Reducing the Risk

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Is there Church Liability for Child Sexual Abuse?
Read each question and then click on the response that you believe to be correct.
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1
Churches function in an environment of trust, in which leaders often feel uncomfortable raising questions about a person's past conduct.

2
Most churches struggle to find enough workers to help in programs for children.

3
Most churches screen paid employees

4
Most churches screen volunteers who work with children or youth.

5
Child molesters are attracted to any organization with children.

6
Most church insurance policies automatically include coverage for acts of child sexual abuse under the general liability policy.

7
Child sexual abuse can exceed the limits of a church's insurance policy.

8
Churches that have a plan to reduce the risk of child sexual abuse can often purchase higher levels of insurance coverage, or get reduced insurance rates.

9
Media attention has an impact on church litigation for child sexual abuse.

10
Many states have extended the statute of limitations, enabling abuse victims to file lawsuits years after the molestation occurred.

11
Few cases of child sexual abuse in churches get resolved as out-of-court settlements.

12
A church that purchases liability coverage for sexual misconduct will not have to pay any settlement costs if the church is found negligent.

13
Some jury awards for child sexual abuse in churches have been in the millions of dollars.

14
Most of the lawsuits filed against churches for acts of child molestation have alleged that the church was legally accountable on the basis of negligent hiring, negligent supervision or negligent retention.

15
The term negligence generally refers to conduct that creates an unreasonable risk of foreseeable harm to others.

16
Negligent retention means that a church failed to retain the proper paperwork concerning an employee who later engages in misconduct.

17
A child is molested by a church worker during an overnight camping trip. This illustrates the concept of negligent hiring.

18
A church hires a person with a criminal history of sexual misconduct. The church does not conduct any screening and does not know about the past misconduct. This is an example of negligent retention.

19
Churches are "guarantors" of the safety and well-being of children.

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