• St. Brendan Parish is committed to following the policies and guidelines of the Diocese of Fort Worth's Safe Environment Program to ensure a culture of safe and respectful conduct in all ministries. Thank you for assisting us to enhance and protect the dignity and trust of all God's People.
   
  The Safe Environment Program in the Diocese of Fort Worth includes:
• Completion of the Employee or Volunteer Ministry Application Form, including personal references
• Reading and signing the Code of Conduct and Behavior Standards for All Clergy, Religious and Lay Ministers
• Completion of the Safe Environment Awareness class prior to beginning service as a volunteer or staff member in any capacity
• A background evaluation
• All elements must be completed before the start of service.
   
  Safe Environment Awareness training is through Virtus. The initial awareness session is called Protecting God's Children for Adults.  Classes are scheduled at the diocesan office, at St. Philip, and at parishes throughout the diocese and you may attend any one of these.  The full diocesan schedule is available on the Virtus web site. 
   
  Employees and volunteers are required to participate in Safe Environment retraining, renewing every two years. The renewal session is a choice of Boundaries for Lay Adults OR A Plan to Protect For Adults.  A new Background evaluation is done periodically and you will be contacted by the Safe Environment Coordinator when this is due.

Steps to Certification in Safe Environment

If you have never attended a Virtus awareness class in the Diocese of Fort Worth, please follow these steps:

 1. Complete the Volunteer Ministry Application Form - the fillable form is below. Save it as a PDF and email the completed form to Susan Gordon or mail to the Parish Office, Attn: Susan Gordon, St. Brendan Catholic Church, 1444 W Washington, Stephenville, TX 76401.  For any questions, please Contact Susan Gordon at the following email:  safe@stbrendancc.org

 2. Create a Virtus profile.  CLICK HERE to enter the Virtus site and "Start Registration."

 3. Register for an initial training class from the Virtus site. Initial training classes are entitled "Protecting God's Children for Adults"; please only select options with this title. St Brendan options are:

LIVE Initial Class - Protecting God's Children for Adults and Boundaries for Lay Adults

    Saturday, June 20th, 9 am - 12 noon
   

•    *See Virtus website for dates/times at other parishes
  
  4. Following completion of the class, Virtus will email you an invitation to log into your profile and complete the background check application.
•  You will be contacted regarding any other forms or information needed to complete your Safe Environment certification.

If you have already attended a Virtus class in the Diocese of Fort Worth, you will need to log in to your Virtus account to register for a renewal class.

 1. CLICK HERE to log in to your Virtus profile. If you don't remember your password, select "Need login information" and follow the prompts to reset your password.

 2. Register for a renewal class from the Virtus site. Renewal classes are entitled "Boundaries for Lay Adults" or "A Plan to Protect for Adults." Please only select options with these titles. St Brendan option: Boundaries for Lay Adults: The renewal is from 1:00 to 2:30 pm. Saturday, June 20th.