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The
PROTECTING GOD'S CHILDREN™ Program
Most organizations that work with children have some sort of child safety
program. Through the PROTECTING GOD'S CHILDREN program, we maximize those
efforts by helping churches and religious organizations refine their roles as
child safe environments and empowering them with new tools to help them, and
adults and parents, protect children.
Why Does It Work?
Child abusers seek to operate and abuse their power within nurturing,
child-friendly environments where it is assumed that nobody would want to harm a
child. Religious organizations of all faiths are an easy target. The PROTECTING
GOD'S CHILDREN program implements safety mechanisms that send a message to all
abusers and potential abusers:
- Child abuse is not tolerated,
- Children are vigilantly protected,
- Victims are listened to, heard, and
shielded from further abuse, and
- Offenders are identified and
punished.
By utilizing best practices for training
and loss prevention, the PROTECTING GOD'S CHILDREN program helps make churches
safe for all people—especially children.
How Does It Work?
Maximizing a church's role as a child-safe environment begins with making adults
more aware of the ways children and adults interact with each other. The
PROTECTING GOD'S CHILDREN program educates and trains adults (clergy, religious,
teachers, staff, volunteers, and parents) about the dangers of abuse, the
warning signs of abuse, the ways to prevent abuse, the methods of properly
reporting suspicions of abuse, and responding to allegations of abuse.
All VIRTUS training programs, including
the PROTECTING GOD'S CHILDREN programs, are comprehensive and
multi-dimensional—incorporating proven best practice standards for the
prevention of child sexual abuse by clergy, staff, volunteers, and others who
interact with children within the church environment. Our training programs
incorporate instructor-led training, train-the-facilitator education, awareness
videos, and regularly scheduled continuing education and training via
state-of-the-art web-based training and education courses.
Using The Church To Protect Children
For any organization, the best practice to prevent wrongdoing, including child
sexual abuse, is to have an organization use its own people to facilitate
awareness of the issue. The PROTECTING GOD'S CHILDREN program begins with the
training of internal facilitators—individuals selected by the archidiocese,
diocese, or religious organization to train other adults and parents on how to
best protect children. We use facilitator-led awareness sessions and web-based
training so that participants learn the best methods for delivering their
message, including the training for the PROTECTING GOD'S CHILDREN program.
Training Adults To Protect Children
We begin by making adults of the Church that interact with children aware of how
to protect children. Our PROTECTING GOD'S CHILDREN program for adults is a three
to four hour awareness session that instructs adults of the Church that interact
with children that to protect children you must have continuous awareness and
vigilance. This awareness session makes trainees understand the signs of child
sexual abuse, the methods and means by which offenders commit abuse and five
empowerment steps one can use to prevent child sexual abuse.
Resources & Contact Numbers
Diocesan Contacts
Chancellors:
Sr. Rita Mae Bissonnette, RSR
Rev. Msgr. Marc Caron
207-773-6471
Victims Adovcate:
Susanne Sturm - 1-866-829-4437 (Toll Free)
Susanne Sturm provides outreach services to help
promote healing for victims/survivors - and their families -
who have been abused by clergy or other church representatives.
Diocesan Investigator:
Deacon John Brennan - 207- 773- 6471
Deacon John Brennan is charged with formalizing the
process of investigating complaints of various kinds
against members of the clergy and other Diocesan employees.
His role includes protecting the rights of both the complainant
and the accused throughout the investigation.
Department of Human Services:
Adults & Child Protective Services
Main Office - 1-800-482-7250
24 Hour Hotline - 1-800-452-1999
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