1. How Massachusetts Defines Abuse, Neglect, Physical Injury & Emotional Injury – Under the Department of Children and Families regulations (110 CMR, section 2.00): Abuse means: The non-accidental commission of any act by a caretaker upon a child under age 18 which causes, or creates a substantial risk of, physical or emotional injury; or an act by a caretaker involving a child that constitutes a sexual offense under the laws of the Commonwealth; or any sexual contact between a caretaker and a child under the care of that individual. This definition is not dependent upon location (i.e., abuse can occur while the child is in an out-of-home or in-home setting).

Neglect means: Failure by a caretaker, either deliberately or through negligence or inability, to take those actions necessary to provide a child with minimally adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, supervision, emotional stability and growth, or other essential care; provided, however, that such inability is not due solely to inadequate economic resources or solely to the existence of a handicapping condition. This definition is not dependent upon location (i.e., neglect can occur while the child is in an out-of-home or in-home setting).

Physical Injury means: Death; or fracture of a bone, a subdural hematoma, burns, impairment of any organ, and any other such nontrivial injury; or soft tissue swelling or skin bruising, depending upon such factors as the child’s age, circumstances under which the injury occurred and the number and location of bruises; or addiction to a drug or drugs at birth; or failure to thrive.

Emotional Injury means: An impairment to or disorder of the intellectual or psychological capacity of a child as evidenced by observable and substantial reduction in the child’s ability to function within a normal range of performance and behavior.

2. You are a Mandated Reporter – The state of Massachusetts describes mandated reporters in part by saying, “Clergy members, including ordained or licensed leaders of any church or religious body, persons performing official duties on behalf of a church or religious body, or persons employed by a religious body to supervise, educate, coach, train or counsel a child on a regular basis.”

3. Clergy-penitent Privilege Probably Doesn’t Apply – Typically, privilege ordinarily applies only to courtroom testimonies and depositions, and not to a statutory requirement to report to a state agency.  This means if someone admits to you that they are actively abusing a child, you must report it, even if that information was given in a pastoral counseling session.

4. When You Become Aware the Clock Starts Ticking – You are required to report the incident immediately orally and “as a mandated reporter you are also required by law to mail or fax a written report to the Department within 48 hours after making the oral report. The form for filing this report can be obtained from a local DCF Area Office or from the DCF website: www.mass.gov/dcf.”

5. Massachusetts Process for Reporting Abuse – When you suspect that a child is being abused and/or neglected, you should immediately telephone the local DCF Area Office and ask for the Screening Unit. Offices are staffed between 9 am and 5 pm weekdays. To make a report at any other time, including after 5 pm and on weekends and holidays, please call the Child-At-Risk Hotline at 800-792-5200.The two closest offices to us are: Cape Ann, Salem 978-825-3800 Lynn 781-477-1600.

6. Having Said #4 & #5 Above, Also Follow the Church Chain of Command – Mandated Reporters who are staff members of medical or other public or private institutions, schools or facilities, must either notify the Department directly or notify the person in charge of the institution, school or facility, or his/her designee, who then becomes responsible for filing the report.” In other words, your volunteers should report to you immediately, and you should report to the Executive Pastor immediately, who in turn will notify the Senior Pastor.

7. Parents/Caretakers Can’t Stop You From Reporting – If I parent asks you not to report something, says they already have, or in any way tries to get you from reporting an incident you should still contact the Executive Pastor.  There are absolutely no exceptions to this rule.

8. Limited Legal Immunity for Individuals Who Make Good-Faith Reports – If you make a report in good faith the state of Massachusetts gives you legal immunity, even if you what you report ends up being found to be untrue.  This means you can’t be sued for reporting child abuse if you genuinely believe you are doing it to protect a child.

9. Confidentiality of a Mandated Reporters Identity – DCF regulations do not allow the Department to disclose the name of a reporter unless ordered by a court or required by statute such as when the Department is required to provide the 51A report to the District Attorney or other law enforcement (CMR 12.00 etseq.).This means you can make a report, and the person you are reporting doesn’t have to know it was you.

10. Failure to Report – Any mandated reporter who fails to make required oral and written reports can be punished by a fine of up to $1,000. Any mandated reporter who willfully fails to report child abuse and/or neglect that resulted in serious bodily injury or death can be punished by a fine of up to $5,000 and up to 2½ years in jail, and be reported to the person’s professional licensing authority. You may also face civil charges, and you may also open our church up to civil charges as well.  Civil charges mean legal fees and big awards if found guilty.

