To maintain the highest level of safety for our children and volunteers, Saint Rita Parish continues to adopt a screening process for all employees and volunteers who have access to our student.
- All employees and volunteers who have contact with students undergo thorough screening, including background checks through the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation & Identification (BCI&I). For complete information on screening policies, see the revised Policy for the Safety of Children in Matters of Sexual Abuse, section 1.2 (p. 3).
"VIRTUS" is a Latin word that means, valor or moral excellence. The VIRTUS program assists Saint Rita School in being a safe haven for children and a messenger for preventing child sexual abuse within the Church and society in general.
If you wish to volunteer in our school, chaperone field trips, volunteer for lunch monitor, help during classroom holiday parties, serve as a CYO coach, etc., the following items must be completed in our volunteer screening process:
- A signed acknowledgment form must be on file with the parish office that you possess and have read a copy of the "Policy for the Safety of Children in Matters of Sexual Abuse" written by the Diocese of Cleveland.
- A signed acknowledgment form must be on file with the parish office that you possess, have read, and will comply with the "Standards of Conduct for Ministry" written by the Diocese of Cleveland.
- VIRTUS Training – VIRTUS is a three-hour training course that must be completed. There is no cost to you. Visit www.Virtus.org to register. Click on “registration” then “view a list of sessions”. Select “Cleveland Diocese” to find a session to attend. Upon completion of the session, send a copy of your certificate to the parish office to verify your attendance.
- To complete your volunteer requirements, in your VIRTUS account click TOOLBOX on the top bar, then choose background check on the sidebar, and fill in the information. The process takes about 10 minutes and is easy to follow. There is a onetime $25 fee to register with Selection.com. Please print your receipt and submit it at Saint Rita's and you will be reimbursed.
To download a copy of Saint Rita School's Volunteer Screening Process, click here.
If you are new to Saint Rita School, and are already VIRTUS trained, please provide a copy of your certification to our School office. You will still need to perform a Criminal Background Check in the TOOLBOX section of your VIRTUS account.