SAFE ENVIRONMENTS Last in a series of articles

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We've covered the three practical steps that will be required of every employee, contract vendor/employee and volunteer as we put the Safe Environment initiative into action throughout the Diocese of Bridgeport: Awareness Training, Background Checks and the receipt, reading and understanding of the Diocesan Policy on Sexual Misconduct (and the yet-to-be-published "Code of Conduct"). The actual process of implementing these steps raises some additional concerns that are worth addressing here:

What happens with all these papers that we are signing?

All in all, there will be three forms that everyone will have to sign: A Receipt for a Copy of the Diocesan Policy on Sexual Misconduct, an Authorization Form for the Background Check and, eventually, a Receipt for a Copy of the "Code of Conduct." These forms are to be retained by each parish, school and institution of the Diocese for a period of thirty years. They will be kept in a locked, fireproof safe at the location where the person is employed or volunteers.

What is the timeline for implementing the Safe Environments Initiative?

As you might expect, the first priority is to work with people who are parish employees and those volunteers who have direct contact with children (catechists, directors of children's choirs and other programs, etc.). The goal is to have all these people complete the three steps by the start of the 2004­2005 school year this September. Speaking realistically, we need to target the completion of the procedure with this first group by the end of June, 2004 since, once people start going on their summer vacations, it will be very difficult to schedule training sessions.

The second target group will include all other parish volunteers; we will focus our efforts on their training from September onward to the end of calendar year 2004. The third group, contract vendors and employees, will be brought on board as soon as practically possible, since Diocesan legal counsel and the Safe Environment Office are still working out the details of the procedure in this regard.

After all the effort involved, how do we know that the Safe Environment Initiative is working?

The Charter for the Protection of Children and Youth that was enacted by the Bishops of the United States last year calls for ongoing audits to assure compliance with that Charter. Each diocese in the United States is to be audited annually. Our own Diocese of Bridgeport was audited last year and found to be in full compliance with the norms of the Charter. As the time comes for the next audit, the process will be expanded to include parishes, schools and institutions, so that every level of diocesan life will be part of the ongoing scrutiny.

Conclusion

As I wrote in one of my earlier installments, our Goal is that all Catholic parishes, schools and institutions will in fact be - and will be known to be - places where all people will be safe from abuse of any and every kind - particularly children, young people and anyone else who might be particularly vulnerable. Our commitment to the prevention of abuse will lead us to work together to acquire the skills and develop the vigilance that are needed. When we have those skills and that vigilance, then the predators can be found out and kept out. Above all, we must pray that each of us will be an example of right conduct, charity and heartfelt joy as we serve the Lord Jesus and one another.