Our diocesan policies, Ethics and Integrity in Ministry, are rooted in the Catholic understanding that each individual must be respected and honored. Jesus had a deep, abiding respect for each human being and would not harm or mislead anyone in their personal or spiritual life. We must attempt to do likewise. Our policies cover four areas of possible harm: immoral conduct, exploitation, harassment and abuse.

Specifically regarding prevention of abuse, the EIM policies require anyone involved in a ministry with minors (those under the age of 18) or vulnerable adults (those who are uniquely vulnerable to abuse because of physical or mental disabilities) is required to:

1. Submit a Ministry Application to the Diocese of Austin
2. Agree to a criminal background check
3. Attend a workshop on “Protecting God’s Children,” a seminar on child sexual abuse

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Although this is not a complete list, at a minimum the following areas must comply with this policy:

It is mandatory that people who serve in the following ways meet the policy requirements:

• clergy (priests and deacons)
• women and men in consecrated life
• seminarians and deacon candidates
• directors of religious education and catechists
• youth ministry employees and volunteers
• nursery employees and volunteers
• school administrators, teachers and classroom volunteers
• maintenance and food service providers in schools and parishes
• leaders and volunteers of Catholic Scout (Boy and Girl) troops
• children’s choir directors and children’s liturgy coordinators and trainers
• anyone (including parents and adults in host families) involved in overnight events
• anyone transporting minors in vehicles
• anyone involved in a one-on-one or home-based ministry with minors
• eucharistic ministers who visit people outside of the church (hospitals, nursing homes, private homes, etc.)
• anyone serving in a program for minors or vulnerable adults that is hosted on church or school property.

It would be helpful for the following people to also meet the policy requirements: pastoral and finance council members (because of their leadership position), paid parish staff who are present to the public but not serving minors (receptionists, etc.) and anyone who fills a one-time need in ministry to minors or vulnerable adults.

(Reference June 6, 2003 Friday e-pistle)

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Each week in the Friday e-pistle a suggested bulletin announcement is offered, along with a list of currently scheduled Protecting God’s Children workshops.

The diocesan Communications Office has available in English and Spanish a pamphlet, poster and bulletin insert promoting the policies. Please contact the Communications Office at (512) 697-2047 or for free copies that can be distributed to all volunteers and employees.

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1. It is preferred that the individual complete the application on a secured Internet site.
2. If the individual does not have access to the Internet, the parish/school may provide an application by printing one from the diocesan Web site. A copy of the application is also provided with each copy of the EIM policies. The application can be filled out and returned to the parish/school office.
   
   If the parish/school manager receives an application on paper, they should enter it into eAppsDB using a unique ID and password for that individual. They may also forward it to the diocesan Communications Office, attention Colleen Schiller, at PO Box 13327, Austin TX 78711, and the diocesan office will make sure that the application is entered into eAppsDB.
3. The paper application is available in Spanish. The Internet site is not available in Spanish.

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This is completed by the diocese after an application has been submitted through eAppsDB. Information is sent to the DPS electronically in a highly secured method required by the DPS and recommended by electronic security experts. The results are held confidentially by diocesan officials. The diocese will conduct a criminal record check every three years for each person. The individual does not have to re-enter their application for these tri-annual record checks to occur. There is no charge to the parish or school for the record checks.

How is the criminal record information held confidentially?

The only information entered into eAppsDB by the diocese is the status of an individual. An individual can be designated as

• Approved for ministry (by diocese and/or parish)
• Restricted for ministry (by diocese and/or parish)
• Denied (by diocese and/or parish)

In larger parishes/schools, the smoothest operations seem to occur if the business administrator serves as the coordinator for the EIM program.

The parish/school manager and/or ministry heads should run a report on a regular basis from eAppsDB. To print this report, follow the link for either ‘View Default Applicant Report’ or ‘Customize an Applicant Report’ after you have logged into eAppsDB with the parish manager password and userID, or with the read-only password and userID (recommended for ministry heads). This report will only include individuals who have associated themselves with your parish or school on their application.

If you need to verify the status of an individual who is not associated with your parish or school, use the ‘Organization Wide Lookup’ link.

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The pastor or principal – or their designate -- should contact Emily Hurlimann at (512) 697-2047. He or she will be provided with information on how to contact the volunteer or employee to verify the criminal record and make a determination regarding the person’s status.

What do the designations ‘restricted’ or ‘denied’ by the diocese mean?

A ‘denied’ status means that the individual should not be involved in any kind of ministry with minors or vulnerable adults.

‘Restricted’ means that the ministry is restricted in some way. For instance, the individual may not be allowed to transport minors in vehicles.

To learn of qualifications if an individual is flagged as 'restricted’ or ‘denied’ in ministry:

1. Find an individual by doing a search by name in eAppsDB.
2. Click on 'process,'
3. Click on the link for 'history' next to 'Organization: Applicant Restricted.' This will provide information on the restriction. (For example, it may be “can not transport minors.”)
4. Hit the back button.
5. As a site administrator, you may now click on 'edit' next to 'Site:' and enter information that can then be viewed by those with read-only site passwords. This information will be available if the feature 'Site Status Notes' is included in a report.

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Yes. The EIM policies state that “Additional screening procedures, such as reference checks and face-to-face interviews, are recommended for new applicants as well as existing employees and volunteers who have held their positions for less than two years.” The parish/school should determine how references will be used. eAppsDB provides for a second tier of screening, so that a parish/school can accept, restrict or deny a volunteer or employee’s service to children and vulnerable adults.

