Safe Environment

Jayne Marcinkowski
Safe Environment Coordinator
Email: hr@stignatius.church
Tel: 215-493-3377 x212
ABOUT
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia Safe Environment Office was established in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis that came to light in the early 2000s. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia, like many other dioceses worldwide, recognized the need to take concrete steps to address past incidents of abuse and prevent future occurrences. Our Safe Environment program is a comprehensive child safety and child sexual abuse prevention program, which creates a network of prevention and protection for the children entrusted into the Archdiocese’s care. The mission of this Program is to oversee the training of and background checks for all Archdiocesan clergy, employees, and volunteers who have regular contact with children. It also disseminates the Archdiocesan standards of behavior for individuals working with children and young people, provides safe environment training for children, young people and adults, and trains parish and school staff to monitor compliance with archdiocesan policies and the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People as well as compliance with mandatory reporting laws. Compliance Guidelines have been created outlining what is required of school and parish employees, school and parish volunteers, priests, deacons, seminarians, and pastoral center employees.

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Information for Volunteers

Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers for all you do each and every day to support the St. Ignatius community and programs. The following information provides the Safe Environment guidelines which reflect the changes to the Pennsylvania Child Protective Services laws which came into effect in 2015.

Required Clearances

Archdiocesan policy requires that volunteers who may have any possible contact with children complete the following background checks and clearances:

Clearances for Volunteers Living in PA for Less than 10 years:

Please FORWARD THE CLEARANCE CERTIFICATES to the parish business office upon completion. Email to hr@stignatius.church or mail to St. Ignatius Church, 999 Reading Avenue, Yardley, PA 19067 Attn: Human Resources.

Clearances for Volunteers Living in PA Continuously for 10 years or more:

Please FORWARD THE CLEARANCE CERTIFICATES to the parish business office upon completion. Email to hr@stignatius.church or mail to St. Ignatius Church, 999 Reading Avenue, Yardley, PA 19067 Attn: Human Resources.

Volunteers who reside in Pennsylvania DO NOT have a provisional period and MUST OBTAIN clearances prior to beginning service.

Volunteers who reside in another state or country may serve for no more than 30 days as long as they provide clearances from their state or country of residence.

Clearance Renewal Requirements

Volunteers who have been a resident of Pennsylvania for less than 10 years must renew their FBI Fingerprint clearance every five (5) years until they reach 10 years of residency in Pennsylvania. Once the volunteer meets the 10 year residency requirement, they must complete a Disclosure Statement Application for Volunteers which must be submitted every five years.

All other required clearances must be renewed every five years.

Training Requirements

Volunteers who have regular contact with children (at least one time per week) are required to complete parts one and two of the Safe Environment training within 90 days of beginning their volunteer work.

For additional information, please visit the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Office of Child and Youth Protection website at www.childyouthprotection.org or call the St. Ignatius Safe Environment Coordinator at 215-493-3377 ext. 212 or email at hr@stignatius.church with any questions.

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