No. Safe Gatherings is a system that integrates background checks from trusted, national providers with the application process and online training to simplify your office paperwork and add an extra layer of protection.

The Safe Gatherings training courses can be customized for your specific group, whether it is a school, organization, or church. Our comprehensive training empowers staff and volunteers to protect children through a greater awareness of: • Sexual predators and their habits • Types of abuse • Signs of abuse • How to respond to disclosure of abuse • Mandatory reporting • and more!

Everyone who works with children, youth, and/or vulnerable adults should be screened and trained. This includes staff and volunteers.

Learn more about our pricing on our pricing page.

The online training can be taken from any computer or mobile device—online, 24/7. It can be completed at your convenience. The course bookmarks your progress and starts up again where you leave off. Progress checks throughout the course test your knowledge as you are going through, scenarios provoke your thinking, and the final exam tests on what you have learned.

Tell them to go to www.safegatherings.com and click on the red “Get Started” button at the top.

Absolutely! Your commitment to having Safe Gatherings-approved staff and volunteers should be used to attract and retain families who want their children, youth, and vulnerable adults in a safe environment. Promote the fact that your organization handles abuse prevention the right way! Contact us to get a logo and Web link.

Safe Gatherings approvals are typically valid for two (2) years. However, certain organizations we work with have different timeframes that they approve for. We will notify you when it is time to renew.

You must be 16 or older in order to be Safe Gatherings approved. Applicants under 18 must have parental permission to apply.

Approval times can vary. If you complete the course in a timely fashion and your references respond quickly, you can receive it in a few days. The most common delays are caused by references. If your references did not see the email, deleted it erroneously, or just ignored it, then you are waiting on them. At any time, you can login and resend the reference request or change who you want to be your reference. You can monitor your application status at any time by logging in with your username and password.

A criminal record does not absolutely mean that an applicant will be denied, but it’s highly probable. Lying on an application will be grounds for rejection as well. Our first and foremost objective is to make sure children, youth, and vulnerable adults are protected. If your application is denied, we will notify you and the organization through which you applied. If you feel that the rejection was unjustified, you may contact the Safe Gatherings staff. Learn more in our Terms of Service.

Applicants who do not have Internet access via a cell phone, tablet, or home computer can use a computer at a library, a friend’s house, or perhaps one at your church or school. Safe Gatherings is an online, easy-to-use system that provides fast results.

The power of a consistent system is consistency. When everyone commits to the same process, there is a greater amount of trust and reliability in the outcome. If you think, “It can’t happen here,” you are wrong, and the protection of children, youth and vulnerable adults is at stake.

Applicants are reviewed and approved or denied on an individual basis. Each applicant has his or her own application, references, and background checks … and each applicant must pass the test at the end of the training. There is not a group way to train and test.

Call us today at 888.241.8258.

First, check to see if your organization is already listed in the Safe Gatherings system. On the first page of the application, select your type of organization, denomination if you have chosen “church,” then your state and city where the organization is located. More than 40,000 organizations are already listed in Safe Gatherings. Look through the entire list for your city in case the organization is already listed, but not exactly worded in the way you might be used to seeing it. If you don’t see your organization, enter the name of your organization in the text box at the bottom of the drop-down menus, click “Next,” and there you will enter additional information about your organization. After you complete this, you will be able to complete the rest of the information in the application.

Policy Builder is a way for churches and faith-based organizations to create, store and manage their policies–all securely online. Learn more here.

Safe Gatherings does not set or enforce policies for churches and faith-based-organizations. We do encourage best practices through our online training. Also, Policy Builder can help organizations create and manage their policies. Our templates within Policy Builder can be used by churches to customize their own policies. Still, those policies remain the responsibility of the church or faith-based organization to update, distribute and enforce.