already have a set of security guidelines in place please see next week’s church security installment for ideas and solutions.

Next, look at what other churches are using to find what works. In an article in Church Solutions Magazine, Jeff Pelletier with Fellowship Technologies states, “The most common mechanism to address the concern of children’s check-in is a type of ‘claim receipt’ that serves as an identifier for the parent or guardian when it is time to pick up the child from their class.” Fellowship One, the leading system for children’s check-in in the market today, uses just such an identifier in the form of a randomly, computer-generated nametag. The code cannot be duplicated or reproduced, and if a receipt is lost or stolen, it cannot be traced back to the child in any way. So if a parent drops their receipt in the church lobby, they will not have to worry that someone else can pick up the tag and retrieve their child. The tag has no location or information listed that would help someone try to take a small child or infant from their classroom. Only the rightful guardian is able to pick up the child, but the church, with the help of Fellowship One, will have a few additional security steps that must be taken in order to release someone without the proper receipt.

A Security Solution Includes A Robust Check-in System

Above and beyond the security aspect, check-in allows your church to record real-time attendance while enforcing security, safety and registration requirements for any event or activity…not just children’s church or Sunday school. A complete system is flexible and should be directly linked to online event registration. Check-in can be leveraged for virtually any event or activity and provide the church with immediate feedback on the success of that event, which makes decisions about future activities and events much easier for church staff. In the case of Fellowship One, which is used by forty-eight of the top 100 churches in the country, additional offerings include touch-screen interfaces, the option to utilize bar-coded key tags and both Assisted and Self Check-in. Regardless of which software provider your church utilizes, the key to adding security with a robust check-in solution is a strong return on investment for churches.

Given the legal ramifications for churches without a security system in place, check-in may be the easiest and most efficient way to ensure a front line for protection. Though there are expenses of buying children’s check-in, the question remains: “Can your church afford NOT to use check-in?”. The sooner a church implements software and trains their staff effectively, the better prepared they are to handle growth…safely.

This article is the second of a three-part series on Church Security. The first article can be found by clicking here.