Office of Child Advocacy, Implementation and Oversight

May 7, 2003

To All DREs/CREs/AREs and Pastors/Administrators of the Archdiocese

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

In a recent letter from the Office of Religious Education, it was mentioned that I would be sending additional information about schedules and locations regarding training for parish Catechetical Leaders in the child personal safety curriculum called Talking About Touching™ (TAT). Although this letter, and the training it describes, pertains only to Catechetical Leadership for grades K-4, it is being sent to all DRE/CRE/AREs and parish contacts throughout the Archdiocese in an effort to keep all religious education leadership and pastors informed and updated. As you know, TAT has been chosen by the Archdiocese as the standard personal safety curriculum for children in grades K-4 in both Catholic elementary schools and Religious Education classes. Catholic elementary school principals, teachers, guidance and nursing staff were trained in the TAT curriculum between October 2002 and February 2003 and are in the process of teaching the curriculum to their students. I have enclosed a one-page description of the program as an attachment.

During March and April, the Office of Child Advocacy, Implementation and Oversight met with Sister Clare Bertero, Susan Kay, members of the staff of the Archdiocesan Office of Religious Education, the Archdiocesan Religious Education Leadership Advisory Committee, other catechetical leaders, representatives from the Committee for Children in Seattle (the creators of TAT) and the Massachusetts Children’s Trust Fund.

The goal of these meetings was to collaborate on how best to streamline and integrate the TAT curriculum into the Religious Education programs of the Archdiocese in such a way as to minimize impact on religious education time while maintaining the integrity of each program. A second goal was to provide several implementation models from which parishes could choose based on their own needs and circumstances. A final goal was to determine reasonable timeframes in which to train parish teams, introduce the curriculum to the parents and begin teaching the children. Results of these discussions are also attached.

The TAT training program for Catechetical Leaders responsible for grades K-4 is two full days in length and will be scheduled on two consecutive days during the week or weekend.  There are ten 2-day sessions scheduled that can accommodate up to 40 participants each. Check-in and light breakfast will be from 8-8:30AM, and class is from 8:30AM to 4PM. Lunch (1/2 hour) will also be provided. The sessions are scheduled in all five regions of the archdiocese to allow flexibility in terms of where participants attend. If your schedule does not permit attendance in your particular region, then attendance at any of the others is available to you. The schedule times and locations are on the attached registration form.

Please be aware that class size is limited. After looking at the schedule, Catechetical Leaders responsible for grades K-4 from the parishes should choose up to 3 sites in order of preference and respond using the enclosed form with their 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd choices. You are only required to attend one 2-day session and we will try to give you your first choice. As the attendance for any of these sessions reaches 40, registration for that class will be closed. I’d also like to let you know that I am pursuing accreditation of this program that will grant continuing education credit or professional development points to participants. The cost of the training and all training materials will be assumed by the archdiocese. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Once the Catechetical Leaders are trained, they will then go back into the parishes and train their catechists or the volunteer team selected to roll out the curriculum to the religious education students. The number of curriculum kits for each parish will vary and will need to be purchased by the parish. Instructions for ordering are also attached and will be discussed in greater detail during the training.

A webpage for the Office of Child Advocacy, Implementation and Oversight is also available on the RCAB website, and will be a source of ongoing information and progress. The webpage contains updates, schedules and other materials pertinent to these programs, and also provides links to the websites of the Committee for Children, the Children’s Trust Fund, VIRTUS, the Department of Social Services, and the Department of Health and Human Services. In this way, you can learn about the companies who will be conducting the training, and view their materials and curriculum on-line. Connect to the page at www.rcab.org and click on the link for the Office of Child Advocacy, Implementation and Oversight.

Thank you for all your help so far as we move together toward building permanent child abuse prevention education and training in the archdiocese. If you have any questions, please call either Susan Fuccillo, Bob Kelley or me at the Child Advocacy Office at 617-746-5994 (Fax: 617-783-0766). Please provide a copy of this material to your pastor/administrator.

Yours in the Peace of Christ,

Deacon Anthony P. Rizzuto

Director

Office of Child Advocacy, Implementation and Oversight

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