Can a psych eval be required?
Paige
153 Posts
A friend has approached me about a situation they are dealing with at their church. They have recently discovered that one of their paid, part-time staff members has been inappropriately "touching" kids--stroking hair, etc. (innapropriate, but not sexually obvious--does that make sense?). They have received written confirmation of this behavior by a 3rd party for whom they were performing a service. They are wanting to know if they can require this person to go through a psych eval and then to require counseling if there is a problem. They do not have an EAP.
I would think that it would be OK to say, "We recommend you go through psychological evaluation or your position could be on the line." Right?
I would think that it would be OK to say, "We recommend you go through psychological evaluation or your position could be on the line." Right?
Comments
My wife and I have often watched kids at church. We usually take the toddlers. Sometimes a toddler will cry so my wife (a very caring, nurturing person) will pick up the child and hold him or her. She might caress the child, stroke hair, etc in order to comfort the child.
I doubt any parent would be the slightest bit upset by that and most likely appreciates my wife's ability to genuinely care for their children.
On the other hand, I am extremely careful with the kids. I won't even let kids sit in my lap when I read stories. Why? Because I want to avoid the slightest bit of impropriety.
If this is truly an innappropriate situation, why mess around with a psych exam? What if it says the person is fine? I say err on the side of protecting kids and re-assign the individual away from children or get rid of them altogether.
Paul
There is only 1 documented source of his behavior, but several people from that source have commented on it. As far as the stroking, it states, "was stroking the hair and shoulders as well as holding 2 children." Now, that doesn't seem all that bad especially considering what Paul wrote--some people are genuinely nurturing. But I think because there have been other incidents that just don't seem quite "right" is giving them cause for alarm.
What if this guy is too slow to know right from wrong? What if he is being nice, but his actions take it too far? How can you tell him not to do that and have him understand?
But then I think--WHAT IF a family member completely disagrees with it and sues the church. Those other what if's don't even matter then.
If you aren't an at-will state, I believe you have sufficient grounds to terminate this person's employment. If termination is your answer, first get witness statements in writing (have witness sign statement)and have HR sign and date each such statement. After statements are received, terminate employment. In the meantime, due diligence should dictate caution in allowing him any kind of one-on-one contact with children; therefore, temporary job suspension during investigation is warranted.
Tammy Jo
Thanks, again.
The problem is, the source that gave us this information is the ONLY source that has made any comments about his behavior. He's been an employee/volunteer at this church for some time now, has worked with kids at the church, and no one from the church has seen this type of behavior. They have commented that he seems a little "weird"/different, but they have not seen questionable behavior.
My friend who brought this to my attention observed him just recently as he was working with the kids and said he saw nothing that was questionable and was even amazed by how good he was with the kids. This got my friend thinking that maybe guidelines should be instituted whereby when children's activities are taking place, there are always to be at least 2 adults involved.
Now that you have defined it a little more I would agree that a mentally challenged adult man stroking the hair of children is totally innappropriate and his access to children should be ended immediately.
His actions may be innocent but the risk he poses far outweighs any contributions he makes.
I know we can't prevent every possible risk to children but we should try to prevent any we become aware of.
Paul
I am sorry you feel that men should not work at daycares, Don. I disagree completely. What message does that send to our children? One of the best care-givers my daughters have had at daycare is male. He truly cares for them, and I feel good when he is taking care of them because I know he cares about them. He's known one of my daughters since she was 2ish and he for certain has rubbed her back to help her nap. (He's been going to school on and off to become a teacher). I agree with the rest of what you said!
Please don't get me wrong, everyone, I agree with all of you that our children should be protected above all else. How would you feel though, of being incorrectly accused of something so horrific?
Any business that involves working with children should do background checks on all potential employees.
Let us know what decision is made. Good luck.
Honestly, I don't know if he has been given the benefit of the doubt--I'm thinking this is the only time this type of behavior has been brought up. Others have found him to be "weird," but I don't believe anyone has questioned his being with the children.
The church I attend has a background check policy and forms in place and I passed those along to my friend and he is going to strongly suggest his church implement such a policy. In addition, as I mentioned, they are going to consider guidelines of making sure there is more than one adult during activities with children.
I realize this might not be the BEST solution--and while I appreciate ALL of your thoughts, advice, and comments, I certainly can't MAKE my friend fire this guy. As with our jobs everyday--I can advise and then it's up to supervisors, committees, etc. to assess the risk associated and make their decisions from there.
Thanks, again.
Paige