Thank you for your desire to not only serve our parish, but, in the process, do all within your power to make it a save and thriving environment for everyone, especially children, youth, and vulnerable populations.

To that end, we, in compliance with diocesan and national standards, have in place a process to onboard and vet all volunteers, employees, and clergy in our organization. We appreciate your understanding and compliance. Our process requires a fully online registration process that is detailed below as well as initial attendance at a LIVE workshop. Both of these are 100% necessary. While we appreciate the potential contributions of all who would like to help, we unfortunately cannot bring into active service anyone unwilling or unable to comply with these.

Safe Evironment Compliance Process:

The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (The Charter) promulgated by the Bishops of the United States in 2002 outlines specific practices and guidelines providing standards of safety in parishes and dioceses throughout the United States. As directed in The Charter, the Diocese of Rockville Centre requires all employees, clergy, and volunteers to complete the following requirements by making an Virtus Online account and completing the folllowing:

1. Attend a Virtus: Protecting God’s Children for Adults seminar (this is a LIVE, three-hour, interactive workshop with facilitation that is done in person and must be registered for online, in advance through a new or existing Virtus Online account)
2. Electronically acknowledge the Diocesan Code of Conduct, which is provided during the Virtus registration process.
   
   
3. Complete a background screening request offered during the Virtus registration process (currently for volunteers only).
   
   
4. Read and review the Diocesan Child Protection Policy

To begin the process, register online for a LIVE workshop and create a Virtus account. To do this, you MUST have:

• an email you can readily access that is unique to you (e.g. not shared with someone else who is also registered/registering for Virtus training).
• a government ID, such as a driver's license
• and your social security number for the background screening portion. (NB: You may choose not to include an SSN, but there will be a $95 fee you are responsible for to process your background screening without it).

Starting the process without one or more of these will prevent you from completing registration resulting in issues in your account, which will require resolution before you can start in your role.

**Please use a PC/Tablet to Register**

It is possible to register with a smartphone, but this is more difficult as the websites are not optimized for mobile use. It is further recommended that you do this in one sitting, which should take no more than 10 minutes.

IF YOU HAVE ALL OF THE ABOVE YOU MAY PROCEED WITH THE FOLLOWING STEPS:

1. Go to www.virtus.org and select "First-time Registrant"
   • If you already have an account, this is where you can also sign in and access it.
   • If you are unsure if you have an account, please contact the Virtus helpdesk at 1-888-847-8870 for assistance before proceeding. Please avoid making duplicate accounts.
     
     
2. Then click "begin the registration process"
   
   
3. Select organization via the drop-down menu -- For all our parishes/diocesan entities, the organization is "Rockville Centre, NY - Safe Environment (Diocese)"
   
   
4. Select "No" to the question, "Have you previously registered with VIRTUS Online?"
   • If your answer is yes, you must recover your original login and should not proceed unless told to do so by a parish or diocesan Virtus coordinator.
     
     
5. Now you will be prompted to create a user ID and password.
   
   • It is recommended that you make a secure password of at least 8 characters with at least one capital letter, one lowercase, one number, and one special character.
     
     
6. Now you will fill out your profile. Answer the questions/fields to the best of your ability. 
   • Have your ID handy as you will need to enter the information as it appears on your government issued ID.
   • Make sure all contact information, especially your EMAIL, is 100% correct. You're email should also be unique to you and one you regularly access. Depending on the nature of your service, you may need to check it monthly for ongoing training bulletins.
   • In the role/title section, please be specific (e.g. do not just state "volunteer," but state in which area, such as, catechist, coach, usher, etc.)
   • Please include all parishes/diocesan entities in which you will be volunteering beginning with your primary one.
   • During the process you will also have to digitally acknowledge our codes of conduct. It is recommended that you also download, print, and review them asap.
   • If asked, make sure to check off that you will be working with minors if you will be (religious ed catechists and CYO coaches must check yes for this).
     
