Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese using new system for background checks

In what officials say is a stepped-up measure to keep abusers out, the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau is strengthening its background check procedures, part of an extended training effort to better spot sexual predators and respond to children who have suffered abuse.

Current diocese employees and volunteers who have regular contact with children have until Dec. 2 to be screened under the new process, which involves background checks through several multijurisdictional agencies.

The diocese has been doing background checks on employees and volunteers since 1993, when the Catholic Church's sexual misconduct policy made such vetting mandatory, according to a recent edition of The Mirror, the diocese newspaper.

The process relied on the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Criminal and Sex Offender background check system and the state's sex offender registry. The strengthened screening system, administered through AmericanChecked Inc., scans the national sex offender registry, Homeland Security databases and state and local sources, according to Karen Pesek, diocesan Safe Environment coordinator.

Where it once took the highway patrol six weeks to process a background check, the diocese now gets results in as little as 72 hours. Pesek said the screening has proved highly effective.

"It does put up a barrier for those who might want to abuse children," Pesek said. "We are strict about our process."

She said there have been instances in which would-be volunteers have "disappeared" after hearing about the enhanced background checks.

"We've had several times where they go from one Catholic church to another and they aren't hired," she said. "I feel it has worked."

Pesek could not say whether the new checks have flagged any of the 2,300 educators, staff members and volunteers and 87 priests serving in the diocese.

Amy Jansen, principal at Guardian Angel School in Oran, said the system is involved but worth the time and effort if it keeps her K-8 school's 92 students safe. As a former public school counselor, Jansen said, she has talked to a lot of young abuse victims.

"That's why I feel very passionate about this," she said. The enhanced screening "is a step in the right direction, even though it may be an inconvenience or frustrating for people. It is in the best interest of the children."

The screening system isn't unique to the Springfield-Cape Girardeau diocese. Parishes and schools throughout the U.S. Catholic system are implementing tougher vetting standards, part of "VIRTUS: Protecting God's Children" awareness training. The program grew out of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, a set of procedures established by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in June 2002 for addressing allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy. The charter also includes guidelines for reconciliation, healing, accountability and prevention of abuse, according to the bishops website.

Catholic spiritual leaders, along with diocese and parish employees and volunteers must be trained how to behave appropriately, how to recognize the signs of abuse and to immediately report abuse. There is continuing education via monthly bulletins, Pesek said.

But the security changes come with additional costs for schools and parishes operating on tight budgets.

Jansen said the diocese did not inform schools of the plan until July or later, after budgets were set for the current fiscal year. At $12 a background check, with additional costs in some counties, the expense can add up for small schools. Guardian Angel employs six full-time and three part-time teachers, and about 20 volunteers assist at the school, Jansen said.

"Most of these schools don't operate with excess," she said. "We're going to try to do the best we can with that."

The diocese is providing some funding to offset some of the costs for smaller parishes, Pesek said.

mkittle@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

514 Church St., Oran, MO