11. What To Do if an Adult Reveals they were Abused as a Minor.  This is actually a tricky one.  Some states require a mandated reporter to make a report even if the person reporting the abuse is now over the age of 18, and even if many years have passed. Our current policy is that you should always contact the Executive Pastor if something like this arises.

Adapted from Child Abuse Reporting Laws: 21 Facts Church Leaders Should Know by Richard Hammer in Church Law & Tax Report, March/April 2018 edition & http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dcf/can-mandated-reporters-guide.pdf

1. Pray before you arrive.  You are representing Jesus, ask how He wants to use you.
2. Sanitize your hands.  Observe signs regarding masks and other contact precautions when entering a room. If you have been sick talk with the XP about whether you should actually visit.
3. Turn off your cell phone or set it to silent.
4. Have a plan.  Know what verses you are going to read.  Always have anointing oil.  When visiting shut-ins always take communion. 
5. Introduce yourself.  If you don’t know the person, be sure to identify yourself and the fact you are from Calvary.  If the door is shut when you arrive, knock before entering. 
6. Complete the visit, but donâ€t obstruct the flow.  Let the hospital staff do their job, at the same time make sure you do yours, even if you have to be assertive.
7. Keep it short.  Being a patient can be exhausting.  Keep your hospital visits to about 10-15 minutes.  For shut-ins, a lot depends on the situation, but 30 minutes is a good rule of thumb.
8. Don’t rush out the door, or even seem rushed.  Take the time to sit down, always in a chair and never on the bed.  Take your coat off and don’t make it seem like you are stopping by just to do a job.  If you sense you should stay, then stay.  Even if that means you are sitting quietly with the person, not even talking.
9. Be sensitive, but not timid.  Ask questions about what is going on in their life, but if you sense they are being private don’t press.
10. Pray.  Always pray for the person you are visiting.  Ask permission, but always offer to anoint with oil.
11. Remember the family.  They often require pastoral care too.  A great practice is to call the family after visiting with their loved one.
12. Send your report.  You should email a report of your visits to *******@*********.***. 

Recently, I sat down with our church staff and reviewed our church’s policy on sending flowers.  Here is what we covered:

As a church, we are committed to providing “The Balanced Ministry with a Personal Touch. A part of this Personal Touch is demonstrated through the sending of flowers.  Generally, we send flowers based on the following:

 In what situations do we send flowers? When someone is admitted to the hospital overnight, when someone who attends Calvary passes away, when someone who attends Calvary loses a member of their family, anytime a Calvary pastor is conducting a funeral even for someone that didn’t attend.  We also give flowers for pastor’s wives on their birthdays, and any women in the church on their 80th, 90th or 100th birthday.

Note: If you feel like flowers might be appropriate for someone at any point feel free to ask the Executive Pastor about ordering flowers for them.

Who qualifies as a member of person’s family? Husband, wife, son, stepson, daughter, stepdaughter, father, stepfather, mother, stepmother, brother, stepbrother, sister, stepsister, or someone who was like one of these people to someone (for example a grandparent who raised their grandchild that attends Calvary).

Who orders the flowers? The church receptionist.  This should be done the day we find out someone went into the hospital overnight, or when the funeral arrangements are made known. Currently, we are using Evans Flowers and their phone number is 800-230-5458.The church receptionist should record that flowers were ordered in the floral log.

 What happens if someone passes and there is no funeral, the funeral is out of the country, etc.? The flowers can be sent to the family’s home.

 What happens if someone is in ICU, a psychiatric unit, or somewhere they cannot receive flowers?The pastors visiting should pay attention as to when the person is transferred to a regular room or is able to receive flowers. Once they are able to receive flowers the visiting pastor should alert the church receptionist so they can order flowers.

How much do we spend on flowers? We work regularly with a florist and have an understanding as to how much should be spent on flowers, so you should not need to specify this when you call.  Having said that, generally, when someone goes into the hospital the flowers cost approximately $50 for a local hospital, $60 for Boston or outside of a certain radius of Evans.  Funeral flowers are $100.  This includes delivery.  

Do we ever do send something other than flowers? Sometimes we make an exception for children and ask the florist to send them a stuffed animal with a balloon or something they will like more.