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Virtus TrainingWhat is VIRTUS®?The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People requires that all employees and volunteer in a parish be trained and screened if they have contact with or minister to children. The Program is called VIRTUS.
The VIRTUS program was developed by the Catholic Council of Bishops to ensure safe environments for children and youth in all parishes, schools and diocesan programs. The training educates clergy, staff and volunteers on how to create safe environments for children. It includes several steps: Protecting God’s Children class, completing On-Line background check, completing CANTS form, and completing Code of Conduct form. All employees and coaches must also complete a Mandated Reporter Class.
For more information, or to register for a VIRTUS training session in your area, please visit www.virtus.org.
How do I become Virtus Certified?
*** Due to Covid, all past volunteer/coach accounts had to be inactivated in the system for our compliance report to be approved. If you have voluteered/coached in the past and know you were in compliance previously, SKIP Step 1 below. Continue you on to Steps 2-6 and when you have completed all the forms, submit them to Debbie and she will activate your account. DO NOT create a new account if you have volunteered/coached in the past.
*** If you have never volunteered/coached and want to start, complete Steps 1-6 below.
Any parent wishing to chaperone, volunteer in a classroom, help with Club Cajetan or help with fun lunch MUST complete all six steps to participate.
- Complete on-line background check. Click here to start the background check process. New users are required to register first. You will need an access code which is "protection". If you think you already created an account in the past, please notify Debbie Collins at dcollins@cajetan.org and let her know you would like to coach/volunteer and need to be reactivated. If you are unsure if you have an existing account, do not create another account without checking with Debbie first.
- Complete two CANTS forms each year and submit to the school office. Click the link to download each form- CANTS 22/22A and CANTS 689
- Complete a Code of Conduct form and submit to the school office. Click here to download the form. This form needs to be filled out every five years.
- Attend Protecting God's Children training within 30 days of completing the background check. Click here to start registration process. All the class options can be found on www.virtusonline.org.
- Submit the VIRTUS training completion certificate to the school office. If you previously attended VIRTUS training, please submit a copy of your certificate to the school office.
- Complete Mandated Reporter Training – This class can be done on-line. Take the class, print the certificate and turn it into the office. Click here for more information regarding on-line class availability.
Any parent wishing to be a chaperone, coach, volunteer in the classroom, lunch room or after school programs MUST complete the first five steps to participate.
How Do I Attend the Protecting God's Children Training?
This training is offered at several locations and on many dates. Please visit the archdiocese website for a schedule of available training sessions: Virtus Training Sessions