807 Havens Corners Road
Gahanna, OH 43230
(614) 471-0212
Contact Us
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Safe Environment Program
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St. Matthew the Apostle Catholic Parish believes that our children are the most important gifts God has entrusted to us, and we are committed to the protection and safety of all children. In compliance with the Safe Environment Program of the Diocese of Columbus, all volunteers, 18 years of age and older, who have “care, custody or control,” or regular supervised or unsupervised access to children must complete the following procedures prior to volunteering:
- Click HERE to create a Virtus account and register for the 3 hour Protecting God's Children Class (PGC). It is important to do this step first. Please create the Virtus account using your legal name. Your background check results will be sent to the diocese. If the name on the background check results isn't the name on your Virtus account, the diocese won't know who the background check belongs to. Click on the yellow link, “Registration”, on the left side of the page to either view a list of upcoming PGC classes or begin the registration process. When asked to select your organization, scroll to “Columbus OH” and then click “Select”. You can register for any open session in the Diocese. SOME of the classes offered will have a third party present that will perform the background check (for a fee) before the class. You can call the location for more information.
- Undergo a Civilian Criminal Background/Fingerprint check (BCI) / Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) check (and have it sent to the diocese).
- Volunteers: If you have lived in Ohio for 5 years or longer you only need to get a BCI report done (not FBI). If you have lived in the state of Ohio for less than 5 years you will need to have both the BCI & FBI reports done.
- Employees: Before starting work at the Parish and/or school, you must have a BCI & FBI performed. In addition to sending the background check to the ODE (if applicable to you) please have the results sent to the Diocese. (see below).
BCI & FBI background checks can be obtained at the following locations (Call to find out days and times as they fluctuate):Education Service Center
2080 Citygate Drive, Columbus, OH 43219
(614) 445-3750 (Enter the rear of the building)Gahanna License Agency
415 Agler Rd, Gahanna, OH 43230
(614) 476-0398
1st Choice Fingerprinting
6480 East Main
Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068
614-721-5067
Fast Fingerprints https://www.fastfingerprints.com/Public/default.aspxItems needed for a background check:
- Valid driver’s license or photo ID
- Reason for fingerprinting:
Licensed school employees – teachers, counselors, therapists: ORC 3319.291
Non-teaching employees – maintenance, admin, parish, etc.: ORC 3319.39B1
(Teachers have to have a BCI (not FBI) re run every 5 years. All other school employees have to have BCI & FBI run every 5 years.)
(Volunteers and Parish employees (don't interact with school children) only have to have the background check run once.)Have the agency running the check send the results to:
Catholic Diocese of Columbus
Attn: Regina E. Quinn
197 E. Gay Street
Columbus, OH 43215
614-241-2568(Background checks generally take about 30 days to turn around.)
3. Complete a Volunteer Application which includes the Code of Conduct.
Once you have completed steps 1-3 above and your PGC class and background check have been "posted" in VIRTUS, you are Safe Environment Compliant and free to volunteer with ministries that involve minors: thank you!
St. Matthew Volunteer Driver Form:
Please complete our Volunteer driver form if you will be transporting minors for a St. Matthew event/field trip.Need to report a case of child abuse?
To report child abuse in the parish or school, contact both the county child protective agency and the diocese. A confidential email can be sent to the diocese at helpisavailable@columbuscatholic.org or contact:The Reverend Monsignor Stephen J. Moloney
614-224-2251 OR 866-448-0217
_____________________________________________________Diocese of Columbus Child Protection Plan
It is the goal of the Diocese of Columbus to make the Church a place of safety: a place of prayer, ministry and comfort. Everyone who enters our churches, schools, or facilities must be confident in this. Not one child or young person should suffer from abuse while at Church. In order to assure the safety of our youth, the Diocese of Columbus has enacted a complete program of protection. As part of this program, the Diocese of Columbus will provide appropriate, just, and pastoral care for anyone who has suffered the crime of sexual abuse of a minor at the hands of diocesan clergy or church employees or volunteers. The Diocese of Columbus will report any and all allegations of abuse reported to it to the authorities and will cooperate fully with those authorities.
Help is available: The Diocese of Columbus wants to hear from anyone who has suffered. If you wish to report an allegation of abuse or need pastoral and/or clinical care in order to begin or continue the process of healing from sexual abuse as a child at the hands of a member of the clergy or a church employee or volunteer, simply call the Diocesan Victims’ Assistance Coordinator. You can find contact information at the bottom of this notice. If you wish to receive a copy of the Diocesan complaint form or any of the Diocesan policies and procedures, simply call the number below or visit the Diocesan website at www.columbuscatholic.org.
To contact the Diocesan Victim’s Assistance Coordinator, call: Laura Lewis, 614-224-2251 or email helpisavailable@columbuscatholic.org .
If you have any questions, please contact Regina E. Quinn, Director of the Safe Environment Office, at 614 241-2568, or rquinn@columbuscatholic.org
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Registration Link
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Questions? Contact Michelle Lantz at mlantz@cdeducation.org or (614) 471-4930.
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