Questions? Please contact Susan Weyland at (586) 781-6515 ext. 112 or [email protected].
For Children K-8 Grades. As caring adults, we have the great responsibility of ensuring the safety of children and youth. The prevention of child sexual abuse requires more than adult awareness, education, and training about the nature and scope of the problem. We must also give children and youth the tools they need to help us keep them safe by educating them regarding boundaries, safe and unsafe behaviors and healthy relationships. Research shows that child abuse prevention is most effective when there is a partnership between parents and Lesson Leaders, when material is reiterated in a school setting, and when the training is interactive and activity-based. Research based and evidence informed, the "Empowering God's Children" is an age-appropriate comprehensive program through which Lesson Leaders (teachers, catechists, youth ministers, etc.) and parents partner to give children and youth the tools they need to protect themselves and know what to do if someone tries to violate their boundaries. Each year the program provides a theme that introduces and builds on the basic concepts of the "Teaching Boundaries and Safety Guide." The material is developmentally appropriate for each age group and includes content and activities that reinforce the message. Within each lesson plan is the ability to tailor the activities and messaging to meet the diverse needs of the children and youth at all levels.
For 9th-12th Grades. High school students who wish to volunteer at any Archdiocesan parish or school must complete Virtus' Healthy Relationships for Teens 2.0 Online Module Expansion with Safe Environment Component. This will replace Called to Serve and Praesidium's Called to Protect. This module is entirely online and must be completed individually; there will be no in-person workshops. Certificates and/or notification of completion of the module will be available to local Virtus parish/school administrators.
Recertification is required for all existing volunteers and employees who completed Protecting God’s Children (PGC) before January 1, 2020.
Existing Volunteers who have NEVER taken a PGC session before: