Volunteer Compliance

Thank you for volunteering and if you’re new to helping out, welcome! Our community will be stronger because of you!

By understanding your responsibilities and completing these requirements in a timely manner you are being respectful and supportive of our community and staff.

Who needs to think about Compliance?

All volunteers at St. Mary’s must comply with three primary requirements and teachers working in our Religious Education Program have a fourth document. These requirements apply to volunteers in all Ministries.

If you are unsure whether these requirements apply to you, please ask your Ministry Lead or the Religious Education Secretary.

Requirements for all volunteers over 18 yrs of age:

1. Protecting God’s Children®
2. Annual CORI Background Check
3. Annual Code of Conduct Review

An additional requirement for teachers, including teen teachers 16 to 18 years of age:

  4. Catechist Covenant

Annual requirements are due no later than March 1. 

• We track individual compliance and you may be asked to supply evidence of completion. This evidence may include compliance at your prior parishes.
• Ministry Leads assist the Parish in ensuring compliance of their team. Volunteers who are outside of CORI compliance are not yet eligible to be scheduled for an event.

Contact:

Our Religious Education Office can answer questions and assist you during normal business hours. They can be reached at 508-429-6076 and [email protected].

The RCAB Office of Pastoral Support and Child Protection is also an available resource.

Description:

A 3 hour in-person session to identify best practice designed to help prevent wrongdoing and promote “rightdoing” within organizations to keep our children safe.

How:

Go to virtusonline.org, establish an account and look for local opportunities that work with your schedule. You must sign up on the site before the session starts to receive credit for completion.

St. Mary’s announces sessions available at the Parish in our weekly bulletin.

Result:

You may receive a certificate of completion at the session or you may be asked to print one from the VIRTUS portal. File your certificate; if you move you will be asked to produce evidence at your new parish. If your certificate is lost, knowing when and where you completed the course can also assist with future verification.

Evidence:

A Certificate of Completion delivered to our Religious Ed Office:

• Currently, for sessions at St. Mary’s, we are able to retain records of completion. Occasionally, we have difficulty locating records from sessions in the more distant past. We recommend you print a certificate from the VIRTUS portal for your records.
• For sessions completed elsewhere, please deliver or email a copy of your certificate to the Religious Ed Office for our records.
• If you completed this course for a volunteer role at a prior parish and you do not have your certificate, you may be able to print a copy from the VIRTUS portal or you may need to contact your prior parish for assistance. They can forward any evidence to [email protected]

If you cannot produce evidence of prior completion, you must re-take the course to ensure compliance. The Diocese database is the ultimate source for validating prior course completion in our diocese.

Description:

Paper submission of personal identifying information used by the RCAB to perform a background check on all volunteers.

You cannot begin to volunteer in any ministry without this being completed. Completing the form elsewhere in the community or at work is not sufficient; the church must do this due diligence for our compliance.

When:

Immediately for New Volunteers, upon signing up for the ministry. A New Volunteer is anyone that (1) has never volunteered at St. Mary’s before or (2) individuals who have volunteered in the past but took one or more of the prior years off and did not continually submit a renewal form.

Renewing Volunteers, those that submitted a CORI before July 1 of the prior year, have until March 1 of the current year to submit a CORI form designated as a “Renewal” by checking that box.

How:

The form is available here however it must be presented in-person with a photo ID to a member of St. Mary’s staff. The paper forms are available in the Religious Ed Office and you may bring your ID and complete the form during normal business hours. Please call the office if you need special arrangements at 508-429-6076.

Description:

An annual acknowledgement of receipt and review of the RCAB Code of Conduct. The document is updated from time to time and details the Diocese standard for the conduct of volunteers within our parishes.

When:

Immediately for New Volunteers, upon signing up for the ministry. A New Volunteer is anyone that (1) has never volunteered at St. Mary’s before or (2) individuals who have volunteered in the past but took one or more of the prior years off and so did not continually submit a renewal form.

Renewing Volunteers, those that submitted a Code before July 1 of the prior year, have until March 1 of the current year to submit a Code review acknowledgement.

How:

Codes are available for printing here and at the office and come with a cover sheet for acknowledging your receipt and review. You may return the cover sheet to the Religious Ed Office, even slipping it under the door outside of business hours.

Occasionally, and especially when there are significant changes to the Code, we have distributed the document via email and asked you to reply to a specific email account to evidence receipt of the form. Your ministry lead will assist in this process so please respond promptly to prevent rework for the team.

Description:

The Catechist Covenant is a teacher’s attestation of their commitment to preparation, continuing education, and faithful instruction in line with the Catechism and Catholic beliefs.

When:

Prior to beginning to teach for the first time at St.Mary’s

How:

By using the online volunteer form for Religious Ed you are given the opportunity to electronically review and sign the Covenant prior to beginning your teaching career at St. Mary’s.