The mission of the Safe Environment Office is to ensure that children, young people, and vulnerable individuals who worship, study, or participate in activities sponsored therein can do so in the safest and most secure setting possible. We are responsible for implementing and overseeing the full Archdiocesan compliance to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (Charter).
We strive to comply with Articles 12 and 13 of the Charter, which require every diocese in the United States to maintain Safe Environment programs and to perform background screenings. Article 12 is applied with the Safe Environment programs in place to help educate involved parties on how they can contribute with the promise to protect our children, young people, and vulnerable individuals from abuse. Furthermore, Article 13 is also applied by performing background screenings on all those individuals working with children, young people, and vulnerable individuals.
We Make Our Mission A Reality By:
- Coordinating the training programs for children and adults.
- Overseeing proper screening of individuals working with children, young people, and vulnerable individuals.
- Communicating the policies surrounding the program, and ensuring that parishes and schools remain in compliance with the Charter through staff training and parish/school audits.
- Leading the internal investigation process relating to child abuse allegations involving church personnel.
