Keeping All God’sAll ChildrenGod’s Safer Volume 6, No. 2 Keeping Children Safer Page Protection of Children and Youth Initiative (PCYI) Volume 6, No. 2 | Winter 2013 Never to be Forgotten In this Issue By Sharon Tomlin, PCYI Curriculum & Leadership Liaison, Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis Page 1  Never to Be Forgotten  Principles for Child Protection The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis recently participated in a USCCBauthorized audit regarding our response to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. PCYI staff members are grateful to all employees, volunteers and parishioners who support the Church’s efforts to prevent child sexual abuse through 1. participating in the “Essential Three” (background checks, training and agreeing to a code of conduct) and 2. assuring all children are taught personal safety rules. What can sometimes be forgotten are the ongoing efforts of the Church to meet the needs of victims, survivors and their families. Within The Charter and included in the audit forms, dioceses across the country are instructed to pastorally care for the needs of victims and to document diocesan efforts. This work is most often done quietly and yet diligently in order to protect the identity of victims and their families. The Charter includes the following guidelines:  To Promote Healing and Reconciliation with Victims/Survivors of Sexual Abuse of Minors (Articles 1 – 3) with Bishops responding pastorally and assuring the availability of a Victim Assistance Coordinator in his diocese;  To Guarantee an Effective Response to Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors through cooperating with civil authorities (Article 4), disciplining offenders (Article 5), having clear standards (codes of conduct) of behavior and appropriate boundaries (Article 6), and having open and transparent communications (Article 7);  To Ensure the Accountability of Our Procedures (Articles 8 – 11) through having a USCCB standing committee (Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People), a national Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection responsible for an annual audit process and annual public report, and National Review Board, as well as requiring the President of the Conference to report annually to the Holy See the Church in the United States’ commitment to the protection of children and young people. Page 2  Smartphones, Tablets, and Too Much Information  A Call for New VIRTUS Facilitators  Ministry to Vulnerable Adults Training from APM Reminders  Interesting articles about protecting children & youth and related subject matter are available at: www.virtusonline.org.  New facilitators for VIRTUS will be trained on March 21 & 22, 2013. Send an email to [email protected] to receive registration information  Most PCYI documents you need can be downloaded from the PCYI pages of the Archdiocese’s website. www.archspm.org/departments/pcyi. What would you like to see here?  To Protect the Faithful in the Future (Articles 12—13) through creating a safe environment for children and young people that includes both training adults and minors, as well as conduct background evaluations on all employees and volunteers. If you find a relevant article to share, discover a helpful solution for PCYI concerns, or have a topic you would like addressed here, please email us: [email protected] “Mary, Mother of the Church, continue to care for the most vulnerable through the efforts of God’s People.” Principles for Child Protection Catechesis for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis #2 of 10 “God lives in relationship as the community of divine persons in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that we call the Blessed Trinity. Human persons are created to live in community; the smallest and most intimate of which is family. Family, in God’s image, respects and cherishes the uniqueness and life of each of its members. The Church supports parents as the first educators in faith. Parishes and schools are partners with the family in educating, nurturing and protecting children. ” References: Luke 2:51-52; Catechism of the Catholic Church 2205-2210. next time… Principle #3 Protection of Children and Youth Initiative office: [email protected] | Fax: 651-290-1628 Sharon Tomlin 651-290-1622 | Maya Rose 651-251-7742 | D. Lynette Forbes-Cardey 651-291-4501 Victim Assistance Coordinator: [email protected] | Greta Sawyer 651-291-4497 Keeping All God’s Children Safer Volume 6, No. 2 Page 2 Smartphones, Tablets, and Too Much Information Many of us have smartphones and tablet PCs. These are great tools with many handy built-in features. There is also an abundance of useful and fun apps for these devices. But, there is a risk associated with them that may not be obvious to all those who use them. Smartphones and tablets may have a GPS built into them. Even without a GPS, your location may be known if you log onto the internet using a WiFi “Hot Spot”. Your location will be automatically added to a post made to Facebook, FourSquare, Twitter, or other social networking sites from a smartphone or tablet if the location tracking feature is turned on. There is also a “Check-In” feature which quickly creates a post of your location, such as: “Betty Sue is at the Yarn Barn in Big City, MN.” When photos are taken with a smartphone and this feature is enabled a location code may be saved within the photo itself. So that when you post the picture to a social network site that location is shown. These features are helpful when mapping a location or making a photo travelogue. This is a fine tool for adults to share information online. But, it is NOT a good thing for youth to share their current location online. Remember to turn off the GPS or location tracking feature on your smartphone or tablet before allowing minors to post with the device. And, be sure to check profile settings on social networking sites and disable location tagging of photos and posts. If your child uses such a device, insist that these features are disabled and check their profile privacy settings. Remember, social networking sites, such as Facebook, make frequent changes to their features. You will need to check every so often to be sure your child is not sharing too much information. NOTE: Disabling the GPS feature on a smartphone WILL NOT prevent law enforcement from using the device to help locate a person in an emergency. More tips for keeping kids safe online are available from the Parents & Guardians area of www.netsmartz.org. A Call for New VIRTUS Facilitators New VIRTUS facilitators will be trained for the Archdiocese of St Paul/Minneapolis on Thursday March 21 (9AM to 5PM) and Friday March 22 (9AM to 3 PM). Training will be at the Hayden Building of the Chancery in St Paul. We need facilitators in both English and Spanish languages. Who can be a VIRTUS facilitator? To become a facilitator, you must: have attended a VIRTUS session, have submitted to a background check at your parish or school, sign a code of conduct specific to VIRTUS facilitators, submit a letter of recommendation from your Pastor, and attend the entire training session (both days). Ministry to Vulnerable Adults Training “Ministry to Vulnerable Adults” training is available to volunteer coordinators or other ministry leaders throughout the archdiocese. This training was created by a task force of the Association of Pastoral Ministers (APM) St Paul/ Minneapolis to prepare and support those who minister to vulnerable adults. Approximately twice a year, members of the task force provide a three hour ‘train the trainer’ session. During the session ministry leaders gain information specific to ministering to vulnerable adults and are given resources to prepare others. A complete set of materials is given to each trainer. Included in these materials are: a PowerPoint presentation on CD for training, masters for printing training hand-outs, plus materials for continued learning. Each leader then trains those at the parish who will be ministering to vulnerable adults. What will be taught? Participants will learn everything needed to facilitate VIRTUS sessions. This includes: suggestions for handling various situations in a session, answers to frequently asked questions, additional resources on related topics, and how to handle the minimal paperwork associated with VIRTUS sessions. The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, under which PCYI and VIRTUS operate, is focused on children, youth, and those adults whose ability to reason is that of a child. Adults may be vulnerable in many other ways: financially, physically, and emotionally to name just a few. While there is content available through VIRTUS regarding vulnerable adults; that is not their main focus. The need for training those who minister to vulnerable adults was what motivated this APM task force. Why should I consider becoming a VIRTUS facilitator? VIRTUS facilitators support the work of the Church and help protect children by providing essential information for those who serve with our children. To learn more, please contact Mary Ann Kelly-Wright at [email protected] or visit http://www.apmspm.org/mva to see a comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions list. For enrollment information email us at [email protected] NOTE: This training does not replace VIRTUS training for those who work with children or youth. Protection of Children and Youth Initiative office: [email protected] | Fax: 651-290-1628 Sharon Tomlin 651-290-1622 | Maya Rose 651-251-7742 | D. Lynette Forbes-Cardey 651-291-4501 Victim Assistance Coordinator: [email protected] | Greta Sawyer 651-291-4497