SAFE ENVIRONMENT
Thank you for offering your time, energy and talent to Santa Clara de Asis! There are numerous volunteer opportunities in the areas of Liturgical Ministry, Faith Formation, Pastoral Outreach/Community Service and Fellowship/Social Organizations. It is your involvement and participation in the community of Santa Clara that brings our church to life!
As part of our commitment to keeping the children and young people of our parish community safe, Santa Clara de Asis strongly affirms our Diocesan efforts for the prevention of abuse of children and young people, as stated in the National Conference of Catholic Bishops National Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and our own diocesan Covenant With the Faithful. In our effort to provide a healthy and holy environment, it is the policy of Santa Clara de Asis that ALL volunteers be required to complete a Federal Background Check/Fingerprint Clearance and Safe Environment Training, prior to volunteering.
This two-step process is outlined in the attached Santa Clara de Asis Volunteer Clearance Requirements. Please contact me if you have already completed some, or all, of these steps with another church or school within the Diocese of Orange to determine what, if any, requirements are outstanding. If you are affiliated with Boy Scouts as an active volunteer, contact the SCDA Boy Scouts ministry leader to determine if your Youth Protection Training (YPT) fulfills the Diocese of Orange Safe Environment Training requirement.
In order to initiate the Federal Background Check/Fingerprint Clearance, please complete and return the attached Safe Environment Application Information for Live Scan Form. This document contains your personal/confidential information so it is important that you do not return via email. Return this document to the church office in-person, by mail.
Thank you for partnering with Santa Clara to provide this minimal level of protection to the children and youth of our parish.We look forward to working with you in the completion of this process so you may begin actively participating with your ministry.Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have regarding Safe Environment, background checks or training.
Santa Clara de Asis
Volunteer Clearance Checklist
Per the Diocese of Orange, all volunteers working with children (and vulnerable populations) must complete two levels of clearance – 1) Federal Background Check/Fingerprint Clearance and 2) Safe Environment Training. It is the policy of Santa Clara de Asis that all volunteers, working in any capacity, must complete these two levels of clearance.
***REQUIREMENTS MUST BE COMPLETE PRIOR TO VOLUNTEERING***
❑ If you are not already a registered parishioner of Santa Clara de Asis, complete a Parish Registration Form, which can be found on our website – Click here to register online or in the church office.
Step 1 – Federal Background Check/Fingerprint Clearance
In order for a background check to be initiated, volunteers must first register for fingerprinting.
❑ Complete the attached Safe Environment Application Form and return to the church office in-person or by mail. DO NOT return this form via any electronic method as it contains your confidential information.
❑ The church office will generate your Request for Live Scan Service form. Fingerprinting cannot be performed without this personalized form. Three (3) copies of your Request for Live Scan Service form and a list of approved fingerprinting locations will be available for pick-up at the church office.
❑ Take 3 copies of the Request for Live Scan Service form to one of the approved Live Scan providers, along with your Driver’s License or other government-issued photo ID. The forms will be completed by the Live Scan Operator that takes your fingerprints. The Live Scan operator will keep one (1) copy, and give you back two (2) copies – one for your records and the other for Santa Clara de Asis.
Live Scan Operators charge a fingerprint “Rolling Fee”, but Government-fees are waived for Parish Volunteers.
❑ Return the signed copy of the Request for Live Scan Service to the church office.
Step 2 – Safe Environment Training (SET)
❑ The second step is to complete the Safe Environment Training (SET) called Safe Haven – It’s Up to You, offered online through CMG Connect in both English and Spanish.
❑ Log onto https://orange.cmgconnect.org/.
❑ Register for a new account under Register for a New Account. Follow the steps on your screen to entering your personal information including address, primary parish, and how you will volunteer.
❑ Create your own username and password. Be sure to WRITE DOWN your username and password as you will need this to log-in to renew your training every three (3) years.
❑ Under the Affiliation tab, select “Santa Clara de Asis” in the PARISH, SCHOOL, OR DIOCESAN ENTITY field to complete your registration.
❑ You may now begin the Safe Environment Training: Safe Haven – It’s Up to You. This three-part online course will take you through various scenarios for Protecting Our Youth. After each section, the system will have you complete a short online quiz. This training takes approximately 60 minutes to complete but may be stopped and resumed at any time.
Pass/fail results are sent directly to the Diocese and recorded with the Office of Child and Youth Protection.
❑ At the end of the training, read and acknowledge of receipt of the Diocese’s Policy Against Sexual Misconduct (PASM).
❑ A Certificate of Completion will be generated at the successful completion of the training. Be sure to PRINT and/or SAVE a digital copy of your Certificate, as the Safe Environment Coordinator DOES NOT have access to your SET certificate
❑ Return a copy of your SET Certificate to the church office – in-person, via mail or email at office@scdayl.org in order to be added to the Safe Environment Database.
Volunteer Clearance Notification
The required Federal Background Check/Fingerprint Clearance takes an average of one month to complete. If you have not received notification from us within that timeframe, please contact the Safe Environment Coordinator so the status of your clearance can be checked with the Diocese. Please note that longer than average wait times may occur based on the number of fingerprints being processed by the FBI at any given time.
You are encouraged to complete the Safe Environment Training: Safe Haven – It’s Up to You at your earliest possible convenience so that your volunteer status can be approved upon notification of your Federal Background Check. Once you have completed both Volunteer Clearance Steps, as outlined above, your status will change to Cleared. At that time, your Ministry Leader will be notified and you may participate and be scheduled to volunteer with your ministry.
Safe Environment Renewal
Volunteers must renew their Safe Environment Training (SET) once every three (3 years) in order to remain as active with your ministry. We will contact you via email several months in advance of your renewal date. Ministry Leaders will be notified of any volunteers whose training has lapsed to remove them from actively participating with their ministry. Active volunteer status will be restored when the church office is notified of the successful completion of SET renewal.
In-Active Volunteers
We encourage you to notify the Safe Environment Coordinator, should you pause or discontinue volunteering at Santa Clara de Asis. You will no longer receive Safe Environment Renewal notifications once your volunteer status has been changed to inactive. Should you wish to resume volunteering, please contact your Ministry Leader and the church office.
Contact Information
Should you have any questions, please contact the Parish office, office@scdayl.org or call 714-970-7885
The Diocese of Orange, Office of Child and Youth Protection supports our parish with all safe environment efforts, including fingerprinting services, background screening, safe environment training and development and implementation of related policies. Additional information can be found at https://www.rcbo.org/group/child-and-youth-protection/