Archdiocese of Seattle Safe Environment Program

The Archdiocese of Seattle has had a long commitment to the protection of children, youth and vulnerable adults. For more than 25 years, the Archdiocese has taken steps to assure the safety of those who serve in our parishes, schools and agencies. Sexual abuse, sexual misconduct and sexual harassment are abusive and harmful actions that have no place in the Church community or in society. The Archdiocese of Seattle deeply cherishes the bond of sacred trust between its members.

The Archdiocese of Seattle requires all Church Personnel (defined as all clergy, all employees and all volunteer who have ongoing, unsupervised contact with minors and vulnerable adults) to take part in our Safe Environment Program in three ways.

New volunteers: Please, visit www.virtusonline.org to complete an online VIRTUS profile. You will be lead to a series of questions that will help determine what requirements you need to meet. Volunteers depending on what type of service they are volunteering for may be asked to complete a background check, read and sign the Safe Environment Policy and complete Protecting God’s Children course within 90 days of beginning service. Please note: Only volunteers with access to minors will be required to take all three. All of the items above will be completed electronically and done through your online profile once you have created it through VIRTUS. Applicants will not be eligible to work or volunteer in any capacity until these requirements have been satisfied.

Existing volunteers: Existing volunteers were grandfathered from Setanet into VIRTUS. In late August you should have received your log on credentials to log onto your profile. If you have not yet received this information please email sep@seattlearch.org. The first time you log into your profile, you may be prompted to renew your background check and or sign the Safe Environment Policies if this was never recorded in your previous profile. PLEASE NOTE: Online refreshers have not been activated at this point. If you have not received a reminder for your refresher, please do not panic. You will be notified at a later date. This will no longer be required every year. Instead it will be required every three years. The date of this renewal will be tied to your background check date. IE: once your background check expires you will be required to take your online renewal If you have ever taken Called to Protect for Ministries (our previous foundation course) you have been grandfathered into the VIRTUS platform.

If you have any questions, please contact the parish office and ask for our Safe Environment Coordinator, parish@stbens.net or (206) 632-0843.