Shielding our little ones from abuse

Adventist Screening Verification Program

The Southern New England Conference of SDA requires that all who work with children in any way in our churches have a background check done and take training to recognize and prevent abuse of children. The conference uses Sterling Volunteers for this.

Several important points:

1. Everyone who is at least 18 years of age and serves in ministries involving children must do the training and background check:
   - Sabbath School volunteers
   - Pathfinder and Adventurer leaders and volunteers, including those involved in field trips or other activities
   - and anyone else who works with children.
   - There are absolutely no exceptions to this policy.
2. There is no cost to you for either the training or background check
3. The required part of the training will likely take 1–2 hours in total. You don't have to complete it all in one sitting.
4. Both the background check and the training need to be redone every three years.
   - Thirty days before your eligibility expires you should start getting emails from the certification company with links to renew.
   - Make sure you have a current email address on file with them.