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August 2018 Officers’ Desk Reference (ODR); Reporting Misconduct; Safe Environment Program Brother Knights, We begin a new fraternal year. Congratulations to all elected council officers. To help you carry out your responsibilities as an officer, a great resource to use is the Officers’ Desk Reference (ODR) that is located on the password-protected section of kofc.org. I highly recommend using the ODR. Some of the topics you will find include: Who We Are Principles of Fraternalism Fraternal Programs Youth Protection Policy/Safe Environment Program Membership Issues Online Membership Council and Assembly Issues Tax Issues Financial Issues Handbook for Councils Using Home Corporations The ODR is frequently updated, so consult the ODR each time you address a particular issue. Grand Knights and Financial Secretaries should automatically receive access to the ODR, but if you encounter access problems, please contact Customer Service at 800-380-9995 for a user name and password. Due to the nature of our activities, we encounter people on a regular basis. An area to pay attention to is the absolute requirement to immediately report any suspected physical/sexual abuse. Report suspected/actual abuse in the following precedence: REPORT SUSPECTED ABUSE TO LAW ENFORCEMENT. NOTIFY LOCAL DIOCESE OF SUSPECTED ABUSE. NOTIFY KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS OF SUSPECTED ABUSE AT 1-844-KOFC-SAFE (1-844-563-2723). Report any unrelated allegations of sexual abuse by a member (occurring outside of council activities) to the State Deputy and State Advocate. We must notify the Office of Youth Protection when a member has been: Charged with or found guilty by a court of any offense involving children. Charged with or found guilty by a court of any sex-related offense. Sued in court for any wrongful conduct against children or for a sex-related offense. To the extent there is a need for suspension or other action, it will be handled by the Board of Directors through the Office of Youth Protection and Membership Records. More specific information is available in the ODR. The Knights of Columbus Safe Environment Program has been updated to align with the new Faith In Action service program model implemented this year. The FIRST requirement of our safe environment program is for our members to be aware of, and compliant with, arch/diocesan safe environment requirements applicable to members’ volunteer activities on parish property. Fraternal leaders must cooperate with parishes/dioceses to ensure members are compliant with arch/diocesan policies. In addition, select fraternal leaders must be compliant with the Order’s Safe Environment Program training requirements.
Fraternally, Greg Mahoney Washington State Council State Advocate, WSC
StateAdvocate@kofc-wa.org
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