Those in church leadership carry a special duty to see that all church employees and volunteers are suitable to be in positions of trust with children and vulnerable persons, and that all church-sponsored activities and programs are conducted in a safe environment.
The Archdiocese of Edmonton is using the Called to Protect for Ministries program to provide training for all clergy, employees and lay volunteer leaders. Called to Protect (CTP) training is mandatory for all clergy, archdiocesan and parish employees and camp staff in the Archdiocese of Edmonton. It is also required for all volunteers.
Called to Protect is an abuse prevention training program developed by Praesidium Inc. A typical training session includes viewing of two videos. The first is a foundation for parents and families which identifies the signs of child abuse and explains how abusers come to commit their offences. The second video, aimed at church ministries, goes into more detail about abuse prevention in the church environment. Through the videos and group discussion, participants learn tools to identify inappropriate behaviours, methods to report potential abuse, and best practices in ministering safely to the young and vulnerable, such as screening and monitoring.
Five-step model for keeping parishes safe
- Screening: What to look for on an application, how to get useful information from references, the importance of sex offender and criminal background checks, and questions to ask during interviews.
- Interacting: How to use policies to define acceptable verbal and physical interactions between adults and children, and how to identify interactions that could indicate a child may be at risk for abuse or is already being abused.
- Monitoring: Why child molesters need privacy and how to monitor high risk building locations, activities, and interactions between adults and children and between children.
- Training: What church leaders, parents, and youths need to know to contribute to creating and maintaining safe environments and how abuse affects children, their parents, and those who serve and care for them.
- Responding: Understand the difference between suspicious or inappropriate interactions and allegations of abuse, and how to respond in ways that respect the rights of everyone while complying with the law.
ALL parish volunteers 18 and over are required to take Called To Protect training. To arrange training for yourself, contact the Volunteer Coordinator in your parish.
Sessions are currently being conducted online via Zoom.
Resources
- Safe Environment & Abuse Prevention – Self Assessment (PDF)
- Safe Environment & Abuse Prevention Handbook (PDF)
- Praesidium Accreditation Guidebook (PDF)
Upcoming Called to Protect Workshops
Whenever a session is available, it will appear below. Sessions are hidden after they become full, as there is no room for additional registrations. If a session is visible, please click on it for a registration link.