VIRTUS REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL PARISH/SCHOOL/CHILDCARE EMPLOYEES AND VOLUNTEERS WHO WORK WITH CHILDREN

Since 2004, the Diocese of Cleveland adopted the VIRTUS Program in response to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops “ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” It has been a mandatory requirement that all priests, deacons, religious, employees and volunteers at all parishes, schools, diocesan agencies and affiliated Catholic institutions participate in this program.

Requirements are as follows:

  1. Background Check/Fingerprinting: Must now be done every 5 years.  BCI is required for all and in some instances, an FBI check will also be needed.  Fingerprinting locations are listed below.  Fees do vary and in some cases, an appointment is needed.  All reports must be sent directly to Holy Family Parish 7367 York Rd. Parma OH 44130.
    Parma Police– appointment required by calling (440) 887-7300 ext. 7222.  Mention it is for Holy Family Parish and they will give you a discounted rate.
    Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles- 12000 Snow Rd, Suite 12 Parma- (440) 885-0844 – no appointment needed
  1. VIRTUS Training Certification: To preregister for a class, go to virtusonline.org and click on “First- Time Registrant” in the left column to begin the registration process. Select Cleveland, OH (Diocese) as your organization. Create user name and password.  Click “Continue” to fill in the remaining information.  List “Holy Family Parish- Parma” as your primary location.  This is also the process of setting up your online account to register for a VIRTUS session and to set up your account to be used for future online training bulletins.
  1. Online Training Bulletins: After you have attended a VIRTUS training session, you will receive periodic email training updates. These brief articles are followed by one question with multiple choice answers to verify that the content was understood.  A record of your ongoing process will be kept for Diocesan records.  You must be current with the online training bulletins in order to be in compliance.
  1. IN –SERVICE ONLINE VIDEO IS A REQUIREMENT  FOR CURRENT EMPLOYEES AND VOLUNTEERS WHO HAVE PREVIOUSLY ATTENTED A VIRTUS TRAINING SESSION:

Click here to view in-service videos:

http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/childprotection/videos/

These videos provide updates and reminders to the Policy for the Safety of Children in Matters of Sexual Abuse and the Standards of Conduct for Ministry.  In June 2016, the policies were revised.  TWO REQUIRED DOCUMENTS are to be read and forms signed after the IN-Service videos are reviewed.

  1. Policy for the Safety of Children in Matters of Sexual Abuse: Revised June 2016
    Click here: https://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/files/resources/policy-for-the-safety-of-children-2019-04-25.pdf
    Sign the document on page 7-67 and return to Holy Family Parish office.
  1. Standards of Conduct for Ministry: Revised June 2016
    Click here: Microsoft Word – Final Draft SOC June 2016 (dioceseofcleveland.org)
    Sign the document of page 17 and return to Holy Family Parish office.

If you have any questions, please contact Ann Mihaloew (440) 842-5533 ext. 301 or email [email protected]