Roman Catholic Diocese of
Fresno
Safe Environment
STEP
BY STEP GUIDE
PARISH
EDITION
For
the audit period
July
1, 2007 – June 30, 2008
A Parish Resource to Guide the Implementation
of the
Charter
for the Protection of Children
and
Young People
“Promise to Protect – Pledge
to Heal”
Established
by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops
Table
of Contents
Safe Environment Resources
……………………………………..………………. 3
Safe Environment Implementation Diagram
……………………………...……… 4
Step One: Employee & Volunteer
Application Process ………………………….. 5
Step Two: Background Checks – Fingerprinting
…………………...……………. 6
Step Three: Basic Safe Environment Training
…………………………………… 7
Step Four: Annual SE Review for Continuing
Employees & Volunteers ………. 10
Step Five: Safe Environment Education for
Parents, Children & Youth ……….. 11
FORMS:
Form A1 -
Basic Safe Environment Training
Attendance Sheet
Form A2 - Code
of Conduct
Form B -
Annual Safe Environment
Review Attendance Sheet
Form C
- Parent Notification of
“Keeping the Promise” Program Presentations
(Parishes
may customize their own notification if desired.)
Form
D - “Keeping
the Promise” Parent Presentation Attendance Sheet
Form E -
“Keeping the Promise” K-12 Presentation Summary Sheet
Form F1 -
Current Employee/Volunteer
Master List
Form F2 - Terminated Employee/Volunteer
Master List
Volunteer Application Form
“Keeping the Promise” Safe Environment
Program Order Form
Additional Forms Available in English Only:
Suspected Child Abuse Reporting Form
Video Training Questionnaire
Safe Environment Resources
There
are five Diocesan publications to direct and support the implementation of the
Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,
which
includes:
1. Clergy Handbook
*
Policies, Procedures and Clergy Code of Conduct *
2. Human Resource &
Risk Management Binder
* Fingerprinting Policy Section *
3. The California Child Abuse & Neglect
Reporting Law
*Training Manual*
Creating Safe Environments For Our Children and Ourselves
* Training
Resource*
4. Safe Environment Step By Step Guide
*Parish Edition
& School Edition*
5. “Keeping the Promise” Safe Environment
Program
*Curriculum for
Parishes – Resource for Schools*
All Clergy and
members of Religious Orders must be approved by the Bishop to serve within the
Diocese of Fresno. Questions or concerns
regarding any issues pertaining to ordained ministers should addressed with the
Vicar General.
Questions or concerns regarding non-ordained
members of Religious Orders should be addressed with the Vicar of
Religious. Call 559 488-7400 for
assistance.
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION
OR NEED ASSISTANCE WITH ANYTHING REGARDING FINGERPRINTING OR SAFE ENVIRONMENT
PROCEDURES PLEASE CONTACT:
Safe
Environment Implementation
Diagram
Step
One
Employee
& Volunteer
Application
Process
EMPLOYEES
·
All parish employees must complete an
Employment Application.
·
Contact all professional and personal
references listed.
·
Contact pastor of previous parish if
applicable.
·
File Employment Applications in a secure
location.
·
Archive Employment records for a period of 30
years after termination.
·
Archive Employees’ signed Code of Conduct and
Safe Environment training records for a period of 50 years after termination.
VOLUNTEERS
·
Volunteers who serve on a regular basis (more
than twice a year) where minors may be present must complete a Volunteer
Application.
·
Contact all professional and personal
references listed.
·
Contact pastor of previous parish if
applicable.
·
File Volunteer Applications in a secure
location.
·
Archive Volunteers’ signed Code of Conduct and
Safe Environment training records for a period of 50 years after termination.
Step
Two
Background
Check
FINGERPRINTING
·
All employees and volunteers 18 years and
older who will serve where they may be unsupervised around minors for any
length of time must be fingerprint cleared.
·
Employees and volunteers who are required to
be fingerprinted should not begin service until clearance is received. However, in the event of an urgent need,
employees and volunteers who begin service prior to fingerprint clearance MUST
be under direct-constant supervision by an adult who meets all Safe Environment
requirements.
·
“Live Scan” Forms for fingerprinting are
provided by the Human Resource Office upon request. Call:
(559) 493-2851
·
Fingerprinting provides a background check and
sequential reporting of arrests/convictions.
