Teaching Teaching Touching SafetyTouching Safety

A Safety Education Program for Students in the Catholic Schools

of the Diocese of Paterson

Today’s AgendaToday’s Agenda

• Background and lead-up to this program

• Approaching the topic

• Responsibilities of the Trainer/Coordinator

• Program Overview

• Review of lessons and materials

• Program specifics and requirements

• Questions/discussion

The Program MandateThe Program Mandate

Dioceses are to maintain “safe environment” programs which the diocesan bishop deems to be in accord with Catholic moral principles. They are to be conducted cooperatively with parents, civil authorities, educators, and community organizations to provide education and training for children, youth, parents, ministers, educators, volunteers, and others about ways to make and maintain a safe environment for children and young people.

- Charter for the Protection of Children and Young PeopleUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 2005 revision, Article 12

Origins of this ProgramOrigins of this Program

• Response and commitment by the Bishops as expressed in the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People

• Diocesan selection of the Virtus program

• Implementation of education program:– Clergy and Employees– Volunteers– Parents and all concerned adults

Program StatusProgram Status

• More than 600 training workshops have

been conducted for adults in our diocese.

• Training workshops are implemented by a

group of trained volunteer facilitators

• More than 19,000 adults in our diocese

have attended training sessions.

The Missing PieceThe Missing Piece

• Child education:to provide education and training for children, youth, parents, ministers, educators, volunteers, and others

• Our goal is to empower our students so that they can recognize inappropriate behavior by others, and practice appropriate relationship boundaries in their own lives.

Why Virtus?Why Virtus?

• Child protection education programs are

not new.

• There is a need for program consistency.

• Allowance needs to be made for individual

school preferences.

Criteria for SelectionCriteria for Selection

The program selected must:

• Approach the topic from a Catholic viewpoint

• Recognize budget limitations and be cost effective

• Respect the demands made upon the curriculum of the school and instructional time

• Be able to be presented by a classroom teacher in the normal classroom setting

Approaching the TopicApproaching the Topic

Ms. Peggy ZanelloNJ Certified Domestic Violence Therapist

Diocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator

Consultant to the Diocesan Review Board

The Trainer/CoordinatorThe Trainer/Coordinator

• Each school should have two Trainer/Coordinators

• The Trainer/Coordinators will:– Provide program orientation for other teachers– Download and arrange for distribution of

program materials as needed– Serve as a “point of contact” for teachers– Report on program implementation status to

the Catholic Schools Office and Office of Youth Protection

The Trainer/CoordinatorThe Trainer/Coordinator

• The Trainer/Coordinator is not:– The school’s Child Protection expert– The only point of contact for parent questions

or concerns– The “Response Officer” for the school

• Implementation of the Virtus Program DOES NOT change the established procedures for reporting suspected abuse

Program OverviewProgram Overview

Program is offered at four levels:

• Grades K through 2

• Grades 3 through 5

• Grades 6 through 8

• Grades 9 through 12

Program OverviewProgram Overview

• Total of 6 unique lessons

• Three year cycle

• Two lessons per year – timing is up to the

school

• The same themes are covered at each

grade level

• Each lesson is approximately 45 minutes

Year 1 TopicsYear 1 Topics

Lesson 1: Touching Safety RulesStudents learn simple rules about what to do and how to react when someone’s touch is confusing, scary, or makes the child or young person feel uncomfortable. Young people start to deal with the real risks they face when they are out in the world and on their own, and they begin to learn where to draw boundary lines in relationships.

Lesson 2: Safe Friends, Safe Adults, and Safe TouchesChildren, young people, and their parents establish basic guidelines for working together to make certain which friends and other adults in their environment can be trusted to act safely and in the best interest of each child or young person.

Year 2 TopicsYear 2 Topics

Lesson 3: BoundariesStudents learn about personal boundaries and how identifying and honoring those boundaries can give a child or young person the self-assurance needed to speak up when someone tries to step over the line.

Lesson 4: Telling Someone You TrustChildren and young people learn who to tell when something makes them feel uncomfortable or confused. This lesson also begins to explore the phenomenon and power of “secrets” in a child’s life at various ages.

Year 3 TopicsYear 3 TopicsLesson 5: Grooming

Students learn about the types of behavior that may indicate that an adult is grooming the child or young person for something more than friendship. It also helps students learn to trust their own instincts about what is “okay” and what is “not okay.”

