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	Audit Finds Diocese in Compliance with Child Safety By Jack Smith The Catholic Key October 27, 2007 http://catholickey.org/index.php3?gif=news.gif&mode=view&issue=20071026&article_id=4727 KANSAS CITY - The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph has been found to be in full compliance with the provisions of the U.S. Bishop's Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. In September an audit of the diocese's policies and procedures related to the bishops' 2002 policy was conducted by the Gavin Group, an independent auditing firm staffed by former FBI agents. Gavin Group President William Gavin notified the diocese of its full compliance in a letter dated Oct. 10. The Charter requires every diocese to promote healing and reconciliation with survivors of the sexual abuse of minors, to guarantee an effective response to allegations of sexual abuse, and to offer community education to both adults and children in an effort to prevent future abuse. "The safety of children and young people in our parishes, schools and programs is our highest priority," Kansas City-St. Joseph Bishop Robert W. Finn said. "I want parents to know that I care deeply about the welfare of their children and that, as bishop, I will do everything in my power to ensure that those in positions of trust never abuse their authority," he said. The audit commissioned by the U.S, Bishops' Office of Child and Youth Protection found the diocese in full compliance in all areas examined including: • Policies that guide response to abuse complaints. • Controls confirming compliance with policies. • Outreach programs for victims of abuse. • Background screening procedures for personnel and volunteers. • Training and continuing education for personnel and volunteers. • Effectiveness of community review boards; and. • Personal safety education for children and youth. Mary Fran Horton, a former elementary school principal, is director of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph Safe Environment Office established by Bishop Finn in 2005. Her office is responsible for educating adults about the warning signs of abuse and how to take action if abuse is suspected. Implementation of the adult education component of the Charter began in September 2002 even before the creation of the Safe Environment Office. According to Horton, since that time 224 workshops for 10,852 adults working and volunteering with children have been held. Every principal, pastor, teacher, director of religious education, youth group leader, and other employees and volunteers working with children and youth in the diocese is required to take the program called Protecting God's Children. Over the last two years, the Safe Environment Office has been implementing safety and protection education programs for children and youth. A program for pre-k through sixth grade is published by the Committee for Children and involves "different safety lessons for each grade which are developmentally appropriate," Horton said. In seventh grade through high school, students take a program with sequential lessons each year named "Called to Protect," published by Praesidium. The elementary and youth programs are provided both for children in Catholic schools and children in religious education classes. To date, 9,246 students in Catholic elementary and high schools, and 7,024 children in parish religious education and youth enrolled in public schools have taken the programs. Another element of the Charter requires background checks for all employees and regular volunteers working with and around children and youth. The diocese significantly improved the program this year according to Rhonda Stucinski, director of Human Resources for the diocese. The diocese's new vendor for background checks, Integrated Screening Partners, is able to check sex offender and criminal records nationwide and return results within 24 to 48 hours. The previous program took much longer and only searched Missouri records. Horton said the implementation of Charter provisions met with some resistance early on. "Now people come and it's very accepted. It's part of our routine safety measures," she said. "The church has taken a leadership role in developing and offering these programs," Horton said. "I think it is the right thing to do and we should be doing it in all the public schools," she said. Horton reports that public schools have in fact made inquiries about Catholic protection programs. Recently, the school district in Lee's Summit inquired about the diocese's program for High Schools and is looking into adopting that program, Horton said. In a world where the protection of children in all segments of society ought to be a pressing concern, Horton said, "We've really made an impact, and I'm proud of that."
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