Education
child protection training
Child sexual abuse is a worldwide public health issue. Child abuse, particularly child sexual abuse, is reprehensible-especially when the wrongdoer is affiliated with the Church. The Diocese of Arlington has provided training for volunteers and employees in recognizing and reporting child abuse since 1991. In 2004 Bishop Loverde selected PROTECTING GOD'S CHILDREN as mandatory training for all employees of the diocese and all volunteers with substantial contact with children.
Employees/Volunteers
Who Must Attend and When?
All employees and those volunteers with substantial contact with children must attend Virtus training within 180 days of beginning service with any organization associated with the Diocese of Arlington.
What is "substantial contact?"
Because of the numerous and varied opportunities to serve the Church a common sense approach to determining who has “substantial contact†with children is necessary. The definition to be used in determining who falls into this category is two fold.
Substantial Contact is:
* contact that is not incidental, or
* the service is such that it is reasonable to think that the person may at some time have contact with children outside the sight or hearing of other responsible adults.
What are some examples of contact that is "incidental"?
A person who volunteers for service that is designed to minister to the young automatically falls under the category of significant contact. Some examples of this are any activity in schools, coaching, volunteer service in parish CCD programs, participation in youth retreats, and chaperones for youth activities.
What are some examples of the second criterion?
Others, while not volunteering for activities designed to minister to youth, may be considered as having significant contact if it is reasonable to think that they may at times have contact with children outside the sight or hearing of other responsible adults. Some examples of this might be the parish sacristan who (it is reasonable to think) will at points have contact with children in his/her duties. Other examples might be maintenance volunteers with access to school or parish education areas, parish office volunteers, and landscaping volunteers if such activities take place while children are present.
Why Does Training Work?
Child abusers seek to operate and abuse their power within nurturing, child-friendly environments where it is assumed that nobody would want to harm a child. Religious organizations of all faiths are an easy target. The PROTECTING GOD'S CHILDREN program implements safety mechanisms that send a message to all abusers and potential abusers:
* Child abuse is not tolerated,
* Children are vigilantly protected,
* Victims are listened to, heard, and shielded from further abuse, and
* Offenders are identified and punished.
The PROTECTING GOD'S CHILDREN program helps make churches safe for all people-especially children.
How Does It Work?
Maximizing a church's role as a child-safe environment begins with making adults more aware of the ways children and adults interact with each other. The PROTECTING GOD'S CHILDREN program educates and trains adults (clergy, religious, teachers, staff, volunteers, and parents) about the dangers of abuse, the warning signs of abuse, the ways to prevent abuse, the methods of properly reporting suspicions of abuse, and responding to allegations of abuse.
The PROTECTING GOD'S CHILDREN program is comprehensive and multi-dimensional-incorporating proven best practice standards for the prevention of child sexual abuse by clergy, staff, volunteers, and others who interact with children within the church environment. The training includes awareness videos, and regularly scheduled continuing education and training via state-of-the-art web-based training and education courses.
Training Adults to Protect Children
We begin by making adults of the Church that interact with children aware of how to protect children. The PROTECTING GOD'S CHILDREN program for adults is a three to four hour awareness session that instructs adults of the Church that interact with children that to protect children you must have continuous awareness and vigilance. This awareness session makes trainees understand the signs of child sexual abuse, the methods and means by which offenders commit abuse and five empowerment steps one can use to prevent child sexual abuse.
Training: Parents
Parents are the most important element in protecting children. The Diocese of Arlington offers support for parents in recognizing signs of abuse, strategies for being aware of what is happening in the lives of children, and training methods for keeping children safe. Through Virtus for Parents, a 2 to 3 hour presentation, parents learn about abuse, helpful responses to dangerous situations and talking to their children about safety. Any parish or school may schedule parents training by contacting the office of the Director of Child Protection and Safety.