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Safe Environment Policy
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In concert with the Archdiocese of Boston and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Christ the King Parish holds a deep commitment to sustain and strengthen a safe environment within our Church. By raising awareness and understanding of issues of safety among priests, deacons, staff members, and volunteers we enhance an environment of safety for all.
Christ the King Parish maintains the following for clergy, staff, Parish volunteers, and youth.- Protecting God’s Children - Audience: Clergy, Staff, Parish Volunteers
- Empowering God's Children - Audience: students in Faith Formation, grades K-Confirmation Preparation - the program teaches a culture of respect and faith, helping children and young people understand their own sacredness, the sacredness of others, and how to seek help.
- CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) submission - required annually - Clergy, Staff, Parish Volunteers
- Volunteer Application
- Code of Conduct/Sexual Harassment (for clergy, employees, volunteers)
Download Policies & Procedures Manual
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Policies & Procedures
- Ministry Leader's Resposibilities
- Volunteer's Resposibilities
- Safe Environment Coordinator's Responsibilities
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Ministry Leader's ResponsibilitiesThank you for your service as Ministry Leader. In this role you hold many responsibilities, helping build a vibrant Parish Community!
One key responsibility of the Ministry Leader is to communicate our Parish’s Safe Environment Policy and Procedures to current members and those wishing to join your Ministry. A second role is to keep the Parish Office informed on who is active in your Ministry - this helps us ensure compliance with Archdiocesan requirements.
Confirm Active Member Roster
At the start of each new Fiscal Year (the Fiscal Year begins in July) Ministry Leaders are provided with an Active Member Roster.- Confirm members who will be active in the new Fiscal Year as well as their contact information;
- Add in members who do not appear on the Active Member Roster;
- Line out any members who are no longer in your Ministry;
- Return the Active Member Roster to the Parish Office by July 31 of that Fiscal Year
Recruiting New Ministry Members
At any time during the Fiscal Year, when in communication with persons who wish to join your Ministry, the Ministry Leader will:- Inform the Safe Environment Coordinator of person’s name/contact email at the time of initial communication with person. The Safe Environment Coordinator will contact persons providing them with: Safe Environment requirements, CORI form, Volunteer Application, Protecting God’s Children information.
- Inform persons that a Volunteer Application is required. If the volunteer will be working directly with children and youth the VOLUNTEER REFERENCE CHECK portion must also be completed (on reverse side of application). Examples of Ministries needing the Volunteer Reference check: Catechists, Youth Ministry, Altar Servers, Chaperones, Family Liturgy of the Word Ministry.
- Inform person they must submit a CORI form in person to the Parish Office prior to their start of service.
- Inform persons that they need to attend Protecting God’s Children (PGC)
Catechists, Youth Ministries, Altar Server Coordinator, Youth Ministry, Chaperones must complete PGC within the first 30 days of ministry. All other ministries, must complete PGC within the first 60 days of ministry. If person has already taken PGC, inform them to contact the Parish Office in order to trace their record. Persons register online for training at https://virtusonline.org/virtus/ or they may call the Parish Office for guidance - If yours is a Liturgical Ministry inform person they must create their MSP profile to initiate Liturgical Ministry scheduling. Refer to: https://christthekingreading.org/msp
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Volunteer's ResponsibilitiesThank you for serving in Parish Ministry: you make a difference and help build a vibrant Parish Community!
Prior to starting service volunteers complete and return the following information to the Parish Office.- Volunteer Application - a volunteer application is required of all new volunteers. Additionally, if you will be working directly with children and youth the VOLUNTEER REFERENCE CHECK (on reverse side of application) is completed and returned to the Parish Office. Examples of those Ministries needing the Volunteer Reference check: Catechists, Youth Ministry, Altar Servers, Chaperones, Family Liturgy of the Word Ministry.
- CORI Form (Criminal Offender Record Information) - CORI Forms are required every Fiscal Year
If you have never served before, or did not serve in the previous Fiscal Year your CORI must be returned to the Parish Office before your start of service.
If you are submitting a “renewal” of last Fiscal Year’s CORI, there is a Fall submission schedule. - Protecting God’s Children (PGC) training - PGC is a one-time training required of all Parish Volunteers. If your Ministry involves Youth (ex: Catechist, Chaperone, Youth Ministry, Altar Server) the training must be completed with the first 30 days of ministry. All other ministries must complete PGC within the first 60 days of ministry.
PGC is offered quarterly at Christ the King Parish. Optionally, you may take this training at any other area Parish with dates/times more suitable to your schedule.
To register for any PGC training go to https://virtusonline.org/virtus/ or call the Parish Office for guidance
If you have completed PGC training, please contact the Parish Office so that we can trace your record. - If you are in a Liturgical Ministry - Create your Ministry Schedule Pro (MSP) account in order for scheduling purposes. Go to https://christthekingreading.org/msp to create your account, or call the Parish Office for guidance.
- Archdiocesan Volunteer Code of Conduct and Sexual Harassment Policy - will be provided to you annually by the Parish Office. These are for your review, please review and save for your personal records.
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Safe Environment Coordinator's ResponsibilitiesThe Coordinator is the resource for the Parish’s Safe Environment policy and procedures. The primary responsibility of the Coordinator is to ensure that all active volunteers/staff are in compliance with Archdiocesan Safe Environment requirements.
For persons volunteering for the first time in the Parish:- The Coordinator oversees that the volunteer: 1) submits a CORI form before beginning service; 2) submits a Volunteer Application before beginning service; and 3) attends Protecting God’s Children training within 30 days of starting service if working directly with Youth (60 days for all other volunteers).
At the start of the Fiscal Year - the Coordinator provides a roster of volunteers to each Leader, the purpose being to remove persons no longer serving or to add persons not listed.
The Coordinator maintains a Safe Environment database for active volunteers and staff. Categories tracked are:- Protecting God’s Children training date
- CORI submission status
- Code of Conduct - date given to volunteer/employee
- Sexual Harassment - date given to volunteer/employee
Informs Ministry Leaders of members not qualified to serve; ie, members lacking CORI and/or Protecting God’s Children
The Coordinator maintains a Volunteer Application file
Each Fiscal Year the Safe Environment Coordinator:- Identifies all active Parish Ministry Volunteers via communications with Ministry Leaders
- CORI submissions - track, perform subject verification, delegate subject verification authority to parish leaders, submit CORI forms to RCAB for processing
- Conducts Protecting God’s Children Awareness training - training is offered quarterly
- Distributes Archdiocesan Code of Conduct and Sexual Harassment Policy to volunteers/staff. Distribution may be in person or electronically