By Tamohara das
There will soon be a vacancy for the position of Director of the ISKCON Child Protection Office. Our current Director, Champakalata devi dasi, is retiring from this service after many years of dedicated service to our children, temples, and communities.
This is a very important service that oversees our International efforts to protect children. The Director oversees development and implementation of training and educational programs for our temples and devotees throughout the world. Additional responsibilities include oversight and case management of adjudications within our Society of child abuse allegations. A complete list of service responsibilities is given at the end.
The ideal candidate would have some experience in education, counseling, or law relevant to child protection. One must also be effective in managing the office, and have excellent communication skills.
The service can begin as soon as possible. There is some compensation possible.
If you are interested in this position, please send a resume and statement of interest to:
Tamohara das – Tamohara@yahoo.com
CPO Director Service Description
1. To raise awareness and disseminate information about child protection by
preparing resource material and organizing training on child protection and
abuse prevention for different audiences viz. children, parents, teachers,
ISKCON leaders, personnel and Child Protection Team (CPT) members, including
how to respond to disclosures of abuse;
2. To coordinate review of abuse allegations by guiding Child Protection
Teams (CPTs) and investigators and where necessary conduct interviews with
complainants and alleged offenders;
3. To coordinate and oversee review system for cases of alleged abuse,
including staffing of and training for that Review System, selection of
Review Panel Members and the distribution of case decisions to the
appropriate parties and ISKCON authorities;
4. To keep all records and files of complaints and known offenders, for use
in screening etc., and share with appropriate ISKCON leaders, according to
policies outlined in the CPO Guidelines;
5. To conduct inquiries to ascertain whether screening procedures are in
place, and report the result of such to the appropriate ISKCON authorities
and the GBC;
6. To assist the GBC members to establish, train, maintain and monitor
local temple child protections teams (CPT);
7. To establish, train, coordinate and monitor regional/ satellite child
protection offices;
8. To help coordinate service opportunities, support, and special programs
for abuse victims/survivors where possible;
9. To supervise and direct other CPO staff members;
10. To interface with ISKCON leadership by attending and presenting an
annual report to the GBC body;
11. To secure donations and funding for the activities and financial upkeep
of the CPO.