SRS version 2 Introduction for Rectors/Vicars, Heads of School and/or other organizations The Safe Church Office received many comments about the difficulty of the Safeguarding Records Software (SRS) online system. In response, a simplified version, SRS 2, will go live on December 1, 2014. As the head of your congregation, school, or other organization, you are responsible for the actions taken regarding Safeguarding by your Safeguarding Records Administrator (SRA) and your Safe Church Coordinator. To effectively do that, you will need to: • take an active part in deciding who your SRA and Safe Church Coordinator will be. o Your SRA is responsible for the online process of SRS. o The Safe Church Coordinator should be the person responsible for reviewing all Safe Church Policies and insuring that the organization is following policy. If you have a Safe Church Coordinator, we encourage you to have them work in tandem with your SRA. o When you’ve decided who should fill these roles, and the people have agreed, you’ll complete a recommendation form for each and send it to the Safe Church office; • insure that all aspects of Safeguarding are upheld; • insure that your organization is using the SRS system; • have the link to SRSv2 https://srs2.epicenter.org ; • have your login and passcode - you can obtain by contacting your SRA or the Safe church Office; • know how to search SRSv2 for details about Safeguarding certifications in your organization. (Search People, Certification details, Activity Reports, Trained Lists) To search for a person’s information in SRS log in to the system at https://srs2.epicenter.org Enter your user id and passcode
If you cannot remember your passcode, use the “Forgot” link. Search for a person by entering about 4 letters of the first and then 4 letters of the last name. Press Search
Search for Fred Farr by tying “Fred Farr” and pressing the Search button. The system will return anyone matching the criteria you entered. In this case, you can choose from Fred Farr or Fredricka Farrar. Each name is a link. Press Fred Farr and his file will open.
In this case, you can see that Fred has completed the certification process.
Click on the magnifying glass icon beside a certification for access to all information entered for or by Fred. You can review at any time. If your SRA has requested your help, version 2 allows you to open the file of the person in question without having to go through your SRA. Upon review, if you know of a reason that the applicant should not proceed with the certification process, let your SRA know immediately. Your SRA will have the option to remove a person from the process and to upload notes and supporting documents Your SRA has been trained by the Safe Church office to ask you for direction on any answer(s) to application questions, interview responses, and/or background check information that raise a concern. Your input is invaluable at this point. Your SRA can add notes/documents to the system for future reference. If you have asked an SRA to remove a person from the certification process, the SRA will add an objective note similar to, “Fred Farr was removed from the process after consultation with and instruction from The Rev. ___”. Detailed notes are not needed. Please know that all of the information in SRS is discoverable. You can view a list of all people certified for your organization.
The SRSv2 system contains personal information, and as such, should be treated as a confidential place at all times. If you have logged into SRSv2, be sure to log out or lock your computer before leaving it. Any information entered into SRSv2 can be traced back to the computer used, so be sure that your people understand the confidentiality and NEVER share user ids or passwords. Detailed information about the changes to the SRS system are being sent to your SRA and to Safeguarding trainers. Safe Church Office personnel will be available for Q&A sessions, and your SRA(s) and trainer(s) will receive invitations to those sessions soon. We encourage you to have your SRA look over the material and submit any questions by email prior to the Q&A sessions if possible. In addition, you can always call our office for any assistance you will need. We are preparing new SRS Manuals that should be complete and available online in January. You will receive word from us when they are available. Note: If you are also filling the role of SRA and/or Trainer, you will receive additional information in a separate communication. Many thanks from the Safe Church Office Staff, The Rev. Carol Petty
[email protected] Marty Brickley
[email protected] Danielle Tatro
[email protected]
