Vice-Chancellor | Director, Office of Safe Environment | Victim Assistance Coordinator
El Coordinador de Ambiente Seguro/El Coordinator de Asistencia a las Victimas
DOMINIC COLUCY
dcolucy@youngstowndiocese.org
Office: 330.744.8451 x293
Fax: 330.744.5099
To report child abuse or to seek victim’s assistance, call the Diocesan Response Line 330.718.1388
The Diocese of Youngstown is committed to creating a safe environment for our children, young people, and vulnerable adults. We aim to prevent and respond to abuse and misconduct by holding all clergy, employees, and volunteers accountable to our policy and our standards of ministerial behavior. The Office of Safe Environment promotes education, screening, reporting, healing, and justice.
Visit the Report Abuse page on the diocesan website to find our most up-to-date Reporting Requirements and Procedures in English and Spanish, or to report abuse or to seek victim’s assistance.
Compliance Requirements
We encourage victim-survivors to carefully consider whether the individual online training modules might be more or less triggering, and to reach out to the diocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator to confidentially discuss concerns and potentially explore other training options in advance. We are committed to collaborating with victim-survivors to provide alternative training options. While safe environment training is helpful and required, it should not be a source of additional harm to a victim-survivor. Our goal is to create safer environments for everyone. For more information, please visit https://virtusonline.org/virtus/what_to_expect.cfm.
Step 1
All incardinated clergy (the bishop, priests, and deacons), all employees of parishes, schools, and applicable institutions, and any volunteers at parishes, schools, and other applicable institutions who interact with children or vulnerable adults are required to complete VIRTUS training. Members of religious orders/communities that are active in the Diocese of Youngstown are also required to complete VIRTUS training if they have not completed safe environment training through their order/community. VIRTUS training must be renewed every five years to maintain compliance.
We will accept VIRTUS training completed in other dioceses, however, you are required to have your account either mirrored or transferred to the Diocese of Youngstown. Please submit this request to the VIRTUS online helpdesk (helpdesk@virtus.org) by emailing them your full name, email address, original diocese and new diocese, your new parish / school, plus a phone number in case they need to contact you. Be sure to note if you are asking for your account to be mirrored or transferred.
Children are to be instructed to protect themselves by learning about potential risks and appropriate responses to abuse. Instruction offered in our parishes and schools is intended to supplement the information received in school, which is mandated by the State of Ohio. State mandated instruction includes internet safety, suicide awareness and prevention, safety training and violence prevention, social inclusion, personal safety and assault protection, dating violence protection, and venereal disease prevention. The curricula of our Catholic schools and religious education programs contain learning objectives intended to protect children from abuse, while also stressing the importance of personal health and development, and the teachings of the gospel with respect to human sexuality and morality.
All international or temporarily assigned priests are required to submit a letter of suitability to the Vicar for Clergy. The letter of suitability should note that the cleric is in compliance with the safe environment requirements of his diocese, including the dates of completion for the most recent background check and safe environment training.
International or temporarily assigned priests who will be active in the diocese for more than 30 days in a year, in addition to a letter of suitability, are required to complete the safe environment requirements of the Diocese of Youngstown.
Step 2
All incardinated clergy (the bishop, priests, and deacons), all employees of parishes, schools, and applicable institutions, and any volunteers at parishes, schools, and other applicable institutions who interact with children or vulnerable adults are required to complete a background check. Members of religious orders or communities that are active in the Diocese of Youngstown are also required to complete a background check. Background checks must be renewed every five years to maintain compliance.
The background checks needed for compliance are completed at a location that can officially conduct fingerprinting. This link will take you to a State database of these locations (https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/business/services-for-business/webcheck/webcheck-community-listing). The BCI or FBI background check is completed by the Civilian Identification Office of the State of Ohio and the original results must be sent directly to the Office of Safe Environment at the Diocese.
In the Diocese of Youngstown, any person with a conviction listed in Appendix 3 of the Safe Environment Policy is automatically disqualified from working with children or vulnerable adults. A person with a conviction listed in Appendix 3 may request an exemption that would allow them to have supervised access to children or vulnerable adults. A policy for exemption requests governs this process. If the exemption is granted, another compliant adult must always be with the person.
For other criminal convictions not listed in Appendix 3 of the Safe Environment Policy, the location reviewing the application will decide about eligibility for employment or volunteer service.
5 Year Recertification
Policies
SAFE ENVIRONMENT POLICY
Contains Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Sexual Harassment Policy.
POLÍTICA DE AMBIENTE SEGURO
CHARTER FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Accountability
Diocesan Review Board
All allegations of the sexual abuse of a child are referred to the Diocesan Review Board.
The Review Board is made up of a maximum of twelve voting members including Catholic clergy, non-Catholic clergy and laypeople. The names of the members of this independent board are kept confidential. The current chairperson is a laywoman.
Reporting Resources
Bulletin Announcements
Safe Environment Materiales de Boletín (in Spanish)
The attached bulletin announcement regarding education, screening, reporting, and victim assistance, should be included bi-monthly (every two months) in all parish bulletins.
Safe Environment Bulletin Announcements (in English)
The attached bulletin announcement regarding education, screening, reporting, and victim assistance, should be included bi-monthly (every two months) in all parish bulletins.
Resources
Safe Environment: Updated Background Check Requirements
The Safe Envrionment Office and the Office of Catholic Schools have updated requirements for background checks for school employees.
Acknowledge Revised and Amended Safe Environment Policy
Please review and acknowledge the new diocesan Safe Environment policies available for download in English and Spanish through your VIRTUS account. Visit VIRTUS to log in and complete the acknowledgement. For assistance, contact Dominic Colucy at dcolucy@youngstowndiocese.org or visit the Safe Environment Page.
Reporting Child/Vulnerable Adult Abuse
To report abuse or a violation of the Safe Environment Policy, contact Mr. Dominic Colucy, Safe Environment Coordinator at (office) 330-744-8451 x293 or (response line) 330-718-1388.
Safe Environment: Updating Information
Procedures for Safe Environment Compliance Officers to add, move, inactivate or remove individuals at their location. Contact the Safe Environment Coordinator at dcolucy@youngstowndiocese.org.
Safe Environment: Compliance Requirements
The Safe Envrionment compliance requirements for the Diocese of Youngstown include VIRTUS training, acknowledgment form (Appendix 9), and background checks.
Safe Environment: Who needs to be compliant?
FAQ: Who needs to be compliant with Safe Environment policies and procedures in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown?
