A primary goal at Bishop Hartley is to provide a safe environment on campus for staff, students and visitors. Part of the Safe Environment Program is the Code of Conduct for faculty, staff and volunteers.

Diocesan Policy 4110.0 states:
All paid school staff must have on file both Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCl&I) and FBI background checks and must attend “Protecting God’s Children.”

All volunteers must have on file a BCI background check (fingerprinting) and must attend “Protecting God’s Children” no matter how much or how little contact they have with children or youth, no matter if volunteering for the school or parish, and no matter what time of the day or night they volunteer.

Ohio Revised Code 3319.39 Criminal records check and Ohio Revised Code 2151.86 Criminal records check also cover the background checks.

FBI checks are required if the applicant or volunteer has lived outside of Ohio at any time during the past 5 years.

BCl&I checks are required if the applicant or volunteer has lived in Ohio for the past 5 years.

FBI & BCl&I checks must be completed every 5 years for non-teaching employees.

BCl&I checks are required every 5 years for volunteers.

One source for fingerprinting is:
ESC of Franklin County
2080 City Gate Drive
614-445-3750
Monday and Thursday, 8:30am to 11:30 am
Wednesday, 2:00-4:00 pm
BCI – $29                     FBI – $26                   Both – $26
Credit card only.
Days, times, and fees subject to change.

Ensure that Copies are mailed to the SAFE Environment Office, 197 E. Gay Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215 Attention: Regina Quinn

All paid school staff also need to have an electronic copy sent directly to the State of Ohio, Department of Education.

Registration for Protecting God’s Children is online at www.virtus.org. Click on Registration, choose “Begin the Registration Process,” select “Diocese of Columbus” as your location, and then follow the prompts. If you do not have internet access, you may contact the school for assistance.

Consistent with the requirements of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act or 11AHERA11 (40CFR Part 763) the Columbus Diocese Schools inspect for Asbestos Containing Building Materials (ACBM) and develop an Asbestos Management Plan for each school. This is to:

“Ensure that workers and building occupants, organizations, or parent teacher organizations, are informed at least once each school year about inspections, response actions, and post response actions activities, including periodic re-inspections and surveillance activities that are planned or are in progress.”

“Ensure that short term workers (e.g. phone repair workers, utility repair workers, or exterminators) who may come in contact with asbestos in a school are provided information regarding the location of asbestos containing building material (ACBM) and suspected or assumed ACBM.”

Some Diocese of Columbus school buildings contain known or suspected asbestos containing building materials and are subject to periodic surveillances every six months.

Each of the school buildings is being re-inspected and an Asbestos Management Plan is currently being prepared. When completed they will be available for review at the school offices. This notice is provided as the annual notification required by AH ERA.