The Archdiocese of Louisville will offer several “Safe Environment” training workshops in the coming weeks.
All church employees or volunteers who have contact with children or youth (age 18 and under) for any length of time are required to participate in one of the two-hour workshops.
The archdiocese requires “Safe Environment” training to ensure “children and youth who worship, study or participate in church-sponsored activities can do so in the safest and most secure setting possible,” according to an announcement from the archdiocese.
The training workshops will be offered on the following dates:
Feb 16 — 6:30 p.m., Flaget Center gym, 1935 Lewiston Drive.
Feb 17— 6:30 p.m., St. Bernard Church gym, 7500 Tangelo Drive.
Feb 23 — 6:30 p.m., St. Margaret Mary Church, 7813 Shelbyville Road.
March 3 — 6:30 p.m., St. James Church in Elizabethtown, Ky., in Batcheldor Hall.
The training covers a variety of topics, including:
- Identifying signs of child sexual abuse.
- Understanding the dynamics of child sexual abuse, including how children are groomed and how they may attempt to reveal their experience.
- How to take action in response to child sexual abuse, including the obligation to report and care for the abused child.
- Becoming familiar with new archdiocesan policies and Code of Conduct regarding work with children.
Participants should arrive 15 minutes early to complete paperwork and must stay until the end to receive credit. Schedule changes, including weather cancellations, and additional dates will be posted at www.archlou.org/safe. Registration is not required. Children under age 16 are not allowed in the training, and child care is not provided.
