Local Safe Environment Coordinator
(LSEC) Update
July, 2015
Karen Clark, Director, Safe Environment
(clarkkar@rcan.org)
Archdiocese of Newark
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The Local Safe Environment Coordinator job
has three basic parts
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Know the policies – you are the ‘go to’ person for
people who have questions about what they need
Keep the paperwork – have individual folders for
each person required to meet the safe environment
guidelines
Do online recordkeeping:
 Maintain the Virtus database by having it
accurately represent the people, and
 Do the annual audit(s)
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Policies; you should know these when asked – refer
to your manual’s Policy section and the
Archdiocesan Code of Conduct.
All these people need ALL safe environment
documentation
 All employees
 All ushers
 All chaperones
 All volunteers who could have
unaccompanied contact with children at
any time (catechists, coaches, peer
ministers, altar server coordinators, etc.)
 Anyone who could groom a minor and/or
have time alone with them – your
discretion
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Here’s what everyone needs in individual
folders:
1.
Application (volunteer or employee)
If they have the pre-2012 application, volunteers will
also have to initial the last page of the new
application (January 2012)
2.
2012 Code of Conduct (Page 23), either give them the
whole thing to read, or the website where they can read
it, print and sign the last page
3.
PGC certificate and any recertification certificates
4.
Letter(s) from parish/school saying they passed
background check from SterlingBackcheck and Verified
Volunteers (every 5 years) OR state-sealed document
saying they passed fingerprinting (done once)
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For Boy Scouts, Bereavement Counselors, and third
parties, some of the paperwork isn’t necessary.
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Boy Scout troops – if your parish or school holds
the Troop Charter:
 Get a list from Scoutmaster of all active adults,
and get written assurance that they’ve all been
background screened
 Have them attend PGC
Bereavement/separated &divorced training
requires an application and a background check
Third parties – e.g, landscapers, lunch providers in
a school
 Get written assurance that they’ve been
background screened
 No PGC necessary
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Having entered data into Virtus since the role started
makes the re-training and re-screening that started
this year much easier.
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Run a compliance report / Master Report
Check Protecting God's Children for Adults
Check the relevant item(s) under
Background Checks
Click Display the date for compliance
items
Either:
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Run it to the screen, and highlight those that
need re-screening and re-training, or,
Run it to Excel, save it as an Excel
spreadsheet, and sort the spreadsheet on the
training date or on the background check date
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You see your Virtus lists in the Administrator
Tab, by clicking “Users.”
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For the Virtus lists, it’s important to get down to only
those people who are active in your parish/school.
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Get lists of current people from the ministry
heads, coaches, Scouts etc.
Use the Virtus hints and tips sheet to:
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Handle duplicates: Send me the names of any
duplicates on your list, and I will delete them or merge
them.
Get rid of Pending/Awaiting Approval people
Change status from Active to Inactive
Move out the people who have left or died, or who you
don’t know at all
Add anyone missing to your list
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Let’s talk about the difference between Awaiting
Approval (also shows as Pending) and User (also
shows as Active).
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Awaiting Approval (Pending on your
Compliance Reports) means that they
enrolled in Virtus, but never had their
enrollment approved
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They didn’t show up for the class
The sign in sheet never made it to the
Archdiocese
Their name was misread, and so they were
added by another name
Once they get approved, their status
changes to User (Active on your
Compliance Reports)
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You handle people who are inactive in your parish
or school differently from those who are no longer
there/unknown to you or who have died.
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Attending Mass/still have kids in the school but are
not volunteering at this point: Change the status (in
the yellow area) to Inactive – but ONLY if yours is
the only location in their record. If it isn’t leave it
alone, or remove your parish/school.
No longer at your parish/school or you have no clue
who they are: Change their location to “Z-Location
Unknown/Left Archdiocese” – but ONLY if yours
is the only location in their record. If it isn’t just
remove your parish/school.
Have died: Change their location to “Z-Deceased”
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If the person took Protecting God’s Children in
another diocese, they are handled differently.
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Each diocese has its own Virtus
system – we can’t see the other
systems from Newark
Ask if the person still volunteers in
the other diocese; let me know
what they say:
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If not, I’ll have the record transferred
to Newark
If they do, I’ll have the record
duplicated in Newark
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If there are people missing, let me look for them first,
and if I don’t find them, then you can add them.
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I will let you know if I find them, and if
not:
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Go to Administrator tab
Click Users / Add New User
Enter their name, email if you have it, parish
or school, “Basic User,” volunteer or
employee, you can skip the next page, then
pick the session that’s on the certificate you
have (if the session’s not listed, stop and let
me know)
Fax me the certificate – 973-497-4001
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Some things to remember:
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Send me lists of names of those
missing before you add them. I
may find them elsewhere and it
will save you time and effort.
Many names were misspelled or
had incorrect first names
(especially in 2003). You need to
correct them.
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The next step is to add the dates of the
documents in your files.
