To ensure that we are providing a safe environment for the children in our Parish/School communities, all parish/school volunteers & employees wishing to work with children are to be in full compliance with Diocesan requirements.
The compliance process, which includes a criminal background check, always starts by contacting your parish/school background coordinator.
If you have questions regarding the compliance process, please speak with your Parish/School Background Coordinator.
This category applies to any individual seeking to offer to donate their time and labor to serve the youth of our Parish and School Communities.
You must meet the following requirements:
Parish Employee
This category applies to any individual being paid to work for the Parish Community.
You must meet the following requirements:
School Employee
This category applies to any individual being paid to work for the School Community. This individual must be paid by the School to be considered a School Employee or School Educator.
You must meet the following requirements:
Volunteers [Exemption]
This category applies to any individual seeking to offer to donate their time and labor to serve the Parish and/or School Community that has an Exemption from the Diocese in order to require a Background Check via Fingerprinting in lieu of a Background Check from Selection.com.
You will be advised by your Background Coordinator if these requirements apply to the Parish/School Community that you are looking to serve.You must meet the following requirements:
Background CheckIf a Parish and/or School Community has a Special Exemption from the Diocese, they are required to meet a [Special Exemption] Recheck Policy.
This information will be recorded onto your VIRTUS account and a Summary of the recorded information on VIRTUS will be printed and filed.
Employee [Exemption]
This category applies to any individual being paid to work for the Parish Community that has an Exemption from the Diocese in order to require a Background Check via Fingerprinting in lieu of a Background Check from Selection.com.
You will be advised by your Background Coordinator if these requirements apply to the Parish/School Community that you are looking to serve.
You must meet the following requirements:
Background CheckIf a Parish Community has a Special Exemption from the Diocese, they are required to meet a [Special Exemption] Recheck Policy.
This information will be recorded onto your VIRTUS account and a Summary of the recorded information on VIRTUS will be printed and filed.
Clergy
This category applies to all Priests, Deacons, Seminarians, or Deacon Candidates/Aspirants.
You must meet the following requirements:
Religious
This category applies to those of Religious Orders who work with children. This DOES NOT apply to Priests that are a part of a Religious Order. For Religious Order Priests, go to the Clergy tab.
You must meet the following requirements:
Background CheckVendors
This category applies to any individual working for a Third-Party Company that is contracted to provide a service to or renting space from a Parish/School .
You must meet the following requirements:
He/she will need to acknowledge the Code of Pastoral Conduct; however, it will not count towards to their compliance requirements (unless they are volunteering for another Parish/School).
If he/she is prompted for either a Selection.com Background Check or a NJ Department of Education Background Check, they are to decline or disregard these Background Checks as the above indicated NJ State Police Background Check shall fulfill these requirements.
High School Students
For Parishes/Schools that have High School-aged Students who are looking to volunteer at events/programs involving working with younger children, the Parish/School must ensure to do the following:
* Fingerprinting is conducted through IdentoGo and sent to the State Police. The Diocese will receive a letter from the State Police once the results have been released.
** The Catechist Application is applicable if you are serving as a Parish Catechetical Leader or a Catechist for a Parish's Religious Education Program.
*** A copy of a completed employee application should be provided for the compliance folder, which is separate from the HR folder (that contains the original).
IF YOU ARE A PROSPECTIVE SEMINARIAN
OR INCARDINATING INTO THE DIOCESE
OR A VISITING CLERGY &
PLANNING ON ASSISTING AT A PARISH/SCHOOL FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME...
You will be required to meet the COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS as shown above for clergy.
To start the compliance process, please contact the following Office:
Protecting God's Children
Continuing Education Requirement
After completing the Protecting God's Children for Adults Session, the Diocese of Metuchen will activate your Virtus Account upon verification of your attendance.
In regards to continuous training, the Diocese encourages all Parish Employee/Volunteer, School Employee/Volunteer & the Clergy to read the monthly articles (Training Bulletins) issued to their Virtus Account.
Each article, typically, takes about 5 minutes to read and you will be asked to answer one question.
If you plan to serve in another (Arch)Diocese, you will need to meet the requirements set by that (Arch)Diocese.
Please visit the Office of Child & Youth Protection page in the other New Jersey Dioceses to identify and meet their compliance requirements.
* Note: If you plan volunteer/work simultaneously in another (Arch)Diocese while serving in the Diocese of Metuchen, you will still be expected to meet & maintain Diocesan compliance requirements.
Parish Facilitators or individuals should initially contact Nevin Mathew at (732) 562-2445 for questions related to the Virtus program, processing background checks or listings in the ParishSoft program.