Safe Environment

Volunteers

Volunteers who are not already Virtus certified are required to attend a Virtus course and follow other requirements (now available online).  This includes anyone who volunteers at the parish ministries and religious education.  Please contact the office for more information on how to prepare to be a volunteer.

Volunteers at  St. Junipero Serra Parish who work with children or vulnerable adults must complete

1. Virtus Training

2. Read and Sign The Office of Safe Environment Handbook (2016 Updated version) and also

3. Background Check.

Please complete and return them to us by return email, mail or drop off at the office in the black mailbox at your earliest convenience.

1. VIRTUS TRAINING

The Archdiocese of Hartford, in an attempt to provide a safe environment for children and the elderly, has mandated that all parish employees & volunteers who work with children and visit the elderly attend a VIRTUS session. VIRTUS is a Child Protection Program that talks about the abuse of children.

Online Virtus training for First-Time Registrants

The training duration is approximately an hour and a half. Please complete the training in one sitting without trying to jump ahead. If you try to fast forward and “skip” the videos, the system might close up and lock you out and you will have to register all over again. If you begin the training but then log off, you will also have to register all over again.

If training is not completed within 90 days of registration, your account will be automatically deleted and you will have to go through the registration and training process from the beginning.

1) Enter www.virtusonline.org in your browser’s address bar

2) On the left side of the screen, click “First-Time Registrant”

3) Click “Begin the registration process”

4) Select “Hartford, CT” from the drop down menu and then click “Select”

5) Click “NO” when it asks if you’ve registered before

6) Create Username and Password (both are case sensitive) then click “Continue”

7) Fill in information on the next page then click “Continue”

8) Select the parish/school where you will be volunteering/employed from the drop down menu, then click “Continue”. Select your role, and enter your Title/Function down at the bottom, then click “Continue”

9) On the next page, add another location if you are at multiple parishes/schools. If not, select “NO”

10) Answer the questions on the next page, then click “Continue”

11) On the next page, click “NO” when it asks if you’ve previously attended a session

12) Select which online training to complete. You can select additional languages on the next screen (English, Spanish, Korean, or Vietnamese) as well as videos with closed captioning.

If you have any issues registering or questions, please contact:

Kathleen D. Nowosadko kathleen.nowosadko@aohct.org (860) 541-6491 x7502 or Ginamarie Garabedian ginamarie.garabedian@aohct.org (860) 541-6491 x7488

Please present the church office with a copy of your certificate for our records at your earliest convenience.  You only have to attend once.  If you have already attended a Virtus: Protecting God’s Children session, at another parish, you will need to provide proof that you did attend.

 

1. The Office of Safe Environment Handbook (2016 Updated version)

To read the Handbook and sign the page,

1. Open the PDF files ( 1. rev-safe-environment 2. Signature Page) which I have attached at the bottom of this page.

or

1. Go to: https://archdioceseofhartford.org/protection-of-youth
2. Scroll down to Office of Safe Environment Handbook
3. To read the book click: Office of Safe Environment Handbook
4. To complete the acknowledgement page of Receipt, click:  Acknowledgement Page of Receipt, Review and Understanding of the Safe Environment Handbook

 

1. Background Check

To get the Background Check request form,

1. Open the form on PDF file (Background Check Form) which I have attached at the bottom of this page

or

1. Visit the link  www.archdioceseofhartford.org/protection-of-youth/
2. Scroll down to Background Check Request Form for Employees and Volunteers
3. Click ‘Click here for Background Check Request Form’.

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you so much for your corporation with this requirement.