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The information we are requesting only meets minimum standards for child service entities. We may in the future be required to ask for even more information. The length of the application sends a message to potential abusers that we are taking our policies seriously. We continue to express appreciation to our volunteers for participating in this system that is intended to thwart potential abuse of our children. Please send any concerns about the application to Emily Hurlimann at (512) 697-2047.

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We do not need a Social Security Number to complete a criminal records check. However, professionals recommend that we continue to ask for it. SSNs are used to confirm a criminal record. For those who do not have a Social Security Number or are not comfortable in providing it to their church, we ask that a letter of reference from the pastor to be kept on file in your parish offices. This will not be retroactive for those who have already completed an application. Lack of a Social Security number should not keep anyone from volunteering or ministering in our diocese. Individuals without a SSN may enter “111-11-1111” into eAppsDB to complete the application online.

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Enter n/a or not applicable on the form.

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Approximate dates are acceptable.

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Research shows that the most effective way we will be able to stop abuse is through education. That is why we are asking attendance at a Protecting God’s Children workshop. There are nearly 70 individuals trained to present these workshops in English and Spanish. Your parish or school can set up a workshop by using the request form. This link is also provided in each Friday e-pistle. This form should be submitted to the Communications Office at least 30 days before your requested workshop date.

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• The parish must provide:
• equipment (TV, VCR, etc.) to show three videos,
• an adequate room to host the workshop,
• postage to return forms to the diocese,
• and staff to be at the workshop before, during and after (in case any issues arise) and to take reservations for the workshops.
• The parish may also decide to provide refreshments for the participants.
• The trainers are volunteering their services, and the diocese is providing all materials, so there is no additional cost to the parish.

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The parish will receive copies of the blue Code of Ethics, which workshop participants have signed. The parish manager with an administrative password for eAppsDB must log in to eAppsDB to record this information. Individuals can not record their own attendance.

If your parish or school hosts a Protecting God’s Children workshop, you will be given all of the participants’ blue Code of Ethics. You should process those forms in the following way:

1. Enter workshop dates for your parishioners through the ‘Workshop Quick Entry’ link in eAppsDB.
2. Remaining forms (non-parishioners) can be sent to their home parishes or the diocese for processing. OR, you may choose to enter the workshop dates using the ‘Organization-wide Look up’ feature in eAppsDB.
3. If the person does not have an application entered into eAppsDB, you can click on ‘Create a New Application’ link to create a new application for that individual. They will be notified by e-mail (if they enter an e-mail address on the sign in sheet or Code of Ethics form) to complete the application. If no e-mail address is available, they will be notified by eAppsDB when they attempt to create a new application that an application has already been started for them.
4. If a workshop date has already been entered, please enter the most recent dates.

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Either the blue-colored Code of Ethics form or the buff-colored Certificate of Attendance can be used to verify attendance. If neither one of those forms is available, please contact Colleen Schiller in the Communications Office at (512) 697-2046 with the name of the individual, the date and location of the workshop that they attended, and a daytime phone number for the individual.

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Regardless of the individual’s status with another organization or church, he or she must complete the Application for Ministry (through eAppsDB). Documentation regarding attendance at a workshop in another diocese or church should be forwarded to Colleen Schiller at Diocese of Austin, P.O. Box 13327, Austin TX 78711, or faxed to (512) 476-5341. She can then verify the attendance and if the program is accepted by our diocese.

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Please contact Austin Computing Solutions at (512) 231-1238 and ask for Teresa Klepac or Allan Klepac, or the Communications Office at (512) 476-4888 and ask for Colleen Schiller or Emily Hurlimann.

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First, check if the volunteer completed an application through another parish or school by logging in and doing an ‘Organization Wide Lookup.’ If they are in the database, ask them to add your parish or school to their list of sites.

If the volunteer has not submitted an application, he or she must do that and be approved for ministry by the diocese (have a criminal record check done) before beginning volunteer work. He or she must also attend a Protecting God’s children workshop within 90 days of submitting the application.

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Minors in high school are welcome at the Protecting God’s Children workshops. Because of the topic of the workshops, the parish or school may wish to ensure that their parents/guardians be informed of the workshop, or ask the parents/guardians to attend the workshop with their minor.

The diocese does not require that a parental consent form be completed before a minor can attend a workshop.

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In a memo dated March 4, 2005, Bishop Gregory Aymond wrote: "The diocese does not recommend that middle-school students be allowed to participate in unsupervised care of children. This would include such responsibilities as taking children to the bathroom and providing nursery care. Middle school students who participate in volunteer work with children should be supervised by an “EIM-certified” adult over 21 years of age at all times. Since this is a serious responsibility, and a liability issue, the adults in charge of an event (the pastor, DRE, youth minister, etc.) are responsible for the actions of a minor who is assisting in a church event. This recommendation is based on recognition that most middle-school students are not sufficiently mature and have not had enough life experiences or skills-training to know how to respond in an emergency situation or to monitor a child’s inappropriate behavior. Therefore, middle-school students who participate in VBS, nursery care or other ministries as “junior helpers” do not need to attend a Protecting God’s Children or Teen Leader Training workshop.... Some will be critical of this stance, saying this is 'over-reacting.' But I would rather protect God’s children than be sorry later. I hope that you share my sentiments."

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Yes. High school students who attend the Called to Protect for Youth program through their school or religious education program are considered to be in compliance with the diocese’s policies. Those who serve in adult roles in ministry, however, should attend the Protecting God’s Children workshop.

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Yes. Some of the questions will not be applicable for them, so they should indicate “not applicable.” EAppsDB will indicate automatically (based on the date of birth) that the individual is a minor.

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