The AOD Office of Child and Youth Protection has implemented new requirements for all employees and volunteers who work at the school, along with parents wishing to attend field trips with their child during the year. The Protecting God’s Children Program and training has been updated and anyone that completed their PGC class prior to January 1, 2021, are required to take a refresher course module online. Those that need to take this module should have received an email, but if you didn’t, due to using an older email at the time that is no longer in use, you can go onto the Virtus site at the below address, log into your account, and take the two-hour session. It is self-paced and doesn’t need to be completed in one sitting. Once you are done, please print a copy of the certificate for us to have on file here in the office. As was mentioned above, this refresher module will pertain to ALL family members that volunteer at the school, attend field trips, etc. We will have access to the list of people that need the refresher, and will be cross checking before you are allowed to work, volunteer or attend field trips with your child. If you took the PGC class BEFORE January 1, 2021, you will need to take the online refresher module.
https://www.virtusonline.org/virtus/index.cfm
NEW AND RECERTIFIED TRAINING FOR ADULTS
New Employees and Recurrent Adult Volunteers
All new paid employees, stipend individuals, coaches, catechists, shared-time teachers, VBS staff, lunchroom/ playground volunteers, filed trip chaperones and tutors must complete:
- A live Protecting God’s Children training, available either in- person or via Zoom
- The online Vulnerable Adults 2.0 Module
The live in-person and Zoom sessions are two-and-a-half to three hours in length and include the Protecting God’s Children 4.0 module. Sessions are available in English and Spanish.
Registrants to the live sessions are automatically assigned access to the 40-minute online Vulnerable Adults 2.0 module, which they complete on their own time. The registrant can pause, save, and resume their position in the training if they cannot complete it in one sitting. Individuals in this category will receive certificates showing completion of the live module and the online Vulnerable Adults module.
New Intermittent/Occasional Volunteers
Occasional new adult volunteers who do not serve in a recurring role with youth (as listed above) may complete Protecting God’s Children certification either through a live session (in person or via Zoom) or by completing the Protecting God’s Children Online Awareness Session 4.0 and Vulnerable Adults 2.0 combined self- paced training module.
The online modules take approximately two hours to complete. The online modules are available in English and Spanish, with closed captioning, and Polish or Vietnamese subtitles. The registrant can pause, save, and resume their position in the training if they cannot complete it in one sitting. Individuals in this category will receive a certificate showing completion of the combined module.
Recertification for all current Adult Employees and Volunteers
All priests, deacons, employees, and volunteers who completed a Protecting God’s Children workshop prior to January 1, 2020, are required to update their certification by completing the Protecting God’s Children Online Awareness Session 4.0 with Vulnerable Adults Training 2.0 combined module. The module is self-paced and takes approximately two hours to complete. Individuals may pause, save, and resume their position in the training if they cannot complete it in one sitting.
Ongoing Triennial Recertification
All individuals will be required to complete the Protecting God’s Children
online recertification module within three months of the third anniversary of their previous Protecting God’s Children certification. The Virtus system will automatically send to a participant’s email on file a notification to prompt them to complete recertification. You can access the Virtus site at: www.Virtusonline.org
IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY ACCESSING YOUR ACCOUNT, WE CAN RETRIEVE YOUR ID AND GIVE YOU A NEW PASSWORD. IF YOU ARE TAKING THE ACTUAL COURSE AND ARE LOGGING IN FOR THE FIRST TIME, YOU WILL NEED TO CREATE AN ACCOUNT BEFORE REGISTERING FOR THE INITIAL COURSE.
-Background Check Forms:
We recently sent home a hard copy Background Check form for our parents to fill out to be background checked. Per new AOD guidelines, everyone involved with our school that volunteers will also need to be background checked every TWO years. In the past, this was done one time, and you were good to go. This is no longer the case, as we look to ensure the utmost safety for our students and staff here at St. Ed's. If you have other extended family that volunteers or attends field trips at our school, they will also need to fill out the form and be background checked as well. If you have not filled this form out yet, please do so and send back to the office. We would like to get these completed this month before field trips and other on-site opportunities take place for our families to take part in. Thank you for your help with this.
