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Protecting God's Children

The Archdiocese of Chicago and St. Alphonsus / St. Patrick School are dedicated to protecting our children. The following are mandated by the Archdiocese of Chicago Office For The Protection Of Children And Youth for school and athletic program volunteers.

This page is for the use of St. Alphonsus/St. Patrick School volunteers. If you are a volunteer for our school and are unsure if you are required to meet these requirements, please contact your volunteer coordinator or the school office.
CANTS - Authorization For Background Check

CANTS - Authorization For Background Check

The  Authorization For Background Check Child Abuse Neglect Tracking System (CANTS) form must be printed, filled out and returned to the school office (do NOT mail to the Springfield address given at the bottom of the form).

CANTS Form
Background Check

Background Check

The Archdiocese of Chicago Background Check must be completed on-line. The access code is the word "protection". Tip: The easiest way to find our school for "*Primary Parish / School / Agency:" is to click the "Open The Site Search" button and type Lemont
 
VIRTUS

VIRTUS

Virtus Training is an ongoing program that begins with a meeting session and is continued with online exercises. There are many area sessions available to attend.  You will be able to select a session after registering on the website.

If you have already enrolled in VIRTUS training, you must be up to date with your VIRTUS online sessions.  Please log into the VIRTUS website and make sure you are current. If you are not able to log in because you have forgotten your user name, and password or your VIRTUS account is no longer active, Please contact Alana Fischer from VIRTUS at 1-888-847-8870 to resolve your login problems or to reactivate your account.

What is Faith's Law? 

Faith's Law 
What is Faith's Law? 

Faith’s Law is named after prevention advocate and child sexual abuse survivor Faith Colson, who graduated from an Illinois high school in the early 2000s. Faith was sexually abused by a teacher at her high school. Years later, during the course of legal proceedings related to the abuse, Faith learned that several adults within her high school suspected that the teacher’s relationship with her was inappropriate but did not take appropriate action to report their concerns. As a result of her experiences, Faith pushed for change to state laws related to educator sexual misconduct in K-12 schools. Faith’s Law was passed by the 102nd General Assembly as two separate pieces of legislation. 
 
The first legislation, Public Act 102-0676, took effect on December 3, 2021, and, for the first time, established the definition of sexual misconduct within the School Code. It further outlined the requirements for schools to develop and post employee code of professional conduct policies, which were to include the definition of sexual misconduct, and required ISBE to develop a resource guide for schools to make available to pupils, parents/guardians, and teachers. Public Act 102-0676 also expanded the definition of “grooming” in the Illinois Criminal Code, added “grooming” to the list of conduct that qualifies a child as an “abused child” under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, and added professional development training opportunities for employees seeking to renew their professional educator license. 
 
The second legislation, Public Act 102-0702, will take effect on July 1, 2023. It focuses on the prevention of “sexual misconduct” as defined in the first part of the legislation (Public Act 102-0676) by school employees, substitute employees, and employees of contractors. Specifically, the Act adds employment history reviews as part of the hiring and vetting process, requires notices to be provided to parents/guardians and the applicable student when there’s an alleged act of sexual misconduct, and makes other changes to the process schools must follow when handling allegations of sexual misconduct. Public Act 102-0702 also adds that if a district superintendent has any reasonable cause to believe a license holder has committed an act of sexual misconduct, the superintendent must report this information to the state superintendent of education and the applicable regional superintendent of schools. Further, the state superintendent can initiate the process to revoke or suspend a license, endorsement, or approval issued under Article 21B for reasons including sexual misconduct. 
 
The ultimate goals of Public Act 102-0702 are to give parents/guardians notice regarding allegations of sexual misconduct that involve their student; equip schools across Illinois with better information regarding the employment history of an applicant or employee of a contractor; give schools the resources necessary to make well-informed decisions about who they are employing/contracting with; and protect students from acts of sexual misconduct by school employees, substitute employees, and employees of contractors.
 
 
 
STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOR FOR CHURCH
PERSONNEL WHO HAVE CONTACT WITH
MINORS AND VULNERABLE ADULTS

Office for the Protection of Children and Youth
STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOR FOR CHURCH
PERSONNEL WHO HAVE CONTACT WITH
MINORS AND VULNERABLE ADULTS

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