The Safe Environment Program is a comprehensive child safety and child sexual abuse prevention program, which creates a network of prevention and protection for the children entrusted into the Archdiocese’s care.

Background checks are required, not just of clergy and religious, but also of lay staff and all volunteers who may have regular contact with children. These background checks must be renewed every three years, and include:

• Arrest/Conviction Report and Certification Form
• Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check
• Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare Child Abuse History Clearance
• Federal Criminal Background Check (for all parish employees, and volunteers who have not been living in Pennsylvania continuously for 10 years).

Our CCD Coordinator, Bill Boyce, assists our parish volunteers with these background checks.

All staff and volunteers 18 years or age or older who have regular contact with children are required to complete parts one and two of the Safe Environment training within 90 days of beginning their volunteer work.

• Protecting God’s Children (instructor-led), is offered regularly at sites throughout the Archdiocese. The training provides basic facts about child sexual abuse and adults’ roles in prevention.
• The Mandatory Reporting of Suspected Child Abuse (online), is available online at the Archdiocesan Training Institute. This training provides an overview of Archdiocesan reporting procedures for suspected child abuse and Pennsylvania Child Welfare Laws. The training takes approximately one hour to complete.

Visit http://childyouthprotection.org/ for further information from the Archdiocese.

Click here for the latest Keeping God’s Children Safe letter distributed annually to our CCD families.

Click here for examples of the Keeping God’s Children Safe lessons presented annually in our CCD classes.