Child and Youth Protection

2016 Annual ReportThe National Review Board and the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are pleased to announce the publication of the 2016 Annual Report on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Each year, dioceses in the United States undergo an external audit by Stonebridge Business Partners, an independent auditing firm. The audit is designed to measure each diocese's compliance with the guidelines of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The results of the external audits are published by the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection every year.

According to the results of the 2016 annual audit, the Catholic Church in the United States has:

Administered safe environment training and background checks for clergy and adults who work or volunteer with children.

• 98.7% of priests, 96.6% of educators, and 97.1% of volunteers are among those who received background checks at the time of the audit, with the rest scheduled for future evaluations. 
• 99.1% of priests, 98.0% of educators, and 96.4% of volunteers received safe environment training.

Educated children on how to identify and report abuse. 

• 94.0% or 4.5 million children received safe environment training in parishes and schools.

Provided outreach and support to victims/survivors of abuse.

• Close to 250 newly identified victims/survivors and members of their families were offered outreach and healing, and ongoing support was provided to 1,510 victims/survivors.

Reported new allegations of sexual abuse of minors to law enforcement.

• 25 allegations were made by current minors in 2016. Two were substantiated, eleven were unsubstantiated and eight were still under investigation. In addition, two allegations were referred to the religious order for their investigation, one was referred to another diocese, and one investigation was held up as a result of an order of confidentiality from the bankruptcy court. All were reported to law enforcement.

Removed offenders from ministry and further access to children. 

• Two priest-offenders with substantiated allegations against current minors in 2016 were removed from ministry, along with 26 other priests or deacons involved with historical abuse.

To view archived Annual Reports, please visit our Archives.

---