Protecting God's Children

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR ALL ST. PETER PARISH & ST. MARY SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS & PARISH ORGANIZATIONS

The Archdiocese of Detroit is updating their Safe Environments policies. These policies are in place in order to protect the most vulnerable among us, including children and vulnerable adults. Adherence to these policies is required in every parish and school.

The AOD uses an online system called Virtus as the platform for all training, monitoring, and data collection.
We want to inform you of some of the upcoming changes.
 

• If it has been more than 3 years since you last took Protecting God's Children, you must take the refresher course.  
  • The recertification class is ONLINE, free and self-paced. You can pause, save, and resume the class as needed, based on your schedule.
  • The recertification training should take approximately two hours.
  • Recertification training will then be required every three years.
  • To take the re-certification training, log-in to your Virtus account at virtus.org  If you need your log-in information, send an email to  [email protected] or call 1-888-847-8870.  They will send you your user name and a new password.   
  • If you do not have access to a computer, please contact Jeanine Walker at 586-722-2803
  • You will also need to fill out a new background check form every year.  These can be found at the school, church or the parish office or you can download it here:                          Background Check Form
• NEW employees and volunteers must take a “live” PGC class.
  • There are in-person and Zoom options for the “live” class.
  • The training for new employees/volunteers takes around three hours.

Often when we hear about the efforts of the Church in regard to sexual abuse, we hear about the importance of compliance with the USCCB Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. From a faith environment perspective, the importance is not in our compliance, but in our calling. As Catholics, we are called to respect the life and dignity of every human person from conception to natural death. The Charter guides us in action to our calling. Our calling furthers the Gospel message of Christ. Thank you for your cooperation in protecting all of God’s children.

If you do not have access to a computer, please contact Jeanine Walker at 586-722-2803. All other questions should be directed to Virtus at [email protected] or          call 1-888-847-8870.