Office of Child Advocacy, Implementation and Oversight

Letter from the Director

September 13, 2002

To All Parishes, Pastors, Parish Staffs, Schools and People of the Archdiocese

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I feel truly blessed to have been appointed as Director of the Office of Child Advocacy, Implementation and Oversight. As a permanent deacon, committed to serving God’s Church in word, sacrament, action and charity, I approach this task out of love for the Church and her people, her children and her clergy. As a husband who, with my wife, has raised five children and put them through Catholic schools, I am committed to support the parishes and schools by training parents, teachers, clergy, parish staffs and volunteers, and giving them the tools to strengthen and maintain safe environments for our children. As a clinician, I am committed to educating the children about appropriate and inappropriate adult behavior toward them and to give them the tools and knowledge necessary to voice and report inappropriate contact. As a retired Air Force officer, I understand that the success of this mission will require careful, creative, constructive collaboration between the archdiocese, the civil authorities, trainers, clinicians, educators, clergy and the parishioners who will consult with us throughout this process. I know I can count on the support and prayers of the people of the archdiocese as we approach the significant tasks ahead.

As His Eminence has pointed out, the Cardinal’s Commission for the Protection of Children will be submitting its report and recommendations to him as they conclude their mandate early next month. I have been working with the members of this commission and with the various subcommittees on policy, implementation and education. Even though the recommendations are not yet final, the Cardinal has decided that we should move ahead towards the implementation of a comprehensive training and education program around the issues of child abuse, neglect and child sexual abuse. He is confident about these steps because they have been reviewed with the Commission, and they agree that it would be helpful to move forward on these matters now. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to inform you about the programs currently planned for the upcoming year throughout the parishes, schools and institutions of the archdiocese: “Protecting God’s Children” and “Talking About Touching”.

The Parish Program for Adults:

The program we have selected for adult education and training in the parishes is administered by National Catholic Services and is called VIRTUS®. The VIRTUS curriculum for the prevention of child sexual abuse is called “Protecting God’s Children” and will be the comprehensive vehicle for training all parish clergy, staffs, employees, and volunteers in parishes and other institutions in the archdiocese (hospitals, seminaries, chancery, campus/youth ministries, etc.). Each VIRTUS trainer is an expert in a specialized area of child abuse prevention. The training consists of classroom presentations, printed materials and videotapes that will focus on the prevention of abuse and the protection of children – particularly for those adults who have custodial care of children as part of their duties. Training in the signs and symptoms that indicate a child is being abused in some way, and how to talk with children about these issues will also be included, as will training in the responsibilities of mandated reporting and the archdiocese’s policies and procedures for preventing child abuse. An on-line component will provide continued training through monthly bulletins and annual recertification.

We plan to implement this program in every parish starting in October. Due to the large volume of people who need this training (the total number in the archdiocese is estimated to be in the vicinity of 200,000), we will employ a strategy in which VIRTUS works with teams from each parish in a “train the trainer” model. The initial plan requires each parish to solicit five individuals from their congregations to be trained by VIRTUS as program trainers. The selected individuals do not necessarily need to be on parish staff, but rather, persons in the parishes with appropriate professional skills (nurses, educators, psychologists, social workers, etc.) who can make the time commitment required. Individuals with proficiency in the predominant language of the parish should be part of this group. Smaller parishes may wish to combine their volunteers with other parishes in their cluster. In accordance with archdiocesan policy, a background CORI check will be accomplished on all volunteers. VIRTUS trainers will then train those selected in a two-day, weekend course at various regional locations. Training sessions are currently scheduled to begin in October, at times and locations to be announced shortly.

Once trained, these individuals would then go back into the parishes and train parish staffs, teachers, employees, and volunteers according to a schedule. The team of five trained individuals would also be constituted as a “Child Abuse Prevention Team” for their parish and become a resource to people needing assistance and guidance as to how to report suspected abuse. The team would also be aware of the mechanics regarding the policies and procedures for contacting local authorities, the Department of Social Services, and District Attorneys’ Offices, and would have the appropriate regional contact information. Parishes are asked to select the five individuals and submit their names (see attached form) to me at the Office of Child Advocacy, Implementation and Oversight not later than September 25.

