2020 Archdiocese of Atlanta Employee Policy Manual/September 2020 - Manual / Resource - Page 60
For example, parents should be made aware of how social media are being used, be told how to
access the sites, and be given the opportunity to be copied on all material sent to their children via
social networking (including text messages). While parents should be provided with the same
material as their children, it does not have to be via the same technology (that is, if children receive
a reminder via Twitter, parents can receive it in a printed form or by an e-mail list).
After receiving written parental permission to communicate with young people via social media,
Archdiocesan employees should be encouraged to save copies of conversations whenever possible,
especially those that concern the personal sharing of a teen or young adult. (This may be especially
important with email and text messaging.)
Make everyone aware of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which is federal legislation
that oversees how websites interact with children under age 13.
SOURCES: USCCB Social Media Guidelines
Archdiocese of Chicago, IL
Archdiocese of St. Louis, MO
Guidelines:
• Written permission must be obtained prior to posting photographs, or other identifying
information, of minors/young people on websites. When posting photographs of
minors/young people, it is advisable to caption the photographs using only the individual’s
first name.
•
The site administrator is an adult considered to be working with minor and thus should have
completed all safe environment requirements per the Archdiocesan policy.
•
Parents should be informed that a social networking site is being utilized as a standard part
of youth ministry and any materials posted on the site must also be available through other
communication mediums.
•
There is a difference between initiating a “friend request” and accepting one. Friend requests
should be initiated by young people, not the adult representative of the Archdiocese of
Atlanta and/or its entities.
•
In photographs of youth activities, youth should not be “tagged,” or identified by name in
the photograph.
•
On the original social networking site, it is recommended that the “no tagging” option be set.
•
Because of the potential of teen crises or time relevant information, any pages with high
volumes of youth involvement should be monitored frequently by official organizational
personnel. A plea for help that goes unanswered can be damaging to the parish, school,
and/or organization and dangerous for teens and their families.
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