At St Joseph, our children are very precious to us. We take very seriously their safety and well-being. Parish staff, faculty, and volunteers who will be working with the children in Parish, School, Religiuous Education, Youth Ministry, and CYO programs must first be in compliance with Child Protection Policy for the Archdiocese of Washington. You must take a Virtus training course, fill out an application so that we can complete a reference check, and be fingerprinted through the Archdiocese of Washington so that we may request an FBI and Local background check. This background check is confidential. We do not share this information with anyone, nor would any other agency be expected to share with us. For this reason, even if you have been through a clearance check with your employer, you must still submit to a background check through the Archdiocese.

Step 1: Virtus Training.
Go to www.virtus.org. Create for yourself a login and password. You will need to remember this for future bulletin updates and for the background check. Register for a Virtus class that is convenient for you. You need only attend one 3-hour class. You will be given a policy booklet to read. The booklet is also available online through the Ardiocese website. After you have read the booklet, remove and sign the form in the back of the book, and give it to the school office, along with the certificate that shows you completed the class.

Step 2: Application.
While you are at the school turning in your booklet page and certificate, pick up either a Volunteer application, or Employee application which you will need to complete and return to the school. This application enables us to do a reference check. You will also need a "Criminal Background Check Authorization" form, and a fingerprint appointment flyer. You can download these forms here; you will need Adobe Acrobat in order to open them.

• Volunteer Application form
• Criminal Background Check Authorization form
• Archdiocese of Washington Fingerprint flyer
• Child Protection Policy Booklet
• Go to Archdiocese of Washgington website for additional information

Step 3: Fingerprint.
Make an appointment with the Archdiocese of Washington. Because it is a Live Scan electronic fingerprinting system, it is important that your fingertips are not too dry. It is helpful to moisturize your fingertips the night before. When you go have your Fingerprinting done, take with you the Criminal Background Check Authorization Form, also your identification, a check payable to CJIS ($42/employees, $36/volunteers), and make sure to tell them the full exact name you used to register for Virtus to avoid a duplicate registration. (ie. William or Bill / maiden name-married name / middle initial or none...). Turn in the yellow copy of your receipt to the school office.

We understand that this process is an inconvenience, but the program's effectiveness in helping us to protect our children from abuse is invaluable. We thank you for your time and energy.