The School Program for Children, Parents and Educators:

Although there are many ongoing safety curricula in use throughout the Catholic schools of the archdiocese, there is a need to standardize a program across the system. The Cardinal’s Commission Sub-Committee for Education has worked with us to select a research-based, personal safety curriculum for children called “Talking About Touching™ ”(TAT) that has been developed by the Committee for Children, a non-profit organization that produces nationally acclaimed programs to promote the safety, well-being and social development of children. TAT focuses on teaching children basic skills that will help keep them safe from dangerous or abusive situations, while supporting parents, educators and community members in responding effectively to suspected abuse. It is a curriculum that is in use nationally and is also provided to schools within the Massachusetts public school system through the Massachusetts Children’s Trust Fund – a highly respected, longstanding organization that leads statewide efforts to support parents and strengthen families thereby preventing child abuse.

Using the materials provided, parents, guardians, child-care providers, and teachers learn how to provide the rules, information, encouragement and practice to teach children personal safety skills. The responsibility of adults in reporting abuse is also emphasized, and appropriate responses to children’s disclosures of abuse are modeled.  Parent involvement is crucial to the success of the curriculum. TAT also has a video component for parents called “What Do I Say Now?” that teaches about the skills and techniques necessary to talk to children about abusive situations. As the curriculum unfolds, regular letters are sent to parents to inform them about the lessons and to give them an opportunity to support and reinforce what is learned in the classroom. It should be noted that this initial curriculum is focused on children in pre-school through Grade 4.

Again, since there are large numbers to be trained (there are approximately 56,000 children in the Catholic schools with another 156,000 in Religious Education, 120 Catholic elementary schools, 1200 teachers in preschool/kindergarten and grades 1-4, 71 guidance counselors, and 353 Directors of Religious Education), we will employ a “train the trainer model” similar to the parish-based program. Each Catholic elementary school is asked to provide a team of two people to be trained by TAT master-trainers. The preference is that the team consist of the principal and a teacher or guidance counselor, but a combination of any two of these would suffice. During the 3 day training, participants will receive hands-on experience and practice with the curricula, learn to effectively teach skills and handle student questions about sexual abuse, learn to facilitate an effective parent education meeting using program materials, understand the responsibility of mandated reporting, hear about investigation procedures and discuss program implementation strategies.

Once trained in the curriculum, the trained team would then go back into the schools and train the teachers in how best to teach the curriculum to students. The team would also update school employees and volunteers, and schedule parent information evenings in the schools and/or regions before the curriculum is introduced to the students. A training schedule is being finalized for the October to February timeframe and has taken the Catholic School Office calendar into account. Elementary school principals are asked to select the two individuals and submit their names on the attached form to me not later than September 25. Also, in order to track and certify who has received the training, elementary school principals are to send the names of all the pre-school, kindergarten, and Grade 1-4 teachers in their schools to me by the same date.

During the next few weeks much more information will be sent out regarding the details, schedules and locations of the programs described above, and regular reports of our progress will be published to keep us all up to date as the parish and school programs unfold over the next year. A webpage for the new office is also being prepared on the RCAB website. Any questions that you may have should be directed to me or Bob Kelley at the Child Advocacy Office at 617-782-2544 (Fax: 617-782-8358). This is a significant challenge, but also a unique opportunity to build capability in our homes, parishes and schools that will keep our children safe. I want to assure you that we are taking this issue seriously, that we have found the best professionals to help educate and train us, and that we are committed to doing all that we can to prevent any child in our care from ever being abused. I am confident that working together we will be able to reach this goal.

Deacon Anthony P. Rizzuto
Director
Office of Child Advocacy, Implementation and Oversight

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