Lesson 6: “No secrets”Reinforcing and building on the lessons from Year 2, this lesson deals with peer groups and other influences (including grooming by an abuser) that prevent children and young people from reporting inappropriate behavior. It also helps children and young people develop their own decision-making process to use in these situations.

Introductory VideosIntroductory Videos

• The introductory video is 6 to 8 minutes long

• Three separate videos are on the DVD:– Grade K – 5– Grade 6 – 8– Grade 9 – 12

• Videos are designed to be “conversation starters”

Review the Year 1 LessonsReview the Year 1 Lessons

• Your packet contains both lessons for Year 1 at all grade levels

• Please spend some time reviewing and discussing the lessons

• Please group yourselves by level

Time for activity: 15 minutes

Program ProceduresProgram Procedures

• Download and distribute lesson plans

• Present an information session for parents

• Offer parents the chance to “opt-out”

• Log and report details of the training

• Consider offering the Protecting God’s Children for Parents and Guardians program in your school

Download MaterialsDownload Materials

All lesson plans and supporting materials are available at:

http://www.virtusonline.org

Important NoteImportant Note

All Trainer/Coordinators must be registered at the Virtus Online website. You will need your user name and password in order to continue.

• If you are not registered, please see me for directions at the end of the workshop.

• If you are registered, but have forgotten your user name and/or password, please contact Kathy Walsh.

Download MaterialsDownload MaterialsEnter your User ID and

Password, and click Login

Click on the Educators tab

On this page, you can download a copy of the

Overview.

Further down the page, you can download a copy of the Teaching Touching Safety guide for parents.

Also on this page, you can download the “opt-out” form for parents. (More about this later.)

To get to the Lesson Plans, click on the

Continue button at the bottom of this page.

Select a grade level from the drop-down list, then

click Continue.

Select the Lesson Plan from the drop-down list,

then click Continue.

On the Lesson Plan page, click the green arrow towards the bottom of the page to download the lesson plan.

The Lesson Plan will download to your computer. You can print the lesson plan or save a copy of it to your computer.

The “Opt - Out” ProcessThe “Opt - Out” Process

• Before the program is presented to students, send home a copy of the “Opt-out” form, along with a copy of the Program Overview guide for parents.

• Do NOT distribute the actual lesson plans to parents.

• You may want to schedule a Parent Information Meeting to offer parents a chance to see the program and ask questions.

• In accord with Diocesan policy, parents/ guardians have the right to remove their children from participation in programs to which they have serious objection.

The “Opt - Out” ProcessThe “Opt - Out” Process

• If a student is “opted-out”, this parental decision remains in effect for the current school year.

• Parents must be offered the opportunity to “opt-out” before the program is conducted each year.

• Students who are “opted-out” are NOT to be penalized in any way.

• The school retains a copy of the signed form, and another copy is sent to the diocesan Office of Youth Protection.

Reporting on the ProgramReporting on the Program

• Opt-out forms are to be sent to the Office of Youth Protection, and a copy kept on file at the school.

• After each lesson is completed, the Trainer/Coordinator is to complete the Training Record, either on-line or on paper.

• The Trainer/Coordinator should report any concerns or issues encountered to the school Principal, the Catholic Schools Office, and the Office of Youth Protection.

Training Record FormTraining Record Form

Training Record FormTraining Record Form

Online Training RecordOnline Training Record

• The Training Record can also be completed online at the Virtus website.

• To complete the information online, go to:http://www.virtusonline.org

• Log in, and then click on the Educator’s tab

On the Educators page, click on Record Training in the menu on the left side of the page.

Click on Add a new training record

Fill in ALL the information requested on the form.

Click the Record training button when you are done.

Review the information on the confirmation screen carefully.

To make corrections, click the Go back button.

If all the information is correct, click the Record Training button.

You will see the information you entered listed on the screen.

Training RecordTraining Record

Please don’t put off recording the training. Record it as soon as you can after the lesson is presented.

It is important that our databaseis kept up to date.

Parent EducationParent Education

• Reinforces and expands on information in Teaching Touching Safety

• Program length: 2 to 2½ hours

• Program is led by trained facilitators

Thank You!Thank You!

Our students will be safer because of your effortsin helping to implement

this program.