PA Keep Kids Safe

All those who minister and serve the children of our parish must fulfill all of the Safe Environment requirements.  Archdiocesan policy requires that volunteers who may have any possible contact with children complete the following background checks and training.

Check List of Requirements for All Volunteers:
___  Pennsylvania State Police Clearance (application completed online and send copy of clearance to Rectory Office)
___  Pennsylvania Child Abuse Clearance  (application completed online and send copy of clearance to Rectory Office)
​___  Disclosure Statement Application (complete form and send copy to Rectory Office)
___  Protecting God's Children Course (attend course and return signed Affidavit to Rectory Office)
___  Mandatory Reporting of Suspected Child Abuse (complete course online and return signed Certificate to Rectory Office)
Additional Requirement for Volunteers who have lived in PA for less than 10 years:
___ ** FBI Fingerprint Clearance

Required Clearances for ALL Volunteers:

• Pennsylvania State Police Clearance
• ** Can be obtained online at https://epatch.pa.gov/home with results available within a few minutes
• Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance
• ** Can be obtained online at  https://www.compass.state.pa.us/CWIS with results normally available in 10-14 days 
• Disclosure Statement application to be filled out and sent to Rectory Office
  
  
• Additional Clearance ONLY for Volunteers Living in PA for Less than 10 years:
  • ** Federal Bureau of Investigation Fingerprint Clearance  Go to https://www.identogo.com/ to schedule an appointment and pay for the background check

​​​Required Safe Environment Training for ALL Volunteers:
Volunteers who have regular contact with children (at least one time per week) are required to complete parts one and two of the Safe Environment training within 90 days of beginning their volunteer work.

• Part I: Protecting God's Children (instructor-led), is offered regularly at sites throughout the Archdiocese. The training provides basic facts about child sexual abuse and adults’ roles in prevention. Register here

• Part II: The Mandatory Reporting of Suspected Child Abuse (online), is available online at our Training Institute in English and Spanish. This training provides an overview of Archdiocesan reporting procedures for suspected child abuse and Pennsylvania Child Welfare Laws. The training should take you approximately one hour to complete. Register here

Clearance Renewal Requirements: All required clearances, including FBI, must be renewed every five years (60 months).
Volunteers who have been a resident of Pennsylvania for less than 10 years must renew their FBI Fingerprint clearance until they reach 10 years of residency in Pennsylvania. Once the volunteer meets the 10 year residency requirement, they must complete a Disclosure Statement Application for Volunteers which must be submitted every three years.

Mandated Reporting of Suspected Child Abuse:
As a volunteer working within the Archdiocese, we hope that you will always err on the side of protecting children and immediately report any suspicion of child abuse to the proper authorities. Some volunteers are mandated reporters and MUST report suspicions of abuse. Effective December 31, 2014, volunteers working directly with children are mandated reporters in Pennsylvania. This means that you will be legally responsible to report when you have reasonable cause to suspect a child is being or has been abused.

Volunteers who reside in Pennsylvania do not have a provisional period and must obtain clearances prior to beginning service.
Volunteers who reside in another state or country may serve for no more than 30 days as long as they provide clearances from their state or country of residence.