Together We are Fulfilling our Commitment to Heal and Protect
On January 1, 2002, the Catholic Diocese of Austin instated policies on Ethics and Integrity in Ministry (E.I.M.). E.I.M. compliance is required of all clergy, religious, seminarians, diocesan employees, parish and Catholic school employees, and lay persons who volunteer in ministry with minors or vulnerable adults, or in any ministry, program or organization that serves youth or vulnerable adults in any manner, or functions at a time and place where they are typically present. To be compliant, one submits an E.I.M. Application for Ministry (one time only) and attends an E.I.M. Workshop every three years. Verification of safe environment training from a previous diocese no longer serves as training in the Diocese of Austin.
There are two steps required to become E.I.M. compliant
The E.I.M. Application for Ministry is only submitted once. Submitting an application permits the diocese to run a confidential background check on each applicant and creates a field to record your workshop attendance. The background check is automatically rerun every 3 years from the date of your application submission and does not require any additional action on your part. The E.I.M. Basic Workshop teaches participants about boundaries, warning signs, appropriate interactions in our work with minors and vulnerable adults, how to respond to incidents and reviews diocesan E.I.M. policies. All parish employees and volunteers are required to attend either a Basic or Refresher Workshop every 3 years.
Please contact the E.I.M. Office at emily-hurlimann@austindiocese.org if you have questions. For more information see the Diocese of Austin E.I.M. Page.