Why Am I Here and What is My Role in Protecting ... - VIRTUS® Online
Why Am I Here and What is My Role in Protecting ... - VIRTUS® Online
Why Am I Here and What is My Role in Protecting ... - VIRTUS® Online
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<strong>Why</strong> am I <strong>Here</strong>? And, <strong>What</strong> <strong>is</strong> <strong>My</strong> <strong>Role</strong>In Help<strong>in</strong>g to Protect Children?Information for Adults Attend<strong>in</strong>g the Protect<strong>in</strong>g God’s Children® Awareness Session_______________________________________________________________________________________________Welcome to th<strong>is</strong> Protect<strong>in</strong>g God’s Children® awareness session:Th<strong>is</strong> h<strong>and</strong>out <strong>is</strong> designed to answer many of your questions up-front, to help create a context for th<strong>is</strong> session, <strong>and</strong>to give you the <strong>in</strong>formation you’ll need to maximize the value of today’s experience.<strong>Why</strong> am I here?You are here because you are a part of the solution to the problem of child sexual abuse <strong>in</strong> our homes, par<strong>is</strong>hes,<strong>and</strong> communities. You did not cause th<strong>is</strong> problem. But, when car<strong>in</strong>g adults have a “healthy suspicion” aboutsometh<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> their surround<strong>in</strong>gs, they can identify the r<strong>is</strong>ks to children early enough to prevent child sexual abusefrom occurr<strong>in</strong>g.<strong>What</strong> are the VIRTUS® programs?VIRTUS <strong>is</strong> the br<strong>and</strong> name that identifies best practices programs designed to help prevent wrongdo<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong>promote "rightdo<strong>in</strong>g" with<strong>in</strong> religious organizations. The VIRTUS programs empower organizations <strong>and</strong> people tobetter control r<strong>is</strong>k <strong>and</strong> improve the lives of all those who <strong>in</strong>teract with the Church.Who created the VIRTUS programs?The National Catholic R<strong>is</strong>k Retention Group, Inc. (National Catholic) created the programs. Monsignor Kev<strong>in</strong>McCoy, past board chairman of National Catholic, asked whether child sexual abuse could be prevented <strong>and</strong>, if so,how? In March of 1998, National Catholic <strong>in</strong>vited prom<strong>in</strong>ent national experts—experts <strong>in</strong> many d<strong>is</strong>cipl<strong>in</strong>es—tod<strong>is</strong>cuss these questions at a forum <strong>in</strong> Wash<strong>in</strong>gton, D.C. From those d<strong>is</strong>cussions, the <strong>in</strong>itiative for the VIRTUSprograms was created. The National Catholic Board of Directors selected an Ad Hoc Committee to overseedevelopment of the programs. The Ad Hoc Committee was ass<strong>is</strong>ted by a steer<strong>in</strong>g committee of nationally knownexperts <strong>and</strong> program <strong>and</strong> service providers.<strong>Why</strong> did National Catholic select VIRTUS as the br<strong>and</strong> name for the programs?The word virtus derives from Lat<strong>in</strong>, <strong>and</strong> means valor, moral strength, excellence, <strong>and</strong> worth. In ancient times, virtusdenoted a way of life <strong>and</strong> manner of behavior that always aspired to the highest, most positive attributes of people<strong>and</strong> aspects of human <strong>in</strong>teraction.<strong>What</strong> <strong>is</strong> the Protect<strong>in</strong>g God’s Children® program?The Protect<strong>in</strong>g God’s Children program <strong>is</strong> the VIRTUS program for protect<strong>in</strong>g children from child sexual abuse. Thesem<strong>in</strong>ar you are currently attend<strong>in</strong>g <strong>is</strong> the Protect<strong>in</strong>g God’s Children awareness session—the <strong>in</strong>itial programcomponent for adults <strong>in</strong> the faith community. Those <strong>in</strong> the faith community who <strong>in</strong>teract with m<strong>in</strong>ors will haveaccess to additional tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> r<strong>is</strong>k prevention tools.How does the Protect<strong>in</strong>g God’s Children program prevent child sexual abuse?The Protect<strong>in</strong>g God’s Children program cons<strong>is</strong>ts of many components. The education component helps preventchild sexual abuse by first mak<strong>in</strong>g every adult employee <strong>and</strong> volunteer aware of the <strong>is</strong>sues surround<strong>in</strong>g child sexualabuse. Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>in</strong>cludes awareness of the many ways that sexual abuse harms its victims, their families, the par<strong>is</strong>h,<strong>and</strong> the community. The awareness session also helps adults learn to recognize the warn<strong>in</strong>g signs of abuse, <strong>and</strong>shows them the appropriate way to respond to suspicious behavior. F<strong>in</strong>ally, the awareness session empowers eachperson with five steps to help prevent child sexual abuse. A tra<strong>in</strong>ed facilitator leads these awareness sessions. Youare currently participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> th<strong>is</strong> <strong>in</strong>teractive awareness session, which <strong>is</strong> part one of our educationcomponent._______________________________________________________________________________________________Copyright © 2002-2006 by National Catholic Services, LLC. All rights reserved. Page 1 of 2.
