Nazareth Academy Grade School is committed to providing a Safe Environment for our students. Therefore, we follow the requirements in accordance with the Archdiocesan policies and procedure of the Safe Environment Program when accepting volunteers to work with our children. The 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 our care. The following guidelines are reflective of the 2015 changes to the Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law and Archdiocesan Policy for the Protection of Children and Young People, effective July 1, 2015.
Archdiocesan policy requires all school personnel or contract employee, as well as volunteers who may have contact with children or responsibility for children in the course of their work, must obtain clearances, as required by Pennsylvania law. This includes any individual 14 years of age or older applying for or in a paid position as an employee responsible for the welfare of a child or having direct contact with children.
The steps of the Safe Environment Program are as follows:
Required Clearances
The following clearances must be obtained by
EMPLOYEES:1. Federal Bureau of Investigation Fingerprint Clearance
2. Pennsylvania State Police Clearance
3. Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance
The following clearances must be obtained by
VOLUNTEERS living in PA continuously for 10 years:1. Pennsylvania State Police Clearance
2. Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance
3.
Disclosure Statement application for volunteers to be filed at the place of service.
The following clearances must be obtained by
VOLUNTEERS living in PA for less than 10 years:1. Federal Bureau of Investigation Fingerprint Clearance
2. Pennsylvania State Police Clearance
3. Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance
NOTE: All required clearances, including the FBI, must be renewed every 5 years.
Volunteers who have been a resident of Pennsylvania for less than 10 years must renew their FBI Fingerprint clearance 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 5 years.
Instructions for Obtaining Required Background Checks
1. PA State Police Criminal Record Check
• Go to the
PATCH Page.• Click on Record Check (top center of page) and then New Record Check.
• Follow instructions.
• Print results for school records and your records.
2. PA Department of Public Welfare Child Abuse Clearance Check
• Go to the
PA Child Welfare Portal Page.
• Create a new account.
• Follow instructions.
• Print clearance for school records and your records.
3. Federal Criminal Background Check
• Go to the
IdentoGO® Background Check Page:
• Enter one of these service codes:
o
1KG6TR is the code for (PDE) Pennsylvania Department of Education (non-public schools)
o
1KG6Y3 is the code for (PDE) Pennsylvania Department of Education Volunteers.
• Click on Schedule or Manage Appointment and complete the required information.
• For fingerprint locations in PA, please visit the following website:
https://www.identogo.com/locations/pennsylvania• Please bring the completed registration and your fingerprinting results to the Main Office at NAGS.
Safe Environment Training
All clergy, faculty, staff, and volunteers of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia who have regular contact with children (at least one time per week) must complete the Safe Environment Training as outlined below:
Classroom Component (Part I)Protecting God's Children provides basic facts about child sexual abuse and adults’ roles in prevention. Attendance is expected within 90 days of hire. To register,
Click Here. Mandated Reporter Online Component (Part II)Mandated Reporting of Suspected Child Abuse provides an overview of Archdiocesan reporting procedures for suspected child abuse and Pennsylvania Child Welfare Laws. This training is mandatory for all new clergy, staff, and volunteers.
Click Here to login to the Training Institute and begin the training.
Act 126 Employee Training
Effective January 3, 2013 Act 126 amended the Public School Code of 1949 to mandate that all school entities and independent contractors of school entities complete three (3) hours of Child Abuse prevention training every five (5) years to all employees who have direct contact with children or routine interaction with children. This includes contracted substitute teachers and non-certificated employees or contracted employees.
The Department of Education recently released the Act 126 training modules that were created as a way to assist schools in meeting these requirements. In order to be in compliance with Pennsylvania law, new and current school employees must complete this training every five years. To access Act 126:
• Go to the
Standards Aligned System (SAS) page.• Login to your account - or if registering for the first time, select “register for account”
• Once logged in, choose My SAS Tools from the upper right corner.
• Select PD Center, then select Course Catalog / Registration.
• In the Course Selection drop-down menu, select Act 126.
• When the page loads, select the course below that pertains to your role.
• Complete the course and print of the certificate.
• The individual should keep the original certificate and submit a copy to the Main Office at NAGS.
If you have any problems registering for the course, contact the Department of Education Help Desk and they can walk you through the process. Call (877) 973-3727, or email:
[email protected]