The Child Safety Pledge
Signatories to this document approve of coordinated efforts to make the Child Safety Pledge a broadly accepted principle for philanthropic giving to youth-serving organizations.
Recognizing that the Jewish community is not immune from the disturbing occurrences of sexual abuse of children in Youth Serving Organizations in both secular and faith-based realms;
Desiring to raise awareness of this issue and elevate it to a primary concern of the Jewish community;
Seeking a pro-active approach to effect change at both the organizational and community-wide level to do everything possible in order to guarantee the safety of all children in the care of Jewish organizations and programs;
Asserting the need for all individuals in youth-serving organizations who regularly interact with children to have adequate training in abuse prevention, and in how to recognize signs of abuse;
Embracing our moral responsibility to assure the safety of children in the care of Jewish programs and prioritize the well-being of victims/survivors of abuse, including creating environments where they can safely and comfortably speak out and take steps to have their needs met;
Affirming the necessity to respond swiftly and responsibly to suspected incidents of abuse in accordance with ethical and legal requirements, and;
Encouraging the adoption of comprehensive child sexual abuse prevention and response frameworks by each youth serving organization providing sufficient education, oversight, and ongoing review to assure strong implementation, including:
- Written policies,
- Personnel screening,
- Training programs, and
- Effective and legally compliant procedures for how to respond to suspected abuse.
Adopters pledge to
Require youth-serving organizations to which they make significant funding commitments to take appropriate steps to prevent and respond to sexual abuse of minors by adopting and implementing institution-wide measures that increase the safety of children in their care.