Safe Environment - Initial Instructions - This must be completed by anyone who is working with minors.
Safe Environment - Renewal Instructions - Background checks expire every 5 years and must be renewed.
Every priest, deacon, parish or school staff member, teacher and lay minister that is employed by a parish or school and any volunteer working with minors in our archdiocese is required to meet three requirements:
1-Attend a Safe Environment Education Session. This is a child abuse and maltreatment prevention program that must be attended in person. The current curriculum taught in this session utilizes the Safe Haven series from Catholic Mutual Group.
2-Pass a Criminal Background Check. This check is done at the start of employment or beginning volunteering with minors and must be done every five (5) years subsequently. The criminal background check is conducted through the CMG Connect portal. The criminal background check reports are reviewed and certified through the collaboration of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Safe Environment Office and parish/school Safe Environment coordinators.
3-Sign the Code of Ethical Standards. This code of conduct provides clergy, volunteers, and employees with expectations and guidelines for how they interact with and conduct themselves in ministry. This code must be signed prior to beginning volunteering or working in a parish or school and is reviewed every five (5) years subsequently.
As Catholics, we are all tasked with participating in ensuring that every child is able to feel safe in our parishes and schools. In addition to our safe environment requirements for adults, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee requires all parish religious education programs and Catholic schools to provide instruction on personal safety and abuse prevention in age-appropriate lessons for all children in grades kindergarten through twelfth grade enrolled in their programs. Parishes and schools are required to annually report their compliance with this requirement.
We invite you to explore what we are doing at the archdiocesan level, at the parish/school level, and what we ask of every adult in our parishes to do to help us maintain a Safe Environment to remember our past, protect our present and hope for our future.
Archdiocese Safe Environment Website
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