Empowering God's Children - promulgated by Most Rev. Joe S. Vásquez, Bishop of Austin on January 1, 2023
Empowering God's Children - Information for Parents/Guardians
As Catholics, we believe that every human being is created in the image and likeness of God. Each of us is sacred and our lives — body, mind and soul — should be treated with respect. Empowering God's Children (EGC) is an age-appropriate comprehensive safety education and sexual abuse prevention program that gives our youth practical tools, using simple activities, to help them understand this fundamental teaching of our faith.
Each parish and Catholic school in the Diocese of Austin is required to use Empowering God's Children every school year to help educate all K-12th grade students about abuse prevention and personal safety. Besides being developmentally appropriate and sequential for each age group, EGC differs from other Ethics and Integrity in Ministry programs in that it is classroom-based (rather than a facilitator-led workshop) and the program instructors are the teachers/catechists the students already know.
Students are not “required” to attend EGC, but they and their parents should understand the importance of this program as part of their education about boundaries, appropriate interactions between adults and minors and related personal safety issues. This should not be considered an optional program; students that cannot attend should have a valid reason for their absence. Parents may choose to complete an opt-out waiver to excuse their child from the program; this can be obtained from the parish/school representative coordinating the session. Students that do not attend are not required to “make up” the session, but parents may be asked to provide supervision for their child during the session. Parents of students that do not attend EGC for any reason (opt-out or absence) receive the curriculum information to teach their child.