Child Protection

The Office of Child Protection & Safety provides several programs including:

  • A comprehensive training program for employees, volunteers, parents, and children
  • Application procedures for persons working with children, including background checks
  • Monitoring of child and youth activities to ensure that all contact with young people is appropriate
  • Outreach and support for victims of child abuse and their families

At Holy Spirit, in support of these programs and the policies that accompany them, we work to see that all applicable persons are fully compliant with the Child Protection Policies of the Diocese of Arlington.

Who is required to be fully compliant?

All employees and contractors regularly on site, are required to be fully compliant, regardless of their potential contact with our youth or the number of hours they work.

All regular volunteers AND volunteers with substantial contact with our youth are required to be fully compliant. (Substantial contact is contact that is not incidental OR where their service is such that it is reasonable to think that the person may at some time have contact with our children.)

What is Full Compliance?

Full compliance for volunteers includes a thorough background check and attendance at a VIRTUS: “Protecting God’s Children” seminar.  Full compliance for employees includes the same background check and seminar attendance and has the additional requirement of fingerprints.  Fingerprinting instructions will be provided to employees once they submit their background check documents.

What do I do next?  How do I get started?

The Diocese has transitioned to a new online background check application process.

  • Please print these instructions.  They contain detailed instructions you will need to begin the application process.
  • Go to the Diocese of Arlington Child Protection landing page to complete the OPCYP Background Check application. Your location code is: Holy Spirit Church.
  • You will also need to attend a VIRTUS seminar entitled: “Protecting God’s Children”. These seminars are held at parishes all over the Diocese and you may attend any location convenient to you. Please go to www.Virtus.org, click on Registration, and check for a seminar near you. They are held in the evenings and on Saturday mornings, generally lasting four hours. You must sign up on line and sign in at the seminar to receive credit.  You will also receive these instructions again in detail when your on line application is submitted.
  • It is very important that you use your full legal name for all components of this process and that you use your own personal email.  Discrepancies in your email and name will hold up the process and delay your ability to begin to work or volunteer.
  • Once your forms are submitted on line, it generally takes about 48-72 hours for the preliminary report to be returned to us.  At this time, if it is clear, you are given temporary privileges to work/volunteer provided you have come in to sign your CPS form (this one document must be signed in person) and have scheduled a VIRTUS seminar.  If you have not attended your seminar within 30 days and/or if your other documents do not clear, your privileges are revoked.

Please contact Alicia Steger at [email protected], if you would like further clarification or want to know if you are already compliant. If you are in the database at any Arlington parish, we can have your compliancy transferred to our active list. If you want to know more, please visit the Arlington Diocese Child Protection page.

Thank you for working to make our parish a safe place for our youth!