Compliance
The Office for the Protection of Children and Youth is committed to protecting all of God’s children and providing a
safe environment where children and young people can learn, thrive, and grow. The office oversees the training and
background checks for all Archdiocesan clergy, employees, and volunteers. It also disseminates the Archdiocesan
standards of behavior for individuals working with children and young people, provides safe environment training for
children, young people and adults, and trains parish and school staff to monitor compliance with archdiocesan
policies and the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) Charter for the Protection of Children and
Young People. Compliance Guidelines have been created outlining what is required of school and parish employees,
school and parish volunteers, priests, deacons, seminarians, and pastoral center employees.
Criminal Background Screening
All employees must complete an online criminal background check for the Archdiocese of Chicago. [cite policy Book
II, The People of God, Part I, Policy 603.2 LINK] All volunteers who work with children must complete an online
criminal background check. [Policy Book II, The People of God, Part I, Policy 603.2] The Criminal Background
Screening is an online application through eApps that must be filled out in its entirety and submitted during the
work/volunteer application process. Criminal background checks conducted for other purposes cannot be accepted.
No one can begin to work/volunteer until the background check is completed and approved. An access code is
needed to complete this application and can be retrieved from the location where you work/volunteer. For any
questions or concerns regarding this process please contact your primary site (parish or school).
A criminal background check will not be processed on a minor (under the age of 18 years old) who is hired or wishes
to volunteer. Those 18 yrs. or younger should not be left alone with children. They must be supervised by an adult
who is in full compliance.
Criminal Background Screening Online Application (eApps) Access
word- protection Must register
Fingerprinting – Must come to the school to get form and the address to get
fingerprinted.
Illinois State Bill 143 was passed on May 20, 2007. It requires all school employees beginning July 1, 2007 of state
recognized non-public schools to undergo fingerprinting based on criminal history record checks with the state police
and FBI. The Archdiocese has arranged for Accurate Biometrics to take and process the fingerprints. An application
must be completed and submitted at the time of fingerprinting. Regardless if you have been fingerprinted with another
service or with another company or organization through Accurate Biometrics, you still must complete this process
through Accurate Biometrics for the Archdiocese. This process must be completed within three business days of
being hired. If you have any questions or concerns please call 312-534-5388 or email cperz@archchicago.org.
Code of Conduct- Print in your language and bring signed sheet to the school.
All employees and all volunteers who work with children must read and sign the Archdiocese of Chicago Code of
Conduct and sign the Personal Acknowledgement Form prior to beginning employment or service in the Archdiocese
of Chicago. This document explains the professional role that must be maintained when working with children and
young people, the measures to aid in observance of protecting a safe environment, and practical conduct
suggestions on what is and is not permissible. The signed personal Acknowledgement Form is to be kept in the
personnel file or volunteer file at the place of employment/ministry. Click the following link in the language you prefer
to download and print the form. This must be completed and submitted to the location you work/volunteer at the time
of hire.

English Code of Conduct

Spanish Code of Conduct

Polish Code of Conduct
Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System (CANTS) Form- Complete & return to
school
The CANTS form is an authorization form giving the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) permission
to conduct a search in their database to determine whether an individual has been a perpetrator of an indicated
incident of child abuse and/or neglect or involved in a pending investigation, as well as gives consent for DCFS to
release such information to the Archdiocese of Chicago. This form must be completed and submitted to the location
you work/volunteer at the time of hire. A completed CANTS Form is to be submitted to DCFS annually.

