What We Do to Protect Our Children & Vulnerable Adults
The safety of our children and vulnerable adults is our highest priority. In compliance with the requirements of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Holy Name of Jesus requiresall our regular volunteers to complete what is called the Enhanced Essential 3 (EE3). The EE3 are as follows:
All our regular volunteers must complete the VIRTUS: Protecting God’s Children training.
VIRTUS, a national training developed in Washington DC in 1998 by the National Catholic Risk Retention Group Inc., equips adults to recognize and respond to early signs of child sexual abuse in order to prevent the abuse of minors and vulnerable adults. All adults who work with minors and vulnerable adults must attend the Protecting God’s Children program, which educates adults on the issues surrounding child sexual abuse, teaches them how to recognize signs of abuse, and equips them to respond to suspicious behavior. In addition to attending the Protecting God’s Children training, all adults working with minors and vulnerable adults must continue their education by periodically reading articles and watching videos that are assigned to them. HNOJ has online access to every volunteer’s VIRTUS records, which enables us to ensure that all volunteers are up-to-date on their training.
All our regular volunteers must complete a background check.
All background checks are completed by an agency approved by the archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul and provides a complete criminal history of the individual. This empowers us to screen out individuals who present any danger to minors or vulnerable adults.
All our regular volunteers have signed a code of conduct.
The code of conduct indicates the principles and standards deemed appropriate to the volunteer’s ministry. Click here to view the code of conduct all our adults sign. Additionally, our high school youth who work with younger children must sign this code of conduct.
For a even more detailed overview of Enhanced Essential 3 click here.
For an overview of what the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis are doing to protect children click here.
Teaching Curriculum to Keep Kids Safe
In addition to screening and equipping our adult volunteers who work with minors, our Faith Formation curriculums include education that equips minors with the tools they need to overcome advances made by someone intending them harm—whether in person or online. The education provided follows the Archdiocese’s requirements.
More Resources:
- For more information on VIRTUS and to access resources on how to prevent child sex abuse, specifically in the Church, please visit The Virtus Website.
- To learn more about how the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis is actively working to protect minors and vulnerable adults, visit the Archdiocesan webpage on Safe Environment.
- If you have further questions on how HNOJ works to protect the children of HNOJ, contact Janna Webskowski
Victim Assistance
For confidential, compassionate assistance from an independent and professional local care provider, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, contact Canvas Health at 651-291-4497. You are also encouraged to contact the Archdiocese’s Victim Assistance Program at 651-291-4514 or 651-291-4475.
More information about victim/survivor support groups here.