Child & Youth Protection (VIRTUS)

All volunteers in the Pastorate are required, as a minimum, to complete an online volunteer application. Volunteers who work with children are required to be trained and screened (criminal background check) and submit references.  (If you do not have access to a computer or internet, please contact the parish office for assistance.)
 
Adult Volunteers (18 years and older)
To begin the process of training and screening, click on the applicable Volunteer level below for the requirements and instructions. The requirements below are the minimum for which a volunteer must complete. The Pastorate recommends if you anticipate taking on a role within the parish that would include substantial contact with children, in the future, that you go ahead and click that link regardless of your current volunteer role(s).

Adult Volunteers WITHOUT substantial contact with children applies to
Lectors, Greeters, Ushers, Eucharistic Ministers, Cleaning Volunteers, Landscape Volunteers, etc. 
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Volunteer WITHOUT Substantial Contact with Children

Adult Volunteers WITH substantial contact with children applies to
CLOW Leaders, Cantors, Catechists, Assistants, Vacation Bible School volunteers, etc.  

Volunteer WITH Substantial Contact with Children

The process for training and screening requires an individual to create a VIRTUS online account, complete the online volunteer application, complete the online training, and provide 3 references. The references should include: one personal, family member or other personal, and one professional/civic. Below is the reference form to be completed and sent back to the pastorate office by your references.

Reference Form

If you took the training and were screened at another parish in the Archdiocese of Baltimore within the past 5 years, you can login to your existing VIRTUS account and ensure your "VIRTUS" account reflects either St. Joseph, Hagerstown, St. James, Boonsboro or St. Augustine, Williamsport as a location where you volunteer.  Then, provide a reference form with your name to the Screening Coordinator at that location and have them return it directly to us via email at [email protected].
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Volunteers aged 14 through 17
Volunteers ages 14 through 17 years of age who will be working with children, the process is different. You will need to complete an application form, see the link below and provide 3 references (using the same reference form above). A parent and the teen must both sign the application.         Once completed you will be contacted to schedule a time to view the Worthy of the Call training video in the Parish Office.

Teen Volunteer Application

Thank you for your cooperation and support with this process.  Please call Dawn McDonald in the parish office at 301-797-9445 ext. 207 for VIRTUS and Worthy of the Call registration instructions.

Reporting Suspected Child Abuse

To report child abuse or neglect call the 24 hr. Child Protective Services Hotline at 240-420-2222.  

For more information please follow this link:  https://cpswc.org/report-abuse