About SafeParish™
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Technology Meets Best Practice
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A training and education resource
SafeParish™ melds proprietary online technology with proven best practices to help Catholic organizations maintain their child safe environments. It was created for the Catholic faithful that helps safeguard children and promotes a positive workplace environment.* Munich Reinsurance America is a sponsor of SafeParish™
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SafeParish™ in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
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The 2018 Archdiocese of Cincinnati Decree on Child Protection is in effect for all entities in the diocese. The diocese statement governing this policy is:
All “employees” and “regular volunteers” as defined in the July 1, 2018 Decree on Child Protection must register with SafeParish™, complete a Child Awareness training session, receive an acceptable background check, and be approved by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati before they can have contact with children.
In addition, all employees within the Archdiocese of Cincinnati must be fingerprinted, complete a B4 Form, and be approved by the Office of Safe Environment for the Protection of Children and Youth before the new employee can have contact with children.
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The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has announced that all SafeParish™ trained employees and volunteers are expected to keep current with all SafeParish™ continuing education sessions. Anyone who does not complete their quarterly continuing education session may not have any further contact with children. All leaders of each Archdiocesan institution, (i.e. pastors, principals, etc.) are responsible for enforcing this SafeParish™ policy.
Reporting Abuse
If you or someone you know has been abused at any time by an agent of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati (priest, deacon, employee or volunteer), the Archdiocese urges you to report the abuse to the Ministry to Survivors of Abuse Coordinator at 513-421-3131 or 1-800-686-2724 as well as to the secular legal authorities.
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The child protection decree applies to all parish sponsored activities and events if children are to be present regardless if they are held on parish property or anywhere off site including private homes.
Please see the Quick Links below for SafeParish™ Registration and instructions for how to register. Refer to the Background Check Information to find out if you qualify for a token from the parish to pay your background check fee. There's also a Quick Link for more information on the Decree on Child Protection.
The Local Safe Environment Coordinator (SEC) is responsible for maintaining parish compliance with background checks and SafeParish™ training under the Child Protection Decree. The SEC works closely with the archdiocese to ensure our program is in compliance with national requirements. Fr. Bill Wagner has appointed Linda Caskey as our Local Safe Environment Coordinator (SEC). Please contact Linda if you have any questions or need additional information.
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Parish Contact for SafeParish™
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Linda Caskeylcaskeysttm.orgSafe Environment Coordinator (SEC)
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Missing Children from Ohio:
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SafeParish™ Information
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SafeParish™ is a learning management platform that provides a broad array of training, education, information, and programs for Catholic organizations. It is a child and workplace safe environment program specifically designed for Catholic entities. The technological core of SafeParish™ is McCalmon’s proprietary learning management software. McCalmon has more than 100 learning management platforms built from that core. McCalmon also supplies most of the content. McCalmon’s experts research, write, edit, and publish blogs, articles, podcasts, videos, and alerts on SafeParish™.
The SafeParish™ edition of Protecting Children from Sexual Abuse is fresh, innovative on-demand child safety training program for the prevention of child sexual abuse that incorporates video, interactive elements, testing, and reporting functions. SafeParish™ educates adults who work with or around children on the vigilance and steps necessary to protect children from child sexual abuse. Trainees learn how to be safe adults—vigilant, educated people who protect children and young people by building a culture of safety.
Every person in a position which requires contact or interaction with youth or vulnerable adults must complete the SafeParish™ edition of Protecting Children from Sexual Abuse training session before they are permitted to work or volunteer within any of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati parishes, schools, or institutions. No one under the age of 18 is permitted to complete the training.
In addition to completing the training, employees and volunteers must stay current in completing their interactive video-based SafeParish™ quarterly bulletins on Child Protection in order to remain in compliance with the requirements of the Decree on Child Protection. Non-compliance will result in SafeParish™ account non-approval and non-compliant employees and volunteers will no longer be permitted to work with youth or vulnerable adults until compliance is reestablished. Please contact your local safe environment coordinator with questions regarding your SafeParish™ account or if your account is non-approved due to non-compliance with the decree.
To access or register for your SafeParish™ account go to http://www.aocsafeenvironment.org. Contact your local safe environment coordinator for the registration passcode or click here to access the SafeParish™ registration instructions .
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SafeParish™ Training
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Trainees will learn the following while completing the SafeParish™ Protecting Children From Sexual Abuse – Archdiocese of Cincinnati Edition:
- The risk of child sexual abuse
- The definition of child sexual abuse
- What acts are considered child sexual abuse
- Who are the targets of child sexual abuse
- The truths and myths surrounding child sexual abuse
- The harms of child sexual abuse
- The barriers to victims reporting child sexual abuse
- How to recognize the physical and behavioral signs of child sexual abuse
- Who are mandatory reporters and why all adults should report their reasonable concerns and suspicions about child sexual abuse
- Who commits child sexual abuse
- Signs offenders may display that safe adults can recognize
- How alcohol, drugs, pornography, and improper online relationships are used to commit the crime of child sexual abuse
- How perpetrators groom targets, caretakers, families, parishes, and communities in order to violate boundaries with children
- Appropriate and inappropriate interactions with children, in-person and online
- How to create and maintain a physical space safe for children
- What to do if child sexual abuse is witnessed or reported to you
- How to report concerns about child sexual abuse
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- What constitutes child sexual abuse: including legal definitions, as well as the physical and behavioral signs of child sexual abuse.
- Child safety risks: the types of conduct that create unsafe child environments; children who perpetrators target; grooming techniques of perpetrators, including the use of alcohol, drugs, and pornography; violating boundaries, in-person and online; and the harm of child sexual abuse to victims, families, parishes, employers, and the community.
- Risks of improper online behavior: including using the Internet to groom targets and the harms of child pornography.
- Creating and maintaining child safe environments: including following policies and procedures; online, physical, emotional, and communication boundaries with children; how to maintain a physical safe space for children; how to protect children outside the parish; and how to report child sexual abuse if suspected.
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All volunteers and employees (unless otherwise exempted) are required to complete SafeParish™ quarterly child protection bulletins to remain compliant with the continuing education requirements of the Decree. All users will be notified when quarterly bulletins are issued and will have 30 days from the date of issue to complete the bulletin.
Missing one quarterly bulletin will result in your account being non-approved and you will not be able to volunteer or work with youth. Missing six (6) quarterly bulletins will require that you complete the SafeParish child protection training before your account will be approved.
To complete your quarterly bulletin, go to the Training Tab and click on the ‘Due’ link to see which bulletins are due and their due date. To see Training sessions you have already taken, click on the ‘Completed’ link where you can see the training bulletin, the date it was completed.
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This is an email, which is sent out every Tuesday and lists all articles that are being posted on the www.aocsafeenvironment.org website. These articles are NOT mandatory reading, but are encouraged because their content has valuable information regarding child protection. These articles do NOT replace the required quarterly bulletins.
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