     
7. At the end of making your profile, you will select which Virtus session you would like to attend
   • Please make sure to see if there are any notes (like session conducted in another language) before committing to a date and location
   • You do NOT have to register for a session being conducted in the parish in which you plan to volunteer.
   • If you do not know which session to attend at this time, pick one that is your "best maybe," as not selecting a workshop at time of registration can be problematic and will interrupt the rest of the process.
     • You can always log into your Virtus account and change your selected workshop via the "LiveTraining" box in your hom dashboard.
       
       
8. Once you register for a Virtus session, you will be prompted to make your the Background Screening request
   • You will be prompted whether you have your social security number or not. You may proceed without, but will be required to pay a $95 fee.
   • If providing your SSN, you will be brought to an acknowledgment page. Read and review, selecting any appropriate boxes. Then, provide your name and SSN in the boxes on the bottom of the page.
   • Click through and the page should read that you have successfully submited the request, which will also complete your overall registration process.
9. Now, all that there will be left to do is attend the Virtus workshop. Once that happens, (and assuming your background screening comes back with approval), and the Diocesan Office of Protection has verified your status you will be fully Safe Environment Compliant.

Please note, that in most cases you will not have to re-take Virtus and you may always access your profile via the credentials you provided at time of registration. However, the Diocese of Rockville Centre requires all those who remain in active ministry be rescreened at 5 year intervals whether volunteering or employed. You should be prompted via email when it is time to submit to a new background screening.

Currently Active Volunteers:
If you are currently active in a parish ministry, have already attended Virtus and have been background screened you may be at – or beyond- the 5yr. rescreening requirement. If this is the case, you shouls receive an email prompting you to complete/renew the background screening. You may access the background screening application by following the prompt in the email or logging into your Virtus account. Please be aware-this is not a scam nor has your e-mail been hacked. The OFPCYP (Office of Protection) has been working with your parish to update the Safe Environment records and noted it is time for you to be rescreened. You may also be prompted to electronically resign the Code of Conduct when you log into your Virtus account.

Edit/Update Your Virtus Account:
To access your Virtus account, go to www.virtus.org. You will need your Username and Password. If you need assistance, please contact Virtus: 1-888-847-8870 orThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Once in your account, review your account information, particularly your e-mail address. If your account requires updating, please look for “Update My Account” on the top right of the page. You will be able to make the necessary changes. Please remember to hit the SAVE button at the bottom of the screen.

The streamlined process for managing safe environment compliance is heavily reliant on these online accounts. It is imperative that volunteers keep their information current, especially as regards locations and roles. Secondary and tertiary volunteer locations should be added and removed as necessary so the relevant entities can maintain access to a volunteer's Virtus account and manage compliance requirements. 

What if I attended a Virtus workshop but never made or do not know if I have an online account?:

• If you have a copy of your Virtus certificate, you may present it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (or the Safe Environment Coordinator for your parish/entity if not St. Joseph) who can assist you in linking that attendance to a past session. You will still need to make an online account, but instead of opting to register for a class in the future, you would select a past session and navigate via the drop-down menu to the Virtus workshop listed on your certificate.
  
  
• If you do not have a certificate, but took the workshop at St. Joseph, we may be able to verify your attendance via sign-in sheet, in which case, please provide the training date (approximate dates/years are acceptable) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., who will try and look up your record. If you don't know your date of training, we still may be able to locate your record without it.
  
  
• If your training took place outside of the parish, the only ways would be to contact the training location, facilitator of the training, or the diocesan Office of Protection. Depending on the state of the records, your attendance may not be recoverable from these avenues and you may need to retake the workshop.

Although the workshop does not need to be repeated (except in instances where past attendance cannot be verified), the video content is updated every few years, and it is recommended that volunteers, staff, and parish clergy consider attending updated Virtus seminars anyway. Once you make or recover your online Virtus account, you may want to consider signing up for a new workshop instead of going through the trouble to link a past one, especially if it has been a number of years since you attended it.

Questions or concerns: email our parish This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit the webpage for the Diocese of Rockville Centre Office of Protection.