Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Last week, Kenneth Scott Marshall, who testified he was a youth pastor in a local church, was convicted by a jury of sexually assaulting a child diagnosed with learning disabilities in his congregation.

Parents cannot take for granted when they leave their children in the care of different organizations that those organizations have taken proper steps to ensure the safety of their children. One of the more important lessons from the Kenneth Scott Marshall case is that every parent or guardian must become more involved in verifying both the qualifications of those adults who supervise our children and the procedures the organization has taken to ensure the safety of the children.

For example, does the organization require criminal background checks of all adults supervising the children? Does it require at least two adults to be present with the children at all times, so there never is a situation where an adult is left alone with a child or children? Does it...