Praesidium and Safe Church Training Update
Thank you to those who have taken time to attempt the online safe church training through Praesidium Academy. We know that the system is challenging, so we appreciate your efforts to take safe church training. Unfortunately, we have learned from your experiences that the old courses are still available in the Praesidium Academy database. This fact has created confusion about what the current courses are that need to be taken to be safe church certified. Please be sure you take the courses listed below, and avoid the old courses on the website, which do not lead to certification.
Please refer to Appendix A-2 in the updated policies to identify the current courses you need to take for certification. Depending on your role(s) within your congregation, you generally need to complete anywhere from four to eight courses. All the currently required courses will start with this title: SAFE CHURCH, SAFE COMMUNITIES, except the KNOW YOUR POLICIES: Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota. Four courses are considered universal and are essential for anyone required to have the training.
The essential/universal courses for our diocese are:
- Know Your Policies: Policies: Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota
- Safe Church, Safe Communities: Introduction & Theological Background
- Safe Church, Safe Communities: Healthy Boundaries
- Safe Church, Safe Communities: Inclusion
The specialty courses are (and the ones required from this list depend on your role(s) [see Appendix A-2 in our policies]):
- Safe Church, Safe Communities: Abuse & Neglect
- Safe Church, Safe Communities: Bullying
- Safe Church, Safe Communities: Power & Relationships
- Safe Church, Safe Communities: Pastoral Relationships
When looking at Appendix A-2, there is a ninth course (Preventing Sexual Harassment: Supervisors/Workers). This course is being updated at this time, but once it is available, we will send out an email.
Coming soon will be a flow-chart on the Diocesan Safe Church webpage that will show you step-by-step how to proceed through Praesidium’s website and navigate the safe church courses.
