The Archdiocese of Atlanta is committed to our compliance with the USCCB Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. Article 12 of the Charter mandates that each diocese “maintain safe environment programs… conducted cooperatively with parents, civil authorities, educators and community organizations to provide education and training for children, youth, parents, ministers, educators, volunteers and others about mays to make and maintain a safe environment for children and young people.” 

Since the fall of 2014, the Archdiocese of Atlanta has been using the VIRTUS children’s safe environment training, Empowering God’s Children, for all children enrolled in parish schools of religion and Archdiocesan Catholic schools.

The job of ensuring children’s safety is a challenging undertaking. The prevention of child sexual abuse requires more than adult awareness, education, and training about the nature and scope of the problem. We must also give our children the tools they need to overcome the advances of someone who intends to do them harm.

Empowering God’s Children begins with a short introductory video, which lays the groundwork for the educator. The lessons are organized so that each child receives the full range of information in small digestible bites. Activities contained in the lesson plans help students apply the message from the lessons to their daily lives.

Please reference the resources below for more information.