Safety Comes First at Campus Ministry
Students who want to participate in Campus Ministry activities that involve children face new
clearance procedures.
Members of the three Campus Ministry groups;
•Girl Power
•College Kids for Girl
•College Kids for Boys
These 3 groups are now required to get the Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance and the
Pennsylvania State Criminal Background Check.
“The clearances that are required are the Pennsylvania State Child Abuse Clearances and the
Pennsylvania State Criminal Background Check,” said junior and a Girl Power leader Amanda
Lee. “They just tell the employer that you do or do not have a history of child abuse or that you
do or do not have a criminal history.”
•College Kids for Girls and College Kids for Boys are programs in which young children
from the McGlynn Center in Wilkes-Barre come to campus and interact with students
through different activities and programs.
•The Girl Power program is based at the McGlynn Center where students go to provide
activities and games for the young girls.
Students were supposed to get their clearances beforehand but the a new supervisor at the
McGylnn Center now requires two clearances before they can attend the programs.
“The reason Girl Power, College Kids for Girls, and College Kids for Boys programs now need
clearances for the volunteers is because there is a new Sister in charge of the McGlynn Center
where we volunteer, “ said Lee. “It is technically required by law that anyone who spends a lot
of time with the children needs to have all of their clearances in just in case something
happens.”
These clearances last for an entire year. Any student who wants to volunteer with children is
required to get the clearances as are students in education and other majors that involve
interaction with children.
•The breakdown of the system is that U.S. campus ministries are now taking more
procedures to maintain safety in their campus
•By doing intensive background tests on new employees, it makes the parents and kids
feel much safer nowadays
•Making sure that every kind of precaution is taken in order to ensure a ministry’s mission
is taken into effect creates an healthy atmosphere for the children to learn in
•Ask questions to local counselors or people you know who are running ministries to gain
more insight on the situation
•Just because it is an outdoor campus ministry doesn’t mean that some indoor techniques
cannot be incorporated into the strategy of effective learning
