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Legal Issues
Are
Volunteers Protected From Liability?
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If you are not a Church employee, but work as a
volunteer for the Church, you may have asked yourself this question. On
September 18, 1997 the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 became
effective. This Act passed by Congress provides protection from
liability to volunteers serving not-for-profit organizations (like the
Catholic Church). The protection shields volunteers from liability for
negligent conduct that occurs when they are acting within the scope of
their responsibilities on behalf of the organization. This means that
volunteers are given inmunity from liability for negligent acts. We
hope you are careful in conducting your ministry and avoid hazardous
situations; but since things happen, it's good to know that Congress
was thoughtful enough to protect those who give of their time and
energies to help others.
You should also know, that this Act does not
protect volunteers from liability if their conduct rises to the level
of willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless
misconduct, or conscious flagrant indifference to the rights of safety
of other individuals. This is important because it may seem that
volunteers have an umbrella protection against all accusations, but it
is not so. It obviously cannot protect volunteers against criminal acts
such as, but not limited to: sexual offense, hate crime, or if they
were under the influence of intoxicating alcohol or any drug at the
time of misconduct.
The Act defines a volunteer as an individual who
performs services for a non-for-profit organization and does not
receive compensation other than allowance for expenses incurred or any
other thing in lieu of compensation in excess of $500 per year.
Since the Act does not protect the non-profit
organization for the negligent conduct of a volunteer, it needs to
supervise and select carefully its volunteers. The Archdiocese of Miami
requires all volunteers to fill out an application to ensure that
specially those who work with children and young people undrstand their
responsibility. There is an important section of Legal Information in
our Curriculum and
Guidelines. Call us for more information: (305) 762-1100.
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What
are the regulations for transporting minors in large vehicles such as
15-passenger vans?
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The
Federal Government prohibits the rental of 15-passenger vans to
transport minors. The Archdiocese of Miami has asked all parishes
who own these vans not to use them for long trips with minors and to
find alternative means of transportation. THE ARCHDIOCESE OF
MIAMI WILL NOT PROVIDE INSURANCE COVERAGE TO PARISHES THAT RENT THESE
VANS FOR TRIPS WITH
MINORS. For trips with minors we recommend renting 7-passenger
vans, cars, or standard buses (20 to 45 passengers).
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What
are the
requirements for youth ministers/assistants employed by a parish?
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Everyone employed to work with youth in
the Catholic Church has to submit to the parish the following documents:
a. Attestation of Good
Moral Character for employees
b. Fingerprints for FBI background check (fingerprint cards may
be obtained from and submitted to the Office of Human
Resources/Screening of Personnel at 305-891-5664).
c. Code of
Conduct for Employed Youth Workers
d. If youth ride in their cars sometimes, Driver's
Questionnaire
e. Proof of having taken the Virtus Training (call the Office
of Safe Environment for a schedule of trainings: 305-762-1250,
954-525-5157 ext. 1250, or check archdiocesan website)
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What are the
requirements for youth ministers/assistants who are unpaid (volunteers)?
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Everyone who works as volunteers with
youth in the Catholic Church has to submit to the parish the following
documents:
Unsupervised Volunteers:
All non-paid Youth Coordinators or Youth Ministers are considered
“Unsupervised Volunteers;” also their assistants that are in situations
where they are unsupervised (according to Archdiocesan Policies for
Screening Church Personnel, "supervision of volunteers" consists of
being overseen and in the physical presence of a paid employee
of parish or Archdiocese) with youth or give more than 20 hours a week
must submit the following documents:
a. Fingerprints for FBI background check
(the parish can ask the Chancery Office for fingerprint cards to have
them
filled out and returned to that Office)
b. If they are driving youth, Driver's
Questionnaire
c. Volunteer
Application
d. Code of
Conduct for Volunteer Youth Workers
e. Proof of having taken the Virtus Training (call the Office
of Safe Environment for a schedule of trainings: 305-762-1250,
954-525-5157 ext. 1250, or check archdiocesan website)
Supervised Volunteers: Defined as
non-paid personnel working with minors in a supervised environment and
who are in contact with youth less than 20 hrs/week.
a. Fingerprints for State background
check
b. If they are driving youth, Driver's
Questionnaire
c. Volunteer
Application
d. Code of
Conduct for Volunteer Youth Workers
e. Proof of having taken the Virtus Training (call the Office
of Safe Environment for a schedule of trainings: 305-762-1250,
954-525-5157 ext. 1250, or check archdiocesan website)
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Pastoral
Issues
What Are the Signs of Child Abuse?
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If you are not a Church employee, but work
as
a volunteer for the Church, you may have asked yourself this question.
On September 18, 1997 the
Adults working with minors should be able to
recognize the warning signs of abuse: presence of bruises,
unusual interest in or avoidance of all things of a sexual nature,
recurring nightmares, depression or withdrawal from friends or family,
seductiveness, delinquency/conduct problems, secretiveness, unusual
aggressiveness, aspects of sexual molestation in drawings, games,
fantasies, suicidal behavior.
The presence of one or more of these signs does not constitute ground
to report abuse, but it is a lead for us to seek further information to
help the young person or find someone that can help him/her.
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How do we respond to a youth that tells us he/she
is being abused?
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When informed of or suspecting abuse or
neglect of any kind, an adult has the legal obligation to report to the
proper authorities: Florida Dept. of Children and Families
(1-800-96-ABUSE or 1-800-962-2873). Not doing so represents a
misdemeanor under
the Florida statutes (39.201.04). Any person reporting in good faith shall be immune from
civil or criminal liability. Any verbal report must be confirmed
in writing within 48 hours. State of Florida statutes on this
subject are
available online:
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/
For guidelines on a pastoral response, check http://www.aacap.org #28.
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How do we report cases of
child abuse involving Archdiocese of Miami personnel or occurring
on archdiocesan property?
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If the accusation is against church
personnel of the Archdiocese of Miami or the abuse has taken place on
Archdiocesan property, the Archdiocese should be notified. Check the
Archdiocesan website for the Form to Report Abuse (English form
; Spanish
form ; Creole
form ). Also, anyone claiming to have been abused by church
personnel of the Archdiocese, may call Vicky Kaufmann, Victim’s
Assistance Coordinator 1-866-802-2873 (1-866-80ABUSE).
-For complete Archdiocesan policies on Safe
Environment and Florida Bishops’ policies check the website http://www.flacathconf.org/aboutus/policies.htm
.
-For United States Conference of Catholic Bishop’s
Office of Child and Youth Protection:
http://www.usccb.org/ocyp
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How do we know if a youth is at risk of suicide?
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The American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry has an online link with helpful information about
the warning signs of teen suicide:
http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/suicide.htm
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How do we know if a youth is involved with alcohol and/or other drugs?
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The American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry has an online link with helpful information about
the warning signs of teens using alcohol and/or other drugs:
http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/teendrug.htm
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How do we know if a substance abuse program for youth
is effective?
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The American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry has an online link with helpful information about
the questions to ask when looking for a substance abuse treatment
program for youth:
http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/subabuse.htm
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How do we know if a youth is suffering from depression?
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The American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry has an online link with helpful information about
the warning signs of teen depression:
http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/depressd.htm
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