English CANTS form

Spanish CANTS form
Employees/Volunteers Under the Age of 18
All employees and volunteers under the age of 18 are to read and sign the Code of Conduct form. Those under the
age of 18 should not be left alone with children and they must be supervised by someone who is in full compliance.
Once this employee/volunteer turns 18 and is graduated from high school, they must complete Protecting God’s
Children for Adults/Virtus training and complete a Criminal Background Check. Please call 312-534-5238 or email
mflores@archchicago.org with any questions or concerns.
Protecting God’s Children for Adults™/Virtus Training
Protecting God's Children for Adults is training conducted by certified facilitators on the prevention of child
sexual abuse. The training makes participants aware of the signs of child sexual abuse, the methods and
means by which offenders commit abuse, and five easy steps one can use to prevent child sexual abuse.
Two videos are the centerpiece of the training: A Time to Protect God's Children™ and A Plan to Protect
God's Children™. The facilitators incorporate Archdiocesan policies and procedures into the training
defining child sexual abuse, addressing the reporting of child sexual abuse, the screening and selection of
employees and volunteers. “The Virtus training program implements safety mechanisms that send a message to
all abusers and potential abusers: Child Abuse is not tolerated. Children are vigilantly protected. Victims are listened
to, heard, and shielded from further abuse. And offenders are identified and punished.” – Virtus Website
All employees and all volunteers who work with children and young people must fulfill this compliance requirement.
[Book II The People of God, Part I, Policy 603.3] Anyone employed two months or longer who has not
attended Protecting God’s Children cannot continue to work or volunteer in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Participants must be present for the entire training session to receive credit for attendance.
All Archdiocese employees and all volunteers who work with children create and maintain an online account with
Virtus when they register online to take the training. After attending Protecting God’s Children for Adults training
(must attend within 60 days of being hired) submit the certificate of attendance to the location you work/volunteer at,
and continue the monthly ongoing education through online training bulletins posted to their online account.

If you have never taken training: Click here to find and preregister
for an upcoming training session and create a new account.

If you have already taken training for the Archdiocese of Chicago:
Log in to your account at www.virtusonline.org and make sure it is
approved, activated, and updated with your current location,
role/title, and personal information.

If you have taken this training in another diocese: Contact the
diocese you took the training in and confirm that you have
established an approved and active account with them. Then
contact Virtus at 888-847-8870 to have your account transferred to
the Archdiocese of Chicago and updated with your current location,
role/title, and personal information.

If you have already created an account, preregistered for a training
session, did not make that session, and need to transfer your
account to a different training session: Click here to view upcoming
sessions, and be sure to use your existing account to transfer to
another session. Bring Certificate to the school. If you are unable
to transfer your account to another session email the date and
location you would like to attend training along with your Virtus user
id to jincardella@archchicago.org.

If you have already attended a training session but never created a
Virtus account online go to www.virtusonline.org and create a new
account. Be sure to choose the training session you attended from
the drop-down box when asked. When completed, contact us to
have your account approved/activated at 312.534.5206 or at
jincardella@archchicago.org.
Mandated Reporter Training
In keeping with archdiocesan policy [Book II The People of God, Part I, Policy 603.6], the Office for the Protection of
Children & Youth continues to offer Mandated Reporter training to all Archdiocesan employees and volunteers who
are mandated by state law and archdiocesan policy to report suspected child abuse and neglect. This training
provides adults with the knowledge of how to recognize and report child abuse and neglect. State law recognizes the
following groups as Mandated Reporters: school personnel, medical personnel, social service and mental health
personnel, law enforcement personnel, coroner/medical examiner personnel, child care personnel, and clergy.
Further, in keeping with archdiocesan policies, catechists, youth ministers, coaches, and pastoral center employees
who work directly with children are also to attend this training. Seminarians must complete this while at the seminary.
The training is offered to deacons during their formation. All clergy must attend Mandated Reporter Training. Training
must be completed within 60 days of hire. This training is available in two forms: live and online.

Live Training: Available in English, Spanish, and Polish. To properly
accommodate participants and to ensure all proper credit is given,
registration must be received at least 5 days prior to the scheduled
training. Seating is limited. Sessions will begin on time and late
arrivals will not be admitted. Due to the subject matter, no minors
under the age of 18 will be permitted to attend. To register please
contact Regina Robinson at 312-534-5254 or email
rrobinson@archchicago.org.
English Training
Spanish Training

Online Training: The Office for the Protection of Children and Youth
has partnered with the Department of Children and Family Services
(DCFS) to use their existing online training: Recognizing and
Reporting Child Abuse: Training for Mandated Reporters. At this
time, this online training is only available in English. Persons
planning to take the online training need to be prepared for the
following: To spend at least 60 minutes to complete the training (you
cannot exit and return). The computer used for the training must be
connected to a printer that will print the certificate at the completion
of the training. Only computer generated certificate will be accepted
by locations. The computer used for training must be equipped with
speakers or headsets to allow you to hear the audio. Employees
must have their employee ID number, which can be found on a
paycheck stub. Click here to access online training. Print
Certificate and bring to the school.