Once a person has been screened and cleared for service, in order to retain an “active status,” the person must update their training no later than the last day of the month in which the person’s 12-month anniversary of their last training occurs. There is NO grace period. No reminders of when training updates are due are sent to persons, so it is important for each person to remember the date by which they must meet this responsibility. (If you do not know when your last training occurred, you may want to do your update training early in the calendar year or, if you are a school parent, at the beginning of the school year (August), thus establishing a new anniversary date.

If a person fails to meet this requirement, they will become immediately ineligible to continue to serve.

It is a serious violation of Diocesan Safe Environment Program to continue to serve if you no longer meet all requirements. Doing so can jeopardize school and church programs and ministries and expose them to unnecessary risks.

If a person who has failed to update training on a timely basis later wants  to “reinstate” their eligibility, they may be required not only to update their training, but also meet any other requirements of the screening process that are effective currently. This can mean further paperwork for the person to complete and may delay a person’s return to eligibility.  

ANNUAL TRAINING - -ONLINE OPTIONS  

Several training options are available online and can be accessed by going to the Diocesan website www.cathdal.org, clicking on Safe Environment, then by clicking on Update Training in the left hand column. Each option requires a form to be completed and returned to the church office in a timely manner. Most update sessions also require a quiz to be completed and returned to the Safety Officer.  

It is best to try to choose a different option for each year. Instructions and forms for all update sessions can be found on the Diocesan website.

There are currently 7 online training update options. These are:

Here is another Update Training option:

If at any time during the year you (or any other St. Patrick parishioner, not just school parents) need to update your Safe Environment Training in order to remain cleared for service, here is an additional option and one that we think you will enjoy and find informative and helpful.  

The Diocese of Dallas has produced an approximately 30 minute long video called “Internet Danger, Your Safety Net.”    

Students from several schools in the Diocese, including St. Patrick School , are featured in the video. The video contains important information for all adults to be aware of as they work and supervise young people as they use the internet.  

St. Pius X Parish has posted this video on their church website www.spxdallas.org (under “Safe Environment,” then under “On-Line Training Videos” or just click here) including a short quiz, so that this can be used as an update option. Although the quiz is available for you to download (and then complete, and drop off here at St. Patrick Church), St. Pius has also graciously allowed us to let you know that you may do the online quiz. They will then forward it to St. Patrick, saving you the steps of having to print, complete, and drop it off to our church. To take advantage of this online option, however, you must make sure that you click on “St. Patrick Parish” when you submit your online quiz. Also, please make sure you click on St. Patrick Parish DALLAS  and not DENISON .  

Please note! This training is acceptable only for update purposes and may not be used to meet your original screening requirements.

ANNUAL TRAINING  - - NON-ONLINE OPTIONS  

Persons who cannot or prefer not to update online can choose from the following:  

1.                borrow a video or DVD from the church office. Contact the Safety Officer by email at sppneg@sbcglobal.net, to request one. Materials should be picked up promptly and generally returned within 3 days so that others may use them.  

2.                 attend a presentation or session led by the Safety Officer and announced in the bulletin and/or school newsletter as appropriate for the purpose of updating training.  

3.                 request that child protection and/or safety training (or similar sessions regarding vulnerable adults) that a person has attended or participated in at another location be counted for this purpose. (Examples:  persons who are public school teachers who receive annual child abuse training; nurses and other hospital workers that may have in-service sessions on identifying signs of abuse; local police that may attend similar safety or training sessions; etc.) To update your training in this manner, send an email request to Nancy Gray at sppneg@sbcglobal.net. You will be asked to complete a form on the training and submit it for approval.  

4.                 contact the Safety Officer to learn whether there currently are any other special options or methods that may be available. (Email sppneg@sbcglobal.net )