Clearance Information
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Creating a Network Prevention & Protection Safe Environment requirements for all Parish volunteers working with children at St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish as mandated by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Children & Youth Protection Office.
Thank you for volunteering at St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish. We are grateful for your willingness to share your time and talents in service to our Parish community. To ensure the safety and well-being of those we serve, the state and Archdiocese of Philadelphia require that all volunteers have the appropriate clearances and Safe Environment training completed and on file before they begin volunteering. It is each volunteer's responsibility to obtain and maintain current clearances. We encourage you to keep paper or electronic copies of your clearances in a folder labeled "Clearances" within your email or computer files. You may also wish to set a reminder on your cell phone or calendar to renew your certifications before they expire. If you have not yet completed your required clearances, please do so as soon as possible. Beginning in August, Pennsylvania's clearance systems experience a significant increase in requests due to the start of the school year and sports, which can result in processing delays. Thank you for assisting us maintain a safe environment at St. Teresa of Calcutta!
Safe Environment Coordinator: Shawn Marie Brown 610-287-2525 ext. 100 or [email protected].
To view a copy of the Archdiocese's Safe Environment Requirements CLICK HERE
Your certifications can be given to the office for whom you are volunteering for, Education Center, Early Learning Center, Parish Religious Education Program, Decision Point, CYO or directly to Shawn Marie Brown, with a note of the area where you are going to volunteer.
Scroll further down for links and directions for the PA State and Archdiocesan required volunteer clearances.Effective July 25, 2015, Pennsylvania State Law made changes for the requirements for volunteers working with children at least once a year. - PA Criminal History
- PA Child Abuse History
- A Pennsylvania Disclosure form is required for anyone living in the state for the past ten consecutive years, not convicted of anything on the form.
- FBI Fingerprint - Only those who have not lived in Pennsylvania for the last ten consecutive years are required to be fingerprinted. The volunteer pays for the certification.
- Virtus Protecting God's Children Safe Environment Part I
- Mandated Reporter Training Safe Environment Part II - This is the only Mandated Reporter certification accepted.
- CYO coaches and assistant coaches have additional requirements (see below)
Parent Resource Guide
A key ingredient in the creation and preservation of safe environments for children is a partnership between parents/caregivers, schools, and the community where everyone is working together to ensure their wellbeing.
In support of these efforts, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Office for Child and Youth Protection's (OCYP) offers a Parent Resource Guidebook. This single source of information is designed for adults who want to protect the children in their lives from child abuse. It answers the questions, what do I need to know about child abuse to protect my child? And what should I do if I suspect my child has been abused? In addition, it includes important information about the factors at the heart of all successful prevention efforts in the home, along with practical information for implementing these ideas.
You can download the guide with the following link. Alternatively, you can download it from OCYP’s website at www.childyouthprotection.org under the Information and Resources tab. -
**Directions & links for pa state and archdiocesan required volunteer clearances**Click on any the tabs on the left side of the page below.
All of the information and required links will appear on the right side of the page.
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- Fingerprint FBI Act 114
- Pennsylvania Disclosure Application for Volunteers
- Pennsylvania Criminal History ACT 34
- Pennsylvania Child Abuse ACT 151
- VIRTUS: Protecting God's Children: Safe Environment Part I
- VIRTUS: Protecting God's Children: Safe Environment Part I, Technology Addendum
- Mandated Reporting: Safe Environment Part 2 - Pennsylvania Protective Services Law
- Additional CYO Clearances
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FBI Fingerprint *Required ONLY for volunteers if they have not lived in Pennsylvania for the past 10 consecutive years.
Frequency: Required by the State and Archdiocese of Philadelphia, renews every 5 years until 10 consecutive years as a Pennsylvania resident.
https://uenroll.identogo.com/ Service code: 1KG6TR is for PA PDE-Non-Public Schools- Click Locate Enrollment Center
- Enter zip code
- Click search, select location
- Click arrow to left of location for hours & address, click done.
- Click manage appointment - a green circle displays in front of name/method of contact
- Complete all fields, click next, complete all fields
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Pennsylvania Disclosure for Volunteers- Required ....
for those that have lived in Pennsylvania for the past 10 consecutive years and not convicted of anything on the form. If this applies to you, you do not need FBI fingerprinting.
How to Obtain: Disclosure Statement Download
Frequency: The certificate is good for 5 years from the date signed.
All volunteers meeting the above criteria are required to obtain a free Pennsylvania Disclosure Application for Unpaid Volunteer Position as required by the Pennsylvania Child Protective Service Law 23 Pa. C.S. § 6344.2 (relating to volunteers having contact with children). The form is to be signed by hand with a witness of your choice. No electronic signatures are accepted. No notary is needed. Submit both sides of the form.
