I don't think there's a possible concern that could warrant a blanket ban, given that most churches don't have schools.
However, your comment spurred a thought in me, which is: adults and children in the same group on parish property tends to require things like background checks and sexual abuse prevention training for the adults. They m…
I don't think there's a possible concern that could warrant a blanket ban, given that most churches don't have schools.
However, your comment spurred a thought in me, which is: adults and children in the same group on parish property tends to require things like background checks and sexual abuse prevention training for the adults. They might be avoiding the expense to the parish/diocese (rather than passing the cost to the groups, and having only the poorer ones shut down).
True, but Virtus only applies if there are children. If most of the groups are either adult-only, or are run with a limited number of adult volunteers, it would require only a few (or no) background checks and accreditation. A homeschool group might need a dozen or more adults accredited, just for one group. And neither Virtus nor background checks apply for parents of children who attend the parish school to be on school grounds.
I don't know how much background checks typically run, but I doubt they're cheap. I don't know if that's enough to cause a problem by itself, but I can see it being a factor. Although I expect most of the groups would have preferred to simply foot the bill.
I don't think there's a possible concern that could warrant a blanket ban, given that most churches don't have schools.
However, your comment spurred a thought in me, which is: adults and children in the same group on parish property tends to require things like background checks and sexual abuse prevention training for the adults. They might be avoiding the expense to the parish/diocese (rather than passing the cost to the groups, and having only the poorer ones shut down).
True, but Virtus only applies if there are children. If most of the groups are either adult-only, or are run with a limited number of adult volunteers, it would require only a few (or no) background checks and accreditation. A homeschool group might need a dozen or more adults accredited, just for one group. And neither Virtus nor background checks apply for parents of children who attend the parish school to be on school grounds.
I don't know how much background checks typically run, but I doubt they're cheap. I don't know if that's enough to cause a problem by itself, but I can see it being a factor. Although I expect most of the groups would have preferred to simply foot the bill.