A Safe Environment
Let there now be no doubt or confusion on anyone's part: For us, the church of the Archdiocese of Anchorage, our obligation to protect children and young people and to prevent sexual abuse flows from the mission and example given to us by Jesus Christ himself, in whose name we serve.
Jesus showed constant care for the vulnerable. He inaugurated his ministry with these words of the Prophet Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and
recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord (Luke 4:18).
In Matthew 25, the Lord made this part of his commission to his apostles and disciples when he told them that whenever they showed mercy and compassion to the least ones, they showed it to him. Our desire is to provide a Safe Environment for all persons, young and old alike. We are called to be no less than The Body of Christ.
about safe environment training
For the next Archdiocesan Employee Safe Environment Training Session please pre-register by calling 297-7736 or emailing Sr. Jackie Stoll at jstoll@caa-ak.org
Clarification About Training
STAR training (all day) must be attended by clergy and all diocesan and parish employees involved with youth and vulnerable adults/persons. All other volunteers and interested parties may attend the long version, but are not required to.
A short version of training may be done by STAR, the Faith Formation Director, or other qualified person for everyone else, including diaconate candidates. The 4 components of required training for this group are:
Boundaries
Signs of abuse
Procedures for reporting
The Code of Conduct (must be signed every year)
STAR training (long version) is to be attended every 3 years.
There may be the possibility of creating an online training program which might be available for next year.
Background Checks
All employees of the Archdiocese, parishes, and Archdiocesan schools must have a background check. All volunteers working with youth and/or vulnerable adults must have background checks.
Teachers with state certificates do not need background checks, as they have already been cleared by the state. Everyone who works or is a volunteer with children, youth or vulnerable adults, including principals, coaches, those on stipends, leaders of children’s choirs, altar servers, etc must have a background check.
Parish nurses need background checks.
If a volunteer has clearance from the Boy Scouts or Campfire, a copy of this would be accepted in lieu of the Pinnacle background check. This will make it easier for those parishes which sponsor packs/troops, as no background check needs to be done on the leaders.
Because a background check cannot be performed without a social security number, a person not wanting to give their social security number, or who is from out of country and does not have a social security number, may be permitted to help in the classroom (or wherever), but is not allowed to head up the class, nor may they be left alone with the children.