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Put the dates in the Background Check and Required
Documents tabs in that user’s record. Our new
background check provider will be linked to Virtus
for volunteers, so the date will be entered
automatically
Occasionally, run a Compliance Report / Master
Report to see the progress you’ve made.
You can use this data to fill in the annual audit at
youthprotection.rcan.org
Run a Training Report / Online Training Report to
see the status of those who chose online
recertification. You can also print their
recertification certificate from here.
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All parishes and schools were asked by the
Archbishop to apply for accounts no later
than 11/14/2014.
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There is a packet that was to be filled out. The
document is in First Class in the Safe Environment
folder.
Once you apply, you get training packages and are
invited to training webinars.
Volunteers will do their own checks if they have
access to a computer. They will also be asked to
help subsidize the cost of the check, if they like.
Cost is $20, but you will have to pay more if they
lived in a county that charges for access (e.g., the
counties around NYC in New York).
Do a LEVEL 3 (Complete) check unless they have
lived in NY in the last 7 years, or if the volunteer
doesn’t have a SSN, then do a Level 2 check
(Advanced)
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If you need to schedule a class, please
follow the procedure below.
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First Class always has a current list of facilitators by
county; we run over 400 classes per year, taught by
almost 200 facilitators. Contact them directly.
The facilitator will add the class to Virtus.
Publish the session in the bulletin - Direct
employees/volunteers to sign up at www.virtus.org
after the class has been added.
If they need help, use the procedures on page 14 to
add them.
Once I get the sign in sheet and approve those who
attended, they will move from Pending/Awaiting
Approval status to User/Active status in your Virtus list.
You can then add the dates from their other required
paperwork.
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All attendees must be registered on Virtus either
before (preferred) or after the session, or their
attendance will not count.
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Provide coffee and snacks, a working DVD
player and remote
Facilitators are not responsible to give out
any paperwork except PGC certificates to
those who complete the class; the rest is
your responsibility
Agree on who (you or the facilitator) will
follow up and send me the sign in sheet
after the session, and you need to follow
up with those who didn’t enroll prior to
the session
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All you need for Teaching Touching Safety is found
in a DVD you should have at the school, in First
Class, and in Virtus.
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DVD:
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First Class:
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Use the Educator Tab in Virtus to provide the principal and
teachers with the Lesson Plans
Audit:
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Has all forms, including opt-out forms
Use the Safe Environment Folder
Virtus:
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Same one is used every year
If you need a replacement DVD, there is an order form in
First Class
Fill in the audit with the number of children
trained/absent/opted out and the number of parents who
wanted the info sent home
No Teaching Touching Safety is done if the school is using
the newest version of RCL Benziger’s Family Life program
(audit still needs to be done)
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All volunteers and employees subject to background
screening must be screened every 5 years; this
doesn’t apply to fingerprinting in the schools.
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Run a Virtus list to see who needs a
background check at the beginning of
each calendar year. (assuming the dates
are in Virtus)
Have them sign the last page of the 2012
volunteer application
Procedure is in the Verified Volunteers
user guide.
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In addition, all employees and volunteers must
attend some sort of re-training in child sexual abuse
awareness every 3 years.
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Attend Protecting God’s Children
(PGC) again – good for 3 years
Read the Virtus articles and take an
online recertification module EVERY
YEAR
* Person must use their original
Virtus ID, so send me a list of the
name/email address/option they
want to take
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The audit asks for numbers, not names, and only asks
about training and background screening.
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You must know:
 The number of total employees (not clergy –
hover over the word employees to see what
is needed)
 The number of total educators, if a school
 The number of volunteers
 For each of the above, the number trained in
Protecting God’s Children and background
screened.
Don’t count anyone under 18, and there’s no
need to count any volunteers that don’t have
contact with minors.
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A pastor or principal must sign a piece of paper with
the numbers on it, for our USCCB audit.
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The online audit now has the capability to
save and print the numbers.
Have Pastor, Juridic Pastor for schools that
have one, or principal sign it
Mail, fax or scan and email to me. My fax is
973-497-4001
Annual Audit is due December 1, Teaching
Touching Safety is due April 15
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Audit websites:
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http://youthprotection.rcan.org/
(DUE DECEMBER 1)
http://youthprotection.rcan.org/mai
nschool.aspx (DUE APRIL 15)
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LSEC’s and facilitators are required to recertify
online; many of you haven’t done this.
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Go to your Virtus training tab
Look on the right side of the page for your
bulletin status: “Click here to see your
complete report”
Click “Click here for details” to see which
articles you need to read
Click on the bulletin title, read it, and
submit an answer to the question at the
end.
Take the annual recertification module
every year, print and file your certificate.
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Please make sure others in your
parish/school know of your role.
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Make sure they know that you are
the person to come to first.
Make sure they know that you have
the current forms.
Make sure they know you have
information on background checking
as well.
Use the manual sections – they
contain a lot of information!
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