Diocese to implement safe environment program

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
July 24, 2003

The Diocese of Sioux City has adopted a national-based safe environment program by VIRTUS, titled Protecting God's Children. It was developed by the National Catholic Risk Retention Group.

In accord with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, every diocese in the country was required to create or adopt such a program. While dozens of programs exist, the Sexual Abuse Task Force and others from the diocese felt this was the best option.

Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo pointed out that all four dioceses in Iowa have opted to go with this same program.

"This will be a great help as the training is quite extensive for all who work or volunteer in the diocese," said the bishop. "All those who have extensive work with children will be involved with it."

Next week, about 15 facilitators from this diocese will go to Des Moines to join volunteers from the other three Iowa dioceses for training.

Kevin Vickery, who is organizing the program in the diocese, pointed out that the task force was looking for a program that they felt would address a broad range of people - clergy, employees, parents and volunteers.

"We want to be an environment in which someone can see by our practices and policies that abuse is not tolerated," he said.

The task force of the diocese also liked the fact that it gave people such a solid training background. VIRTUS provides a three-day training and staff development session for facilitators. From there, facilitators then take this program out to parishes and schools to train all people who work with children.

"It puts into place all of the procedures at schools, in parishes - anywhere where there are children - about what needs to happen and be provided in order to make children safe," noted Jim Wharton, director of communications for the diocese.

Another plus of the Protecting God's Children program is that it ties into the faith dimension in efforts to keep children safe.

According to Jeff Hackett, a member of the Sexual Abuse Task Force, this group reviewed and had several discussions about the VIRTUS program.

"There were a number of things I really liked about VIRTUS. One, the caliber of professionals that they had from around the country that developed VIRTUS was quite impressive - very impressive resumes as it relates to child abuse, sexual abuse, psychotherapy," he said.

Hackett also liked the fact that VIRTUS puts the main responsibility of prevention sexual abuse on the shoulders of adults.

"Typically, many programs like this focus on the child, the child needs to be taught and armed with various tools to prevent this from happening to them. And while I agree that children need to know more about it, we shouldn't put this on kids that they need to take care of themselves," he stressed.

Adults in the church - ministers, parents and those who sit in the pews - have the responsibility to help create a safe environment for children.

"I also like the fact that it is ongoing. It continues to take a look at its approach and change it as times change and more information is developed. It is a more dynamic system, not a cookie cutter that once you do it, you're done," noted Hackett.

The training sessions at parishes and schools will provide education and awareness about child abuse and specifically child sexual abuse.

Adults will learn how to recognize signs of someone who is a risk to children and how to create environments that eliminate abusers from their programs. They will learn symptoms and behavioral signs indicating that a child might be a victim of child abuse or sexual abuse. The adults will be trained to communicate concerns about the behavior of other adults and to report suspected abuse.

"This is not just a one-shot training. After they take the initial training, people will continue to receive computer-based staff development," said Vickery. "They will be expected to complete an on-line VIRTUS training modular that takes 10 to 15 minutes."

These ongoing computer sessions will be completed about twice a month. The information will reinforce what they learned at their initial training sessions as well as offer added suggestions for enhancing safety programs. These on-line lessons consist of about 500 to 800 words, about the size of a newspaper article.

Employees and volunteers who have regular contact with children will be monitored to see that they continue this ongoing training.

"We want to make the practice of creating a safe environment so routine to us that we don't think any other way," said Vickery. "We want to continually think about the settings in which we work with children. We do not want to be in a situation where the child, volunteer or employee is vulnerable."

Training sessions are now being scheduled in parishes and schools. He estimated that the first phase of training - for employees and regular volunteers - will be completed in about six months. The second phase of training will be offered to parents and other interested parishioners thereafter.