Safe Environment
Adults: All clergy, religious and employees of the Diocese of Syracuse, as well as any volunteer who comes into contact with children, are required to take Safe Environment training. This training teaches adults how to build and maintain safe environments for our children to protect them from abuse. If you would like to volunteer for our Faith Formation team and have not been trained in Safe Environment, click here to see the schedule and register for initial training offered throughout the diocese. If you are nearing the 5 year expiration of your initial training and need to re-certify, click here to see the schedule and register for recertification training offered throughout the diocese.
Children and Youth: All Catholic dioceses throughout the United States must provide age-appropriate Safe Environment training for children and youth in parish catechetical programs and Catholic schools. In grades K-9 we teach the Circles of Care lessons to students, which have been approved by the Diocese of Syracuse. These lessons are age appropriate and teach students about appropriate and inappropriate boundaries and behaviors by peers and adults, the students’ right to remove themselves from uncomfortable situations, and the importance of informing a parent or other trusted adult when something is not right. An overview of the Safe Environment Training Program for children and youth can be found here. Details about the Circles of Care program that we use, including grade level lesson plans, can be found here.
Each year during our Faith Formation program, we select one class date for all students to receive Safe Envonment training using the Circles of Care lesson. The training typically takes up only a part of the lesson plan for that day. Parents may decline to have their children participate in this training, in which case this Opt-Out form is required to be completed and provided to either the class teacher or emailed to stmarysff@syrdio.org. This form includes an acknowledgement by a parent that he/she has been offered the grade specific lesson plan that can be found here.
If you have any questions about the Safe Environment policy or training, please contact the Faith Formation Director at stmarysff@syrdio.org or call us at 315-685-5083.