CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO APRIL 12, 2013 |
$1.00
|
VOL. 15 NO. 11
APRIL IS CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH
April 2013 My Dear Friends of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, As your new Archbishop, I have been delighted to learn about the good work being done in our parishes and schools to support the Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, also known as “Promise to Protect; Pledge to Heal.” This work is making the world a safer place for children and is calling all of us to be better people, and I am pleased to support it. When this advertisement was run a year ago, we were without a Victim Assistance Coordinator. I am happy to say that in August we hired Renee Duffey, Psy.D., who is now actively doing this important work. She has my support, and I know that she will have yours, in effecting and managing our outreach to survivors of child sexual abuse. Progress continues to be made. We have implemented a follow-on version of the adult training course and now have different online courses for each grade level from grade four through grade 12 for our students. We are still using the “Talking about Touching” for preschool through third grade, and we continue to teach every child every year. This year, we are moving to a cyclic process for both adult training and for demographic background checks. In both cases, we will ask each adult to complete the training and to have their background evaluation updated once every three years. We are using this calendar year, 2013, to make the change to this cyclic program. In addition, while reports generated from Live Scan fingerprints provide Subsequent Arrest Reports (SARs), these reports are not available for anyone whose fingerprints were done before September 1, 2003, and so we are asking those people to again go through the fingerprinting process. Finally, our Policy on Abuse, our Standards of Conduct for those Working with Children, and our Youth Standards of Conduct are all being reviewed and updated. Thank you for all that you do to support this Archdiocese and particularly for your help with these programs. It is imperative that we protect our future, our children. Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Salvatore J. Cordileone Archbishop of San Francisco
WHAT TO DO IF YOU SUSPECT ABUSE
Anyone who has reason to believe or suspects that a child has been, or is being, abused should report their suspicions first to civil authorities and then to the Archdiocese’s Victim Assistance Coordinator. Investigation should be left to duly appointed professionals. State law requires persons in certain positions (called “mandated reporters”) to make such reports. Others, (called “ethical reporters”) should do so. Every allegation will be treated seriously and immediate steps taken to protect the alleged victim(s). These actions will be taken discreetly so as to protect the confidentiality and the rights of both the victim and the accused.
REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS BY COUNTY
Cases of alleged abuse in which the abuser and the victim are members of the same household are to be reported to Child Protective Services (CPS), while cases in which the alleged victim and the accused do not share a household should be reported to law enforcement authorities (Sheriff ’s Department or City Police). If in doubt, just report to the most convenient agency. They’ll help ensure the message gets to the proper place.
MARIN
SAN FRANCISCO
SAN MATEO
Child Protective Services (415) 499-7153
Child Protective Services (415) 558-2650
Child Protective Services (650) 802-7922
Sheriff’s Department (415) 479-2311
Police Department (415) 553-0123
Sheriff’s Department (650) 363-4911
Note: You can also report abuse to your local Police Department.
Archdiocese Victim Assistance Coordinator (415) 614-5506