Save your renewal dates for training in your smartphone calendar or write it on your calendar. It is your responsibility to know when your training expires. We ask you to be proactive in keeping up with the date.
Children who are active in ministry have their own training requirements and curriculum to complete in order to volunteer. Empowering God's Children will be taught at SHCS or in Family Formation. It is a preequisite to Pre-Teen and Teen Leader Training. Please contact Laura Hartman for more details.
During this difficult and unprecedented time our families may be facing an overwhelming amount of stress, worry, anxiety and pressure. The following resources are here to help: Texas Youth Helpline – Provides peer counseling to youth and family members for family conflicts, abuse & neglect, delinquency and run-aways: Call 1-800-989-6884 or Text 512-872-5777 Or use chat feature @ Texasyouthhelpline.org Or National Domestic Violence Hotline Call 1-800-799-7233 or Chat Feature @ Thehotline.org Or Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration – Disaster Distress Helpline Call 1-800-985-5990 Or text TalkwithUs to 66746 |
Creating a safe environment is a priority in the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth. The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, established by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, requires our diocese to establish a “safe environment program” and gives the necessary elements of this program.
In the words of Bishop Olson, “We share a great responsibility to understand the nature of abuse and the steps we must take to establish and maintain safe, holy, and faith-affirming environments. The requirement for in-depth renewal is designed to safe guard children and young people and to protect all members of the diocesan community in parishes, schools, and ministries.”
Our Safe Environment Program mandates that all clergy, religious men and women, lay employees, and adult volunteers, prior to beginning their serve in the Diocese, meet three requirements:
Reporting Procedures
If you suspect abuse of child, or elder or vulnerable adult, or abuse has been disclosed to you,
In placing the safety of our faithful and community first and in keeping with the newest state, county and local guidelines (as of June 26) for safety and social distancing, the Office of Safe Environment is again offering remotely facilitated adult safe environment awareness sessions. (Protecting God’s Children For Adults and Renewal: Keeping the Promise Alice for Adults). The remote session location is listed as “z_Other" or "this is a video conference session.” An invitation and instructions with how to participate in the remote facilitation will be emailed to the address you provide in the VIRTUS profile. The invitation will include a link to the Protecting God’s Children Awareness Session. You may participate in the session using a computer, tablet or phone with an internet connection. Participants may download the Zoom app, but it is not necessary.
Below are the instructions and button links to create a profile and register for a session. You can attend a session at any parish/school in our Diocese that has a date and time that works for your personal schedule. When registering, please ensure that you are choosing the correct Diocese (Fort Worth) from the drop down menu. Also, please be sure to choose the appropriate location of your volunteer location. This will be the parish or the school or perhaps both if you volunteer at both. There are several Sacred Heart parishes in the Diocese, so please double check that you choose Muenster as your location.
To participate in a Protecting God's Children Awareness Session, you will need a VIRTUS profile. You can create a profile by clicking this button.
If you already have a Virtus profile and wish to participate in a session, you must register for the session by clicking this button.
I ALREADY HAVE A PROFILE
All new volunteers for the school or parish and those who wish to renew their training should contact the parish office at 940-759-2500 BEFORE volunteering to ensure that all paperwork, background checks, and registrations are in order.
If you have any questions, please contact
Laura Hartman, Safe Environment Coordinator, 940-759-2500