As part of the Diocesan Safe Environment policy, volunteers who supervise, work with or visit children, youth and vulnerable adults for a St. Joseph's ministry are required to have:

• Protecting God's Children (PGC) training
• Backgound Check (BC), which includes fingerprinting (Live Scan)

Visit the Diocesan Safe Environment Program site for additional information and resources regarding their safe environment program and policy.

VIRTUS Portal

In January, 2020, the Diocese of St. Augustine implemented a new paperless process, via the VIRTUS Portal, for all Safe Environment information, both PGC and BC/Live Scan. Please follow the instructions carefully.

Every individual is responsible for the maintenance of his/her own safe environment information. In order to do so, you must have, or create, a VIRTUS account.

• Print and read the appropriate document listed below:
  • If you are creating a VIRTUS account for the first time, print/read the VIRTUS Instructions for New Users
  • If you already have a VIRTUS account (which is probably true for anyone that has registered for a PGC class in the past), print/read VIRTUS Update Instructions for Users Who Already Have a VIRTUS Account. Follow the directions for recovering your UserId and/or Password if you don't remember what these are. DO NOT create a new account as this will introduce duplicates into the system, none of which will contain complete information.
    • If you do not remember whether you have an account, please contact the St. Joseph's Safe Environment Coordinator listed below.

• Create/Update your VIRTUS account per the instructions provided in the appropriate document above.
  • Walk through and complete all the information requested, including electronically signing any required documents.
  • Make sure you enter/update your name. You must use your legal name, exactly as it appears on your driver's license or other government-issued card.
  • It is important that you enter an accurate address, phone number and email address. Renewal reminders will be sent to your email address.
  • If our parish is the Primary Location where you volunteer or work, select St. Joseph's Parish, NOT St. Joseph's. (If your acount sows St. Joseph's, please change it to St. Joseph's Parish.)
  • Add/Update the roles and diocesan entities (parish, school, etc.) you serve.
    • Remove any roles/entities that are no longer valid.
    • Add any new roles/entities. If there are more than one, select one as your Primary. 
    • When selecting a parish name for roles in our parish, please select St. Joseph's Parish (NOT St. Joseph's).

• Protecting God's Children (PGC) Training
  • If you have previously taken PGC training, that information should be available in your account.
  • If you have not attended a PGC class in the past, register for one through the VIRTUS portal.
  • Make sure to Save your changes and Logout . If you do not do this, the information you entered may be lost.

• Background Check/Fingerprinting (BC/Live Scan)
  • If you have had a BC/Live Scan done in the past, it is possible that you may not see that formation in your account. The Diocese is still working on getting this information uploded..
  • Read and print Live Scan Instructions.
  • If you are are having your fingerprints (Live Scan) taken for the first time or you need to renew this, use the link provided in the VIRTUS Portal.
    • NOTE: The ability to do this through the VIRTUS Portal is in progress. If you do not see a link for setting up a Live Scan appointment, then go to the Fieldprint website specified in the document above.
  • Follow the instructions in this document when completing the questionnaire.

St. Joseph’s Safe Environment Coordinator
(NOT INCLUDING St. Joseph Catholic School)

Fil Battista
(904) 880-6404, ext. 121
activities@stjosephsjax.org
Cody Enrichment Center, Second Floor