HOLY TRINITY PARISH and ST. EDMOND CATHOLIC SCHOOL
Instructions for VIRTUS Online Registration, Background Check Authorization, and Code of Conduct
 (See below for dates of Virtus training in 2017-2018)
 

1. Virtus, or Protecting God’s Children, is a national program for educating people about child abuse and to teach them how to recognize and prevent it, and is a two-hour in-person class with video and instruction. It discusses warning signs that can help us identify potential child or elder abuse before it happens.
2. It is mandatory for all HTP/SE employees, and for volunteers 18 or older who work with youth on a regular basis such as helping in a classroom, lunchroom or playground duty, catechists, and those who drive for or chaperone field trips. Note that registration for the session includes a background check authorization.
3. PLEASE register a week before the training to allow time for the necessary documents to be processed!
4. All three things (register for Virtus session, authorize a background check, and acknowledgement of the Code of Conduct) must be done online per diocese procedures. This must be done on a computer, not a smartphone.
5. Go to www.virtusonline.org.
6. Click on “Registration” link, then click on “Begin the Registration Process.” Under “Please select your diocese,” select the Sioux City Diocese.
7. It will ask you to select a user ID and password. Please write these down and keep them in a secure place for when you need to access the website again.
8. There will be several questions about your contact with minors in your work/volunteer capacity.
9. The Code of Conduct has been built into the registration. You will read the Code of Conduct booklet and answer questions interspersed within the text. There is no penalty at all for a wrong answer; it will simply advance to the next question or text. You may go back and review any text that you wish.
10. Register for the upcoming Virtus training session that you plan to take.
11. Continue on and complete the information requested for the Background Check Authorization. It will ask for information from your driver’s license. Also, it will ask for your address(es) for the previous seven years.
12. You will be required to submit your signature online by using your computer’s mouse.
13. The background checks are done by a company that the diocese contracts with; HTP/SE personnel receive no actual results, only an e-mail that tells us you were approved. You will receive the approval e-mail also, at the e-mail address you input when you register. (If you are not approved for any reason, the diocese will send you a registered letter.)
14. Your class registration, background check authorization, and acknowledgement of the Code of Conduct will then be complete.
15. Following your Virtus class, all employees and any volunteer working with children will be e-mailed a monthly bulletin by Virtus which you need to read and then answer one question at the end. It does not take a great deal of time and is a requirement for any employee of Holy Trinity Parish and St. Edmond Catholic School, or anyone who volunteers once or more per month.
16. If you have any questions or require assistance, please contact the Business/Parish Office at 955-6077. Thank you!

revised Jan 2017

These are the scheduled Virtus training sessions at St. Edmond, Holy Trinity Parish, and the Marian Home through May 2018:
 
 

Wednesday, August 16, 2017, 1:00 pm, SE Library, Mary Salocker
 
Monday, September 18, 2017, 6:00 pm, SE Elem Room 205, Tabitha Acree
 
Wednesday, October 25, 2017, 6:00 pm, SE Elem Room 205, Tracy Gailey
 
Monday, January 8, 2018, 6:00 pm, SE Elem Room 205, Tabitha Acree (snow backup date is Monday, January 22)
 
Monday, March 5, 2018, 6:00 pm, SE Elem Room 205, Mary Salocker
 
Wednesday, May 30, 2018, 1:00 pm, Marian Home, Tracy Gailey