·
Once an employee/volunteer is fingerprint
cleared, they do not need to be printed again, unless their Live Scan is
withdrawn upon termination and they later return to active service.
·
The Fingerprint Technician in the Human
Resource Office must be notified when an employee or volunteer who has been
fingerprinted terminates.
·
A Social Security Number is not required for
fingerprinting. However, some form of
valid personal identification is required.
·
Post high school adults who continue to attend
youth group functions must be fingerprint cleared unless the parish takes full
responsibility for providing direct-constant supervision by an adult who meets
all Safe Environment requirements.
·
Instruct the Employee/Volunteer to return the
“Requesting Agency” of the Live Scan Form and file it in a secure location.
Note: Once
Human Resources receives notification from the Department of Justice, the
Pastor is notified with a letter. Annual
reports are sent to Pastors with an up-to-date listing of eligible
employees/volunteers. Updated reports
are available to the Director of Religious Education anytime upon request.
Step
Three
Basic
Safe Environment Training
·
All parish employees are required to attend
Basic Safe Environment Training.
·
Volunteers who serve where minors may be
present are required to attend Basic Safe Environment Training once, followed
by an annual review. See Step Four for
specifics regarding the annual review.
·
The Basic Safe Environment Training is not the
same presentation that parishes must offer to parents on an annual basis. The parent presentations are part of the ”Keeping
the Promise” Safe Environment Program that is addressed in Step Five.
·
There are three options to satisfy the Diocese
of Fresno Basic Safe Environment Training:
1.
Attend a two-hour Basic Safe Environment
Training presented
by a trainer certified by the Diocese of
Fresno.
2.
Online training offered at no charge by U.C.
Davis at
http://humanservices.ucdavis.edu/resource/camrt/index.asp
3.
Three
part video series published by KidSafety of America available for purchase by
calling: (909) 902-1340.
BASIC SAFE ENVIRONMENT
TRAINING
·
The Diocese of Fresno Basic Safe Environment
Training includes:
An Introduction to the USCCB Charter for the
Protection of Children and Young People “Promise to Protect – Pledge to Heal”
Overview of the four types of child
abuse:
§
Psychological/Emotional
Abuse
§
Physical
Abuse
§
Sexual
Abuse
§
Neglect
Signs of suspected child abuse
Mandated Reporting requirements and procedures
Review and signing of the Diocese of Fresno
Code of Conduct
·
The parish is responsible for sending the
original copy of the Sign-In Sheet to the Safe Environment Office and keeping a
photocopy for parish files.
·
The signed Code of Conduct is to
remain on file at the parish.
·
When training is provided for a Deanery or by
request of a religious or lay organization, the Safe Environment Trainer is
responsible for sending the original copy of the Sign-In Sheet to the Safe
Environment Office.
·
The parish must maintain a list of all
employees and volunteers who are required to attend the Basic Safe Environment
Training, noting the date and location the training was attended. A form for this task is included in Section
II of this Guide.
ONLINE TRAINING
The online “General Training” course offered by U.C. Davis will satisfy most of the content of Basic Safe Environment Training. You may access the online training at: http://humanservices.ucdavis.edu/resource/camrt/index.asp
·
There is no fee.
·
A Certificate of Completion is provided.
·
The trainee must submit the Certificate of
Completion to the parish.
·
The designated Safe Environment contact for
the parish must review the Diocese of Fresno Code of Conduct with the trainee
and obtain a signature.
·
The trainee should also receive a brief
summary of the USCCB Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
·
The Certificate of Completion and signed Code
of Conduct must be kept on file at the parish.
·
In lieu of the Sign In Sheet, a
copy of the Certificate of Completion and a copy of the signed Code of Conduct
must be sent to the Safe Environment 0ffice.
VIDEO TRAINING (Currently
Available in English Only)
·
KidSafety of America
has produced a three part video series for Mandated Reporting. This resource may be used HOWEVER…
There is one
error in the video that discusses reporting procedures. It states that a Mandated Reporter must
submit the written report within 72 hours from the time the verbal report is
made over the telephone. This is not
correct for the State of California.
California State Law allows 32 hours for the Mandated Reporter to
submit the written report.
·
The KidSafety Video
Training Program may be ordered by phone at: 909-902-1340.
