“One of the greatest responsibilities adults ever face is the protection of children under their care. That is a duty that falls heavily upon those who minister in the name of the Church because children are entrusted to us in so many ways – in schools, in religious education, in Scouting, on field trips, and in sports. Parents have a right to expect that their children are as safe as humanly possible in all of these situations.”
Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr
Protecting our young people is a top priority here at St. Henry. We adhere to the guidelines set forth by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in the Decree on Child Protection.
Notice To Current Volunteers:
Effective July 1, 2014, you MUST have completed the SafeParish Training & be current with the SafeParish Online Bulletins in order to continue to work with children.
To Be Approved To Work With Children You Must:
- Email Jennifer Zwiers that you would like to set up a SafeParish account and are requesting a token to pay for the background check.
- After receiving your token, create a SafeParish account at www.aocsafeenvironment.org Then click on the Registration button, located in the top right hand corner. The passcode is: protectcincy. Then follow the directions.
- Please make sure that your PRIMARY LOCATION is St. Henry Parish, Dayton OH. (The token will not work if you use a different location.) You may add a second location as needed (Bishop Leibold School, etc.)
- Complete the Selection.com background check. When you get to the part for payment, there will be a spot to enter your token.
- Complete the initial online training (approximately 1.5-2 hours) and acknowledge the decree.
- Complete quarterly online SafeParish Training Bulletins (currently issued in Jan, April, July, and Oct.) You will have 30 days to complete the bulletin. An email will be sent via SafeParish informing you when bulletins are available.
Any questions about working with children and child protection, please contact Jennifer Zwiers, our Safe Environment Coordinator.
Full text of the Decree on Child Protection, Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
Read more: Restoring Trust.
Here at St. Henry we take the responsibility to protect our children very seriously. Therefore, it is imperative that everyone is well trained in this very important task, including parents. Parents are the first teachers of their children; therefore they are the first level of defense, especially in the case of Child Abuse.
Although discussing child abuse with your children may be difficult for you, it is very important. Research shows that children whose parents and guardians talk to them about preventing sexual abuse are more effective at fending off assaults. Discussing such topics with children is perhaps the most important step a parent can take to protect his or her child.
The Archdiocese has put together a document to help parents in this most-important task of protecting their children called: Parent Resources – Appropriate Boundaries
Please look this document over very carefully. The more you know about child abuse, the better you can protect your children from it. Again, we take the responsibility of protecting our children very seriously, but we need your help.