I met this evening with the director of our local Big Brothers, Big Sisters chapter. This organization pairs at risk minors with volunteer adult mentors. She said that this is possibly the highest risk thing that any organization can do- introducing a stranger into a position of trust with a vulnerable youth. It is also very successful at helping prevent delinquincy, etc.
The thing she said that stood out was that there is an extremely careful prequalification and monitoring program for all of their mentors and mentees. For a volunteer to be accepted, they must go through a month long qualification process which includes fingerprinting, checking state, federal and local law enforcement data bases, psychological profiles, references, etc, etc, etc. Then, they check in on the situation from both sides on a regular basis. And they carry a significant amount of insurance in case anything goes wrong.
Compare this with JWs or Catholics or any other "religious" based organization. Strangers come into the home, offer counseling, etc, etc without ANY SHRED of due diligence or training and without any insurance. How is it that the standard is so high for a charitable, non-profit organization and so non-existant for a religious organization??? It boggles the mind!!!!