Board of Global Ministries names child protection officer
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Joanne Reich |
July 26, 2005
By Elliott Wright*
NEW YORK (UMNS) —
Joanne Reich has been named interim child protection and community
assistance officer of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
Board directors created
the position last April in connection with a child and sexual abuse
policy that applies to all employees and mission personnel.
The policy states,
“Child abuse is contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Abuse is
defined as “the physical or mental injury, sexual abuse, or
exploitation, negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child by any
person.”
Reich, who is a
deaconess already on the board’s staff, will work particularly with the
agency’s several program units to implement the policy in ways
appropriate to their ministries.
The appointment was made by the Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive of the international mission agency.
“The board’s action
sends a very clear signal that we are serious about the protection of
children,” Day said. “Joanne Reich is well qualified to serve as our
first child protection and community assistance officer. She is familiar
with our work and her interim service will help us to determine how
much staff time will be required to achieve our objectives going
forward.”
The need for the policy
and the officer became evident in the process of responding to reports
of child abuse at an ecumenical youth hostel a generation ago in what is
today the Democratic Republic of Congo. An independent panel is dealing
with that issue.
Reich currently serves
the mission agency in the position of executive secretary for Women,
Children and Families in the Community and Institutional Ministries
Program Area.
She is a licensed
social worker who holds a master’s degree in social work from the
University of Houston Graduate School and a bachelor of arts from Mary
Baldwin College in Staunton, Va.
In 1992, she was
awarded the Theressa Hoover Community Service and Global Citizen Award,
an honor that recognizes women under 30 years old who have shown
leadership in and commitment to local and global concerns. She serves on
the board of directors of Faith Trust Institute, formerly the Center
for Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence.
*Wright is the information officer of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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Resources
Board of Global Ministries
UMC.org: Sexual ethics
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