·
To satisfy all Safe
Environment Training requirements using the KidSafety of America Video Training
Program the trainee must:
·
View all three parts
of the video series
·
Completed the Safe
Environment Mandated Reporting Questionnaire found in Section II of this Guide
·
The designated Safe Environment contact for
the parish must review the Diocese of Fresno Code of Conduct with the trainee
and obtain a signature.
·
The trainee should also receive a brief
overview of the USCCB Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
·
The completed Questionnaire and signed Code of
Conduct must be kept on file at the parish.
·
In lieu of the Sign in
Sheet, Aa copy of the
completed Questionnaire and signed Code of Conduct must be sent to the Safe Environment
Office.
Annual
Safe Environment Review for
Continuing
Employees & Volunteers
·
An annual review of the information presented
in the Basic Safe Environment Training is required for all continuing employees
and applicable volunteers.
·
The review may be done by the D.R.E., Youth
Minister or other designee who has a solid understanding of the content of the
Basic Safe Environment Training.
·
Selected handouts for the review may be copied
from the Basic Safe Environment Training packet received during the training
session.
·
The review should take place towards the
beginning of each school year, and may be incorporated into the agenda of a
regular meeting.
·
The review must include:
o
Signs of suspected child abuse
o
Reporting procedures for suspected child abuse
o
Location of Suspected Child Abuse Report forms
o
Renewal of commitment to the Diocese of Fresno
Code of Conduct
o
Distribution of any ongoing educational
material that may be provided by the Safe Environment Office
·
The parish is responsible for sending the
original copy of the Sign-In Sheet from the Annual Safe Environment Review to
the Safe Environment Office and keeping a photocopy for parish files.
Step
Five
Safe
Environment Education for
Parents,
Children & Youth
GENERAL INFORMATION
·
The only Diocesan approved Safe Environment
curriculum to satisfy Article 12 of the USCCB Charter for the Protection of
Children and Young People is the “Keeping the Promise” Safe Environment
Program.
·
Implementing the KP Program is mandatory for
every Parish.
·
The KP Program is available in English and
Spanish.
·
The KP Program includes: a resource section to
aide parents with their children/youth and for catechists to glean from to
provide annual topical presentations to parents; K-12 Lesson Plans;
Parent-Child/Youth Dialogue Activity
Guides.
·
The KP Program is ordered through the Safe
Environment Office by mailing/faxing an order form or by placing a phone order.
·
Pre-payment is not required for Parish
orders. An Invoice is sent to the Parish
after the order is shipped. Shipping
fees are included on the Invoice.
TRAINING OF CATECHISTS TO
IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAM
·
All parishes are responsible for selecting an
experienced catechist to receive training from the Safe Environment Office so that
he/she may train other catechists in the Parish to offer the annual
presentation to parents and to present the K-12 lesson plans.
·
Following the initial round of “Train the
Trainer” Seminars throughout the Diocese, additional training opportunities will
be provided as the need is recognized or by request.
SCHEDULING PRESENTATIONS
FOR PARENTS & K-12 STUDENTS
·
The annual parent presentation should be
scheduled prior to the classroom/youth group presentations.
·
The K-12 classroom/youth group presentations
using the KP Program lesson plans may be scheduled anytime from the beginning
of the school year until April 30th.
This allows adequate time to prepare for the
annual compliance audit.
PUBLICIZING THE PROGRAM
·
Periodically, the Safe Environment Office will
provide publicity material.
·
Although Form C is provided in Section II of
this Guide to publicize the parent and classroom/youth group presentations,
Parishes are encouraged to be creative.
·
The general parish population should be
invited to attend the presentations to the parents.
PREPARING CATECHISTS TO
PRESENT THE LESSON PLANS
Each catechist should
review the goals and objectives for their particular lesson plan and thoroughly
read through the lesson plan several times.
Catechists should make, or
be provided, photocopies of the 11 X 14 Parent-Child/Youth Dialogue Activity
Guide to be sent home following the K-12 presentations.
The Parent-Child/Youth Dialogue
Activity Guides are to be sent home to the families whose children/youth missed
the presentation as well. This will
ensure that we are making every effort to provide resources to our families.
RECORDKEEPING
·
Use Form D to record attendance at parent
presentations. Make a copy for your
parish files and send the original to the Safe Environment Office.
·
Use Form E to record the K-12 presentations of
the KP Lesson Plans. Attach a copy of
your program’s attendance sheets to Form E.
Make a copy of everything for your parish files and send the originals
to the Safe Environment Office.