April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and the Catholic Star Herald recently spoke with Rod Herrera, director of the Diocese’s Office of Child and Youth Protection. Recent statistics show that in the United States, one out of every four girls and one out of every eight boys is sexually abused before age 18. There are more than 40 million adults in the United States who are survivors of child sexual abuse – and those are only the reported cases.
QUESTION: What is Child Abuse Prevention Month?
ANSWER: This month reminds us that we must all be vigilant in protecting our children. Child abuse is a problem that occurs in our society; it’s not just a Catholic Church problem, but a societal problem. Child abuse happens in sports programs, Scouting troops and packs, other religious denominations and, sadly, most often in our homes. In nearly 90% of abuse cases, the offender is a well-known, trusted adult of the child and family.
Q: How does your office combat child abuse?
A: The Diocese of Camden is committed to protecting our children, and healing victims and survivors of child abuse. Every parish and every school in this Diocese has a safe environment coordinator, supported by the pastor and/or principal, whose role is to ensure all adults in that location are in safe environment compliance.
Every adult in regular contact with minors – such as clergy, teachers and parish youth ministers – is fingerprinted and cleared. Fingerprints are run through the databases of the FBI and New Jersey State Police, and all volunteers are prohibited from having contact with minors until the clearance letter is available. All volunteers and parish employees are rechecked every three years, except fingerprinting.
Adults are required to complete the safe environment training program used by the Diocese of Camden, “VIRTUS® Protecting God’s Children,” where they learn the warning signs of inappropriate behavior that may indicate possible grooming by an offender. Through this program, attendees also learn the behaviors of young people who might be the victims of abuse.
During the VIRTUS® training, adults are taught that in the State of New Jersey, every adult is a mandated reporter – even if child abuse is only suspected. Adults are taught to report abuse either to the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency or to local law enforcement.
Even adults who do not have regular contact with minors are invited to complete the VIRTUS® online training module to learn more about preventing child sexual abuse. Visit virtusonline.org.
Q: What other resources are available?
A: The Diocese of Camden has a victim assistance coordinator, Sylvia Loumeau, LCSW, whose responsibility is to address the Diocese’s outreach to victims and survivors. Loumeau can be contacted at 800-964-6588.
Several policies, as well, have been created to enforce our commitment to protecting our children, including a Social Media Policy, a Chaperone Policy and a code of conduct policy called Standards of Ministerial Behavior. These are all available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese at camdendiocese.org/standards-for-protection.
Q: How is the Diocese of Camden committed to keeping children safe?
A: We are doing a very good job. I am in contact with principals and parish safe environment coordinators constantly throughout the year. They submit to me annual audits in which they list the names of all the adults in contact with children, and I go over it to make sure that everybody is background checked and trained. I do believe people are committed to keeping our children safe.
For more information on the Diocese’s Office of Child and Youth Protection, visit camdendiocese.org/cyp. To contact Rod Herrera, visit Rod.Herrera@camdendiocese.org.
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