Safeguarding Our Children

Congregation Beth Sholom strives to provide its children with a positive and enriching Jewish, educational, spiritual, social, and cultural environment that promotes their intellectual, moral, and emotional growth. The Torah teaches that each human being is made in the image of God, and Jewish tradition understands that each human life has infinite value. With these ideas as the foundation, our first responsibility to our children and teens is to keep them safe.

Children and Teens Safety Committee (CATS)
In January 2022, the CBS Board of Trustees approved the adoption of the Children and Teens Safety Policy and the creation of the Children and Teens Safety Committee, known as CATS.
CATS oversees the implementation and monitoring of an ongoing child safety and protection program at CBS, the core of which is:

• implementing and maintaining the Policy
• providing educational training to the CBS community
• receiving information about, and investigating allegations of policy violations, boundary violations, abuse, or other child safety concerns (should they arise) 
• advising on the integration of individuals known or suspected to pose a risk to children 

CATS Members: Eytan Apter, Yaron Goldrich, Harman Grossman, Karen Legman Segal, 
Paul Resnick (chair)
The CATS Chairperson can be contacted at CATS@cbsteaneck.org.

We All Play a Role

All of us play a role in ensuring the safety of the children and teens who are part of our shul community or attend our services and programs.  

Become Educated

Please take the time to become educated on this topic by reading the CBS Children and Teens Safety Policy or the Executive Summary of the Policy.  We also encourage you to learn more by attending an upcoming training session at CBS or watching this presentation by Dr. Victor Vieth, founder and director of the Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center, provided by Sacred Spaces.

Report Suspected Abuse or Policy Violations

If a child is in immediate danger, call 911.  

To report an incident, including potential violations of the Policy, boundary violations, suspected abuse, child safety concerns, or other allegations that might jeopardize the safety of a child, please email CATS@cbsteaneck.org or submit this form to the synagogue office in a sealed envelope addressed to CATS.

Proof or first-hand direct knowledge of a behavior or incident is not necessary to make a report.  All reports will be treated confidentially in accordance with the CATS Policy.

In New Jersey, any person having reasonable cause to believe that a child has been subjected to abuse or acts of abuse by a parent or caregiver should immediately report such information to NJ ABUSE at 1-877-652-2873. If you are unsure if a report should be made to NJ ABUSE, or would like help making the report, please reach out to the Rabbi, CBS President, or CATS. 

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Being a community that is educated, and has adopted policies and procedures, on this topic is aligned with our values and goal of being a safe and nurturing community for our children and teens.