Safe Environment / Volunteer Policies

Thank you for your willingness to share your time and talents with the young people of our parish. The Diocese of Knoxville and St. Augustine Parish care very deeply about the safety and well-being of the children and youth entrusted to us.

Not only do we run a background check on the adults who work and volunteer with our youth we ask that all volunteers complete the Protecting God's Children / Safe Environment training program by a certified VIRTUS instructor.  In the program, adults will be made aware of the signs of child sexual abuse, the methods and means by which offenders commit abuse, and five easy steps one can use to prevent child sexual abuse.

Step 1: Class
The first step to volunteering is to attend a Virtus - Protecting God's Children class.
  • Go to virtus.org and register for a course under the Diocese of Knoxville for the class time and location convenient for you.  

Step 2: Paperwork
In order to be cleared to volunteer with our youth the following items must be completed and returned to Heather Wilson, the Director of Religious Education:

1. The certificate you received (or will receive) upon completion of the Virtus - Protecting God's Children class. You will either receive a certificate of attendance from the facilitator or you may print one out from the Virtus website. Please keep one for your records and turn one in to the DRE (many other parishes use Virtus and your certificate can be transferred if you move to another parish).

2. Signed paperwork 
  • Read the sexual misconduct policy document
  • Sign Appendices D, F, G and H
  • FCRA form - Fair Credit Reporting Act Disclosure (required by federal law)
  • Consent to a background check by completing and signing an "Authorization and Release for the Procurement of an Investigative Report"
****All of the information given is completely confidential and kept under lock and key.****

Step 3: Volunteering
After you have attended the Virtus class and completed the paperwork you are ready to begin volunteering. All those on our parish who have the opportunity to be alone with or in proximity to either a minor or a vulnerable adult must comply with the diocese's safe environment program. Examples could include: catechists, chaperones, scout leaders and volunteers, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion if they serve the homebound etc. (for a more complete list see the Diocese of Knoxville website).

Common Questions:

  1. What if I have already attended a Virtus training at another parish / diocese?
     As long as the training you received was the Virtus: Protecting God's Children training you do not have to repeat the training at St. Augustine. Please provide the signed and completed paperwork along with the certificate from your training.
  2. The position I'm volunteering for doesn't involve youth. Why do I need to attend this training?   As a volunteer you are the visible eyes and ears of our parish. Protecting the children of our parish is a group effort that involves all of our volunteers. The Protecting God's Children training will give you the tools to identify questionable behaviors and situations, the confidence to address the behavior and follow appropriate reporting protocols. You may also be approached by a child or parent who want to report an incident or have questions and we want to make sure you, as a representative of our parish, know how to handle the information and questions.
  3. Do I have to take the Protecting God's Children every year? No. You only have to attend one training. After completing the training and being entered into the system you will begin to receive email articles from Virtus. We ask you to read these articles which will serve as ongoing training for you.
  4.  Do I have to attend the training offered at St. Augustine? What if I can't make the scheduled training? There are many trainings scheduled in our Deanery. You are welcome to attend any of the trainings that work best for your schedule.

Volunteer Forms

Please complete the following forms.
Please read the Diocese of Knoxville Policy and Procedure form and fill out the following pages:

Pgs 31-32   Appendix D
Pg 33          Appendix E
Pg 34          Appendix F
Pg 47          Appendix G
Pg 48         Appendix H
Questions? Contact Heather Wilson at 423-886-3424 or heather@staugustinecatholic.org