Safe Environment Policies

Click the image above to find the Diocesan Safe Environment Information Page

Catholic Diocese of Youngstown

Safe Environment Policy for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults

(Promulgated December 1, 2020)

Copies of the policy in its entirety are available at the parish office.

To request a digital copy, please email [email protected]

In order to volunteer at St. Paul Catholic Church, School and/or Preschool it is necessary for you to be compliant with the Diocese of Youngstown Safe Environment Child and Vulnerable Adult Protection Policy.

All employees and any volunteers at the school and/or preschool; or church volunteers working with children or vulnerable adults* are required to take VIRTUS training, complete Appendix 9 form and be fingerprinted (all three required once every 5 years).

VIRTUS is the main database for compliance. Plan for 1 ½ to 2 hours for the online training course. For your convenience, attached here are the instructions for taking the online VIRTUS class from the comfort of your home at a time convenient for you. Once you have completed the online class you will need to download the certificate of completion and bring it to the parish office to have on file. Appendix 9 forms are available at the office and may be completed at the time of fingerprinting. To facilitate the process and to provide easy access for our staff and volunteers, fingerprinting is available at no charge at the Parish Office. Contact Michelle May at 330.499.2201 or email [email protected] to schedule an appointment. It only takes 10-15 minutes. You will need to provide your driver’s license and know your social security number.

By completing the above requirements, you will be Fully Compliant to volunteer in the school and/or church for a period of five years. Towards the end of your fifth year, if you wish to continue to volunteer, you will need to complete the VIRTUS training update, get fingerprinted and complete another Appendix 9 form in order to retain Full Compliance.

Updated 2/2/23:

Effective immediately, individuals from St. Paul Church/St. Paul School will not be fingerprinted until they have completed the VIRTUS training. VIRTUS is the database for everything falling under Safe Environment. When we fingerprint individual's first, as we did last Spring, and they don't follow through taking the VIRTUS training, a number of things happen:

The church/school has paid for that individual's fingerprinting but they continue to be non-compliant until they take the VIRTUS training.
The Safe Environment Office doesn't know which church or school in the dioceses to send the fingerprint reports to because the individual is not in the database.
The consumption of time and effort sending emails, etc. trying to get people who have already been fingerprinted to complete their VIRTUS training is frustrating at best.
The individual is NOT COMPLIANT until they have accomplished all three parts: VIRTUS Class, Fingerprinting and Appendix 9, which can be completed at the time of fingerprinting.

PLEASE NOTE: Individuals going through this process in August, September, October are going to naturally take longer due to the number of reports the State of Ohio is having to process for all the learning institutions in the state.

For further information, please contact Michelle May, Compliance Officer for St. Paul Church, School and Preschool at 330.499.2201 ext. 101 or email [email protected]

* Church volunteers who volunteer with children (catechists, youth ministry, VBS, etc.) and/or vulnerable adults (Eucharistic Ministers to the Sick and Homebound whether in private homes or nursing homes, etc.) are required to be Fully Compliant with the Safe Environment Policy by completing the above requirements.

DOY Safe Environment Coordinator/ Victim Assistance Coordinator

Dominic Colucy

Office: 330.744.8451 x-293

Diocesan Response Line 330.718.1388

St. Paul Parish/School Compliance Officer

Michelle May Office: 330.499.2201 x-101

[email protected]