<strong>Why</strong> am I <strong>Here</strong>? And, <strong>What</strong> <strong>is</strong> <strong>My</strong> <strong>Role</strong>In Help<strong>in</strong>g to Protect Children?Information for Adults Attend<strong>in</strong>g the Protect<strong>in</strong>g God’s Children® Awareness Session_______________________________________________________________________________________________But, community awareness—by itself—<strong>is</strong> not enough to prevent child sexual abuse. A par<strong>is</strong>h or community needs acore group of tra<strong>in</strong>ed special<strong>is</strong>ts—people with<strong>in</strong> the par<strong>is</strong>h <strong>and</strong> schools—who have additional knowledge <strong>and</strong>tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g on how to prevent harm to children.Those who <strong>in</strong>teract most with children become the core of the prevention effort with<strong>in</strong> each par<strong>is</strong>h. They receive anadded benefit by complet<strong>in</strong>g a certification course on the prevention of child sexual abuse. The certification coursetakes approximately three to six hours a year to complete, <strong>and</strong> the entire certification process takes place on theInternet—via the VIRTUS Onl<strong>in</strong>e system. For more <strong>in</strong>formation on VIRTUS Onl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>and</strong> our cont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g educationprograms, refer to the attached VIRTUS Onl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong>formation sheet.F<strong>in</strong>ally, some local <strong>in</strong>dividuals will be selected to lead the awareness session—we call these people “facilitators.” Inaddition to be<strong>in</strong>g certified to prevent child sexual abuse, the facilitators receive additional tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g on how to lead aneffective session.<strong>What</strong> <strong>is</strong> my role <strong>in</strong> the Protect<strong>in</strong>g God’s Children program?All adults are protectors of children. That’s why you are a part of th<strong>is</strong> awareness session. As an adult, it <strong>is</strong> your role<strong>in</strong> the faith community, to keep your eyes <strong>and</strong> ears open, <strong>and</strong> to report any suspicious activity to appropriateauthorities <strong>and</strong> church officials.We provide a wealth of <strong>in</strong>formation to ass<strong>is</strong>t you <strong>in</strong> th<strong>is</strong> quest. V<strong>is</strong>it our website, www.virtus.org, for new <strong>in</strong>formationeach week designed to help educate adults about a wide range of r<strong>is</strong>ks to children—from child sexual abuse, tocamp safety, to school violence. If you are fortunate to be selected to complete one of our certification courses viaVIRTUS Onl<strong>in</strong>e (each diocese has a different strategy regard<strong>in</strong>g the selection of tra<strong>in</strong>ees) then you will become aknowledge center for protect<strong>in</strong>g children with<strong>in</strong> your par<strong>is</strong>h or school. If you’d like to complete the certificationcourse, or you w<strong>is</strong>h to complete the certification <strong>and</strong> become a tra<strong>in</strong>ed facilitator, you should contact the VIRTUSCoord<strong>in</strong>ator <strong>in</strong> your diocese. The facilitator for today’s session can give you the name <strong>and</strong> contact <strong>in</strong>formation foryour VIRTUS Coord<strong>in</strong>ator.<strong>What</strong> can I do to help?First—make sure that you have reg<strong>is</strong>tered to use the VIRTUS Onl<strong>in</strong>e system. If you haven’t already v<strong>is</strong>ited thewebsite to complete your reg<strong>is</strong>tration, you should do so as soon as possible. For those who have not reg<strong>is</strong>tered,please refer to the attached VIRTUS Onl<strong>in</strong>e reg<strong>is</strong>tration <strong>in</strong>structions. Please keep <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d the importance ofreg<strong>is</strong>ter<strong>in</strong>g through the onl<strong>in</strong>e system. If you have not reg<strong>is</strong>tered, we have no way to certify your attendance attoday’s session. Sign<strong>in</strong>g the sign-<strong>in</strong> sheet <strong>is</strong> not adequate. If you need help reg<strong>is</strong>ter<strong>in</strong>g onl<strong>in</strong>e, you should contactyour diocese’s VIRTUS Coord<strong>in</strong>ator or your local VIRTUS Coord<strong>in</strong>ator. Aga<strong>in</strong>, today’s facilitator can give you thosenames <strong>and</strong> contact <strong>in</strong>formation.Second—behave cons<strong>is</strong>tent with what you learn <strong>in</strong> today’s session. Learn more about child sexual abuse byv<strong>is</strong>it<strong>in</strong>g our website each week (www.virtus.org). Make a conscious effort each day to protect children.Third—if you are selected to complete one of our cont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g education courses, use th<strong>is</strong> benefit to your advantage<strong>and</strong> help your par<strong>is</strong>h become a safe haven for children.F<strong>in</strong>ally—if you want to volunteer as a facilitator, contact your diocese’s VIRTUS Coord<strong>in</strong>ator <strong>and</strong> beg<strong>in</strong> theprocess._______________________________________________________________________________________________Copyright © 2002-2006 by National Catholic Services, LLC. All rights reserved. Page 2 of 2.
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