Webinar: How to Deal with Risks Posed by Social Media

Offenders need three things to abuse a child: access, privacy, and control. The Internet and the wide use of social media make it a lot easier for offenders. This is especially risky in the case of organizations that serve youth.

As communicating through social media has become more and more popular, church leaders have questions about what is appropriate. For instance, should youth ministers be "friends" with youth group members on Facebook?

This webinar can help you sort it all out. Britt Darwin-Looney, an attorney who specializes in safety for youth and children services at Praesidium Inc., a national leader in abuse risk management and the company with which Church Insurance Agency Corporation worked to develop its Safeguarding God’s Children training program series, will address common questions and discuss ways that churches can use social media safely and effectively.

The webinar is specifically designed for church administrators, volunteers, and interested parents, and will be available on Tuesday, March 13, 2012, at 1:00 p.m. CST. You can sign up here.

"Really, anyone within the church could benefit; we’ll be talking about issues like cyber-bullying and texting, as well as giving churches five strategies to ensure safety around social media," Darwin-Looney says, "We’ll be discussing policy implementation, staff training, policy monitoring, church-wide education, and how to respond should the policies be violated."

"It’s more than just putting a policy in place," she says. "It’s important to educate the parents and kids about what’s appropriate, and bring them into the risk management loop."

In creating a safe and positive environment, churches can’t ignore the changing landscape of communications. This webinar will help churches more fully understand the risks that social media bring, and make a sound plan for dealing with them.