- Compliance Guidelines (Spanish)
- Archdiocesan Standards of Behavior
- CANTS 689 Form(Authorization for Background Check)
All employees and all volunteers who work with children must attend the Virtus/Protecting God’s Children training program before beginning employment, ministry or service.
The Archdiocese of Chicago requires all volunteers to complete the Protecting God’s Children Virtus requirements. These requirements are:
All these requirements will need to be completed prior to any volunteering, coaching, or chaperoning can occur.
If you want to have questions or wish to know what you need to complete to be compliant with Virtus in order to volunteer, please contact Susan O’Connell, Virtus Site Administrator for the School & Parish, soconnell@saintmike.com.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People requires that each employee and/or volunteer within every parish be trained and screened if they have contact with or minister to children. The program in the Archdiocese of Chicago is called VIRTUS or Protecting God’s Children for Adults.
The VIRTUS – Protecting All God’s Children® program has been adopted by the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago to ensure safe environments for children and youth in all parishes, schools and diocesan programs. For information and registration for the next VIRTUS training session in our area, please visit http://www.virtus.org/.
The workshop educates clergy, staff and volunteers who work with children, about the ways to create safe environments for children. The workshop includes videos and facilitated discussions that focus on the prevention of abuse and the protection of children.
All those who interact and are involved in ministry, both as paid employees and as volunteers working with children in our parish, will be trained to assure a safe, healthy and secure environment for our children. Background screening will be conducted for each individual as a component of application to serve in ministry. Though this program might be viewed as an additional burden and time consuming, it is essential for the welfare and safety of our children.
This training is offered at St. Michael several times each year as well as in many locations in the Archdiocese.