Information for Volunteers

From the Diocese's Safe Environments Office

The Safe Environment Initiative involves all priests, deacons, religious men and women, lay employees, volunteers, and contract workers in Fairfield County. It is intended to make them more aware of the warning signs of child sexual abuse and how to prevent it. The trainings also provide the correct methods to report suspected abuse both in The State of Connecticut and The Diocese of Bridgeport. The Safe Environment Initiative is aimed at ensuring that all people who come into contact with the Catholic Church in Fairfield County feel safe and comfortable. The Safe Environment Initiative was inaugurated in June 2003 by Bishop William E. Lori. There are four main components of the Safe Environment Initiative: awareness training sessions; criminal background checks; the Diocesan Sexual Misconduct Policy and Code of Conduct Policy; and the Office for Safe Environments.

Awareness Training

Awareness Training – "Protecting God’s Children" Workshops
Awareness workshop sessions are being held across the Diocese by trained facilitators. This training provides adults with an awareness of the issues surrounding child sexual abuse. The training will help adults to learn about the warning signs of potential abuse and will also teach adults how to create safe environments for children. Each training session will incorporate State of CT and Diocesan reporting procedures. The training will provide participants with an overview of Diocesan Policy relating to Sexual Abuse of Minors.

What are the goals of awareness training?
To recognize the warning signs of sexual abuse and to know how to respond if abuse is suspected. It is intended to restore trust in the Church and her many ministries and good works among members of our communities. Most importantly, the goal of awareness training is the protection of our children.

Who is conducting awareness training and who must attend?
Everyone who works or volunteers for the Diocese or any parishes or programs must attend an awareness training session conducted by one of the 15 Trained Facilitators for the Diocese of Bridgeport. The Facilitators have received extensive training from an independent, professional organization called VIRTUS.

Am I required to participate in awareness training as a condition of my volunteer service?
Yes. We hope that everyone will willingly participate and acknowledge the importance of this public commitment. It is important to remember that what the Church is asking of its members is very common in the secular world.

Is this the right thing to do?
Yes, it is the right thing to do. Many times doing the right thing can be inconvenient or difficult, but it still must be done. This effort is not about causing public embarrassment to anyone. It will require patience and persistence, and a fair amount of paperwork. But our goal is just: creating an environment that is healthy, nurturing, comfortable, and safe.

The "Protecting God’s Children" Workshop (PGC) Specifics
This is an interactive, video-based, training/awareness session that helps adults recognize the warning signs of sexual abuse, enables them to create safe environments for children, and shows them how to respond if abuse is suspected. The skills you learn in this workshop apply not only to Church clergy, staff, and volunteers but also to people you meet ever day outside your Church experiences. The session lasts approximately three hours. We had several sessions already take place at Our Lady of Fatima and the workshop will be offered at OLF in the future. In addition to the workshop offerings at OLF, one may choose to attend a workshop anywhere in the diocese.

Background Check

All adult volunteers are required to complete an authorization for a criminal background check. The information collected by the background check is completely confidential and is only returned to the Human Resources Director at the Diocese office. (The report is not sent to Our Lady of Fatima.) They get a written report that goes back ten years, but the search goes back as far as there are records. The criteria for what gets checked is pre-established in our policy, and it’s on the authorization form. We conduct a criminal background check on everyone, and an additional credit check on those people who work with finances. That’s all we can check. To do anything else would be going against our policy and violating privacy laws. We do not check medical backgrounds. While we are a Church, we are also an employer. Background checks are being required by more and more employers and by any organization that deals with children – Scouts, youth soccer leagues, Little League Baseball, for example. This background check is designed to be a deterrent to the would-be abuser, not a threat to the typical safe and kindhearted parishioner.

Safe Environments Policy

All adult volunteers must sign an acknowledgement of receipt of the "Policies and Procedures Relating to Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests and Deacons or by Lay Employees or Volunteers." A copy of this policy can be downloaded from the Diocesan website at http://www.bridgeportdiocese.com/policy.shtml.

Diocese Code of Conduct Policy

All adult volunteers must sign an acknowledgement of receipt of the "Code of Conduct" policy. A copy of this policy can be downloaded from the Diocesan website at http://www.bridgeportdiocese.com/conduct.shtml.

Safe Environments Contact Office

The Office of Safe Environments is a new dedicated Diocesan Department to oversee implementation of the above.

Personnel include:
Erin Neil, Director of Safe Environments, (203) 372-4301 ext. 563
Ms. Linda Michaud, Victim Assistance Coordinator
Ms. Eileen Walsh, Clergy Counselor

Our volunteers are our biggest assets. We greatly appreciate your taking the time to help ensure that our children are in a safe environment.

Go back to OLF's Safe Environments page.