 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
CURRENT
ISSUE: October 9, 2006
VOL.
44, NO. 17Oakland,
CA
Diocese puts child abuse training on-line
Nancy Libby,
coordinator for the Oakland Diocese’s Safe Environment for Children
program, has a dream. She envisions “all of us as a Church watching
out for kids. We all need to keep our eyes open and to be aware.”
Libby may be well on the way to seeing her vision come true.
Since August 14, some 7700 individuals affiliated with the Oakland Diocese
have logged on to the “Shield the Vulnerable” website, a new
90-minute interactive course which teaches priests, diocesan, parish and
school staffs and volunteers how to recognize, report and prevent child
abuse.
When one considers how many children these adults come into contact with
on a daily or weekly basis, the outcome of her vision is a happy probability.
“Shield the Vulnerable,” is a collaborative effort between
the Oakland Diocese and LawRoom, a web-based company started by Walnut
Creek lawyer Ralph Yanello 10 years ago to provide computer trainings
for employees around human resources topics.
Last year, the diocese used one of LawRoom’s on-line programs for
departmental supervisors to comply with a 2005 federal law mandating that
companies with 50 or more employees provide classes in preventing sexual
harassment in the workplace.
Supervisors loved the idea of being able to complete the required training
online in the comfort of their homes or offices, said Libby.
During the same time the harassment prevention training was taking place,
Libby and her staff were presenting a series of required workshops for
diocesan employees and volunteers on how to recognize and prevent child
sexual abuse.
When the feedback sheets began coming in from Libby’s trainings,
a similar message surfaced. Most said they were suffering from a glut
of meetings; they wanted a class they could take on-line.
So Libby asked Yanello if he’d be interested in developing a new
computer program for her project.
He was immediately interested. “It definitely seemed like a worthy
effort to help children,” he said.
Between January and May, Libby worked with Yanello’s staff to research
the topic of child abuse to develop a program that met the guidelines
set forth by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Charter
for the Protection of Children and Young People
By June, they were actively creating the on-line workshop. For compelling
graphics use with the material, Yanello selected illustrations from the
Getty Museum’s generous supply of clip art.
The Oakland Diocese is one of the few in the country to offer this particular
type of on-line training, said Libby. Yanello added that there are some
other on-line web providers who have created their own programs for various
dioceses.
This month, the Archdiocese of San Francisco and the Diocese of Santa
Rosa have adopted Shield the Vulnerable and are beginning their own on-line
trainings.
The U.S. bishops have mandated that every employee and volunteer must
take classes in how to recognize and prevent child abuse. To take Shield
the Vulnerable costs $5 per person. Anyone affiliated with parishes and
schools in the Oakland Diocese is welcome to take the class.
The Oakland Diocese is also continuing to offer trainings at parish and
school sites. Libby is looking for volunteers who might want to conduct
these trainings.
“We need as many effective ways as we can to get this information
out, and sometimes it’s easier to listen to the people you know,
rather than chancery and diocesan staff,” she said.
For further information go to www.shieldthevulnerable.org.
or contact Nancy Libby at (510) 267-8315, or nlibby@oakdiocese.org