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Pennsylvania Criminal History - Required
How to Obtain: https://epatch.state.pa.us/
All volunteers are required to obtain a free PA Criminal History certificate; to obtain this go to: https://epatch.pa.gov/home
Free for volunteers and required for employees age 14 and over Frequency: Required every 5 years from the date of the certificate.- Click the New Volunteer Check
- On the next page, at the bottom click the box about obtaining a free volunteer clearance
- On the next page, enter your personal information. Do not enter volunteer organization. Alias name applies to maiden name, or other legal names.
- Enter your information as requested. You do not need to enter your SSN
- Proceed to next page, click on the Submit button
- Proceed to next page, click on the bold blue R Control Number button
- Proceed to next page, click on the bold blue Certification Form button
- Download and save your PDF certificate, submit copy.
If you receive this message: “All of your results have NOT been received", please save the details of your background check--your information with R Control Number, date of submission and how you entered your name and check back later for an updated status. It does not mean something is necessarily on your police record. It usually means the system is overloaded. If you do have something on your record, it could take a few days to receive your certificate. Most infractions do not preclude people from volunteering with children.
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Pennsylvania Child Abuse - Required
How to Obtain: https://www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis/public/home
Free for volunteers and required for employees age 14 and over Frequency: Required every 5 years from the date of the certificate. (see renewal note below)New volunteers: Get paper and pen – you need to keep this document for the next 5 years!
Renewing a Pennsylvania Child Abuse certificate:
Click on Create Individual Account
Create a Keystone Login such as your name, write it down
Write down your security questions and answers.
When you are emailed a temporary password, log off the system and log back in using the temporary password. Then, create your own password, write it down. You may need to log off the system and back in again after you create your personal password.
When you are asked if you want this via a paper mailed copy or electronic copy, you can choose either or, and both.
Keeping your personal login information is helpful if you need to access your clearance again, pull up a copy and especially for renewal purposes so you don’t have to go through the labor of creating a new account.
When you submit the clearance request, you should check your email within 24 -48 hours for the PDF certificate and submit.
Log into your account.
Go through the pages and update anything as needed. You should be able to download your new updated certificate within 48 hours. Check your email for notification. Some certificates have been renewed in under 8 hours. Submit certificate.
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Virtus: Protecting God's Children Safe Environment Part I - Required Required by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for volunteers over the age of 18. Free.
Frequency: One Time
How to Obtain: https://www.virtus.orgGo to Training Institute, create an account and keep your log in information. Click on first time registrant, select Philadelphia, PA (Archdiocese) Be sure to enter your place of service as St. Teresa of Calcutta, Schwenksville and why you are taking the class such as "parent volunteer" or "CYO", "PREP Catechist/Aide, etc. Do not enter "STC" or "Limerick". Select preferred in person or online live session. Using your Virtus login information, after the class is completed, download your certificate of completion and submit. When attending a class in person, you will sign a carbonless copy form from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries for Priests, Deacons, Religious, Pastoral Ministers, Administrators, Staff and Volunteers. The white copy is for the Parish, the yellow copy is for the class member. The signed form is required to volunteer along with the certificate of completion.
If attending a live online session, the class member's home Parish will receive the original Standards of Ministerial Behavior form. This can take several weeks to be processed from the Archdiocese to the Parishes. The Parish will notify the class member that the form needs to be signed.
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Virtus Protecting God's Children Safe Environment Part I Required only if you attended a Virtus Protecting God's Children: Safe Environment Part I class prior to June 20, 2011. The Technology Addendum is included in all Virtus training after 6/30/2011. Free.
Frequency: One Time
Click here to sign the Technology Addendum Form:/documents/2025/10/Technology%20Addendum%20Signature%20Form.pdfology
Click here to read the brochure about the Technology Addendum: /documents/2025/10/Technology%20Addendum.pdf
Submit signed form.
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Mandated Reporter Training - Required
Frequency: One Time
How to Obtain: https://learning.childyouthprotection.org/This is the only Mandated Reporter Training certification that is accepted.Session is an online video that can be paused and returned to when convenient. The class member must download and submit their certificate of completion. Free.
If Mandated Reporter Training is dated prior to 12/13/2014:
Read Mandated Reporter brochure about Pennsylvania State law change. /documents/2025/10/Mandated%20Reporter%20Brochure.pdf
Sign and submit a copy of the Mandated Reporter Acknowledgment document. /documents/2025/10/Mandated%20Reporter%20Acknowledgement.pdf
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cyo additional clearances/requirements
- CYO Handbook: Download, read and follow: Required by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia - May be updated occasionally
- Human Kinetics Catholic Coaching Essentials Online Course: A one time Course Required by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, paid for by STC CYO
- USA Football Coaching Courses:
Required by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, "once and done"
https://usafootball.com/coach-certification *Check with head coach for payment information. - Officiating Courses: One time Courses deemed Optional by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia