Archdiocese launches fingerprinting policy for clergy, employees, volunteers

New policy aims to be ‘gold standard’ for protecting children, vulnerable adults by providing extra layer of real-time security

DETROIT — Clergy, employees, volunteers and independent contractors working in parish, school or ministry settings in the Archdiocese of Detroit will be required to be fingerprinted as part of new protocols for routine background screening, according to a new policy from the archdiocese’s Office of Safe Environments that went into effect Aug. 1.

The policy formalizes an announcement made in March by Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger, who pledged to update and strengthen the archdiocese’s safe environment efforts.

The archbishop’s pastoral letter, “Rebuilding Trust: A Pastoral Message of Abuse, Reform, and Hope,” outlined several new efforts related to protecting children and vulnerable adults, ensuring safe environments would be “upheld as a central and enduring priority” in the Archdiocese of Detroit.

To date, 323 priests, along with 750 employees and volunteers, have been fingerprinted at 49 parishes and schools as part of the policy’s rollout, said Maegan Pierson, safe environments manager for the archdiocese. All employees and clergy are required to be fingerprinted by May 2027, and all volunteers and others who work directly with children or vulnerable adults will be fingerprinted by December 2027.

In January, Archbishop Weisenburger was first to be fingerprinted, along with Fr. Timothy Birney, moderator of the Curia, and Fr. John Maksym, episcopal vicar for clergy discipline. All Curia employees were fingerprinted in February.

The new policy is intended to strengthen the archdiocese’s already-robust safety measures by providing an advanced layer of security and real-time monitoring, Pierson explained. 

The Archdiocese of Detroit already employs background screening through the state of Michigan’s Internet Criminal History Access Tool (ICHAT), but fingerprinting allows greater visibility if an incident occurs after a background check is completed.

“Fingerprinting really is the gold standard of safety measures,” Pierson said. “It’s a continuous monitoring system. If something were to happen at a parish or a school, we receive a notification, and it helps us to be able to communicate with the parish or school about their duty and legal responsibility to make sure children and vulnerable adults continue to be in a safe environment.”

The archdiocese would also be notified if any crimes are committed outside the state of Michigan — information that is not provided through ICHAT alone — through the FBI’s “rapback” system, Pierson said.

Other large organizations, such as the Michigan High School Athletic Association, already employ fingerprinting policies, Pierson added, which eliminate the need for annual background checks.

The Archdiocese of Detroit continues to employ high standards for protecting the safety and security of children and vulnerable adults, Pierson said, meeting or exceeding the expectations set by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults.

Such measures include background checks, codes of conduct, and regular safe environments training for employees, clergy, volunteers and contractors through Virtus’ Protecting God’s Children platform.

Each year since the charter’s promulgation in 2002, the archdiocese has been found to be in compliance via annual third-party audits, including in-person audits every three years.

“The USCCB gives general guidelines, but it’s really up to us to use those tools and resources to ensure safety,” Pierson said. “We currently do background checks every year for employees — that includes priests, deacons, parish staff, curia staff, educators — and every two years for volunteers.”

The new fingerprinting policy adds another strong layer of protection, ensuring that if any violations occur after an initial background check takes place, the archdiocese will receive an alert and can take immediate action, she added. Because the fingerprinting acts as a continuous monitoring system, it will also eliminate the need for annual background checks.

“This system works in partnership with every single parish and school, so we know that if someone really shouldn’t be working in a school or parish, we find out right away,” Pierson said.

Under the new policy, those required to be fingerprinted include clergy; parish, school and curia employees; volunteers such as catechists, coaches and youth ministers; and any other volunteers or independent contractors who have access to children or vulnerable adults.

While volunteers and contractors without access to children or vulnerable adults will not be required to be fingerprinted, they still must complete a thorough background check and safe environments training. 

To facilitate the new policy, the Archdiocese of Detroit is working closely with parishes and schools to schedule fingerprinting sessions, and an endowment has been created to help parishes and schools cover expenses.

Laura Hickey, safe environments coordinator at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Plymouth, said fingerprinting was quick and seamless for the parish staff in April. Volunteers at the parish will begin to be fingerprinted in September. 

“It was a very smooth process,” Hickey told Detroit Catholic. “We have some time to implement this new procedure, which is excellent because we’re a big parish. We appreciate that flexibility.”

Hickey said she is grateful for the Archdiocese of Detroit’s diligence in ensuring children and vulnerable adults have a safe place to grow in their faith, using all the tools at its disposal.

“It makes a lot of sense, given the potential for being one on one with children or vulnerable adults,” Hickey said. “Everyone in our schools is already fingerprinted as a matter of law and policy, and it’s just very logical to us to extend that, making sure we’re keeping a safe environment for all.”

At the end of the day, fingerprinting not only protects the most vulnerable, but it also protects those working in ministry by ensuring the right people are in the right places, Pierson said.

“We’re not trying to take anything away from anyone. We really care about the individuals who are working in our parishes and schools, and that our children and our vulnerable adults are safe,” Pierson said.