Contact Felipe Sanchez, Director of Administrator | (310) 566-1502 |
Providing a safe environment for children, youth, and vulnerable adults
Safeguard the Children is a comprehensive program designed to promote a safe environment for children, youth and vulnerable adults and prevent child sexual abuse. The program was initiated in all dioceses in the United States at the direction of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
 There is a Safeguard the Children (STC) Committee in each parish which helps to implement the objectives of the USCCB “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has produced an informative brochure entitled "Working Together" that provides resources on how to prevent abuse and provides information on reporting child abuse. You can find it along with more information about the  policies and activities of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in “Protecting Our Children" at www.lacatholics.org/departments-ministries/protecting-children/ .
There is a Safeguard the Children (STC) Committee in each parish which helps to implement the objectives of the USCCB “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has produced an informative brochure entitled "Working Together" that provides resources on how to prevent abuse and provides information on reporting child abuse. You can find it along with more information about the  policies and activities of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in “Protecting Our Children" at www.lacatholics.org/departments-ministries/protecting-children/ .
You can also read the monthly bulletin put out by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles at: www.lacatholics.org/did-you-know/
For a schedule of VIRTUS sessions and fingerprinting at St. Monica, please check latest announcements or the calendar. You can also call the Parish Office at (310) 566-1500 for dates as well.
Check back for opportunities!
If there are any questions please contact Delis Alejandro, Pastoral Associate at .
In honor of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, April 2024, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles invites you to join us in transforming awareness into action by participating in a special nine-day Novena for Protecting and Healing from Abuse.
The Office of Safeguard the Children is dedicated to “protecting all of God’s children” by fully implementing Article 12 of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People adopted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002. The office provides ongoing support, education, training and resources to help prevent child sexual abuse and to address children’s safety in our parishes, schools, homes and communities.
To this end, St. Monica Safeguard the Children (STC) Committee continues to assess and implement the objectives of the charter and to protect vulnerable populations in our midst. Our community regularly hosts VIRTUS training and fingerprinting opportunities to ensure that our volunteers, clergy, and staff have been trained on what a safe environment should look like. It is important that everyone is aware of what abuse can look like, and that we report suspected child or elder abuse. We are all responsible for the care and safety of children and vulnerable adults.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles also continues helping survivors of sexual abuse and their families during National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and on behalf of Archbishop José H. Gomez, we affirm our continued commitment to report allegations of sexual misconduct to law enforcement, support victim-survivors in their healing journey, and protect children and the vulnerable.
As a community, we hold victims and survivors in our hearts and pray for healing throughout our nation. We will light our candle and in a special way pray for protection and healing from abuse. May we all find comfort in the love and support of our community, gathered together to protect the most vulnerable.
Together for the next nine days, let us pray that the vulnerable are protected from abuse, and that survivors of abuse may be accompanied ont heir paths to healing.

Click Here to View Daily Intercessions!
Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, Glory Be, Prayer for Healing
God of endless love,
ever caring, ever strong,
always present, always just:
You gave your only Son
to save us by his blood and cross.
Gently Jesus, shepherd of peace,
join to your own suffering
the pain of all who have been hurt
in body, mind, and spirit
by those who betrayed the trust places in them.
Hear the cries of our brothers and sisters
who have been gravely harmed,
and the cries of those who love them.
Soothe their restless hearts with hope,
steady their shaken spirits with faith.
Grant them justice for their cause,
enlightened by your truth.
Holy Spirit, comforter of hearts,
heal your people's wounds
and transform brokeness into wholeness.
Grant us the courage and wisdom,
humility and grace, to act with justice.
Breathe wisdom into our prayers and labors.
Grant that all hamred by abuse may find peace in justice.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
A mandated reporter is someone who is required to report suspected or disclosed cases of abuse to child protective services or law enforcement including a wide range of persons from teachers, educators, coaches, to school and parish staff, and clergy. The mandated repo...
Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. adults report living with some kind of disability, ranging from physical limitations to diminished mental capabilities. Misunderstandings and misconceptions about a person’s individual disabilities can put that person at risk for abuse. By adopting p...
The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act was recently signed into law. It criminalizes the publication of nonconsensual intimate images, including AI-generated images. Anyone who publishes or threatens to publish such images online can be charged with a crime and prosecuted. Websi...
With the rising use of AI, explicit nonconsensual images can be generated easily and without the victim’s knowledge. An offender now may not even need an explicit image to work from. When threatened with explicit AI-generated images being published or distributed onlin...
With the widespread use of mobile devices, more and more children are susceptible to cyber bullying, which has far-reaching consequences. Cyber bullying can take many forms, including cruel messages via text or social media, the distribution of photoshopped pictures de...
As children get older, they begin to form more peer relationships, and today this growth also coincides with having more opportunities for private communication through technology, especially with mobile phones. Young people are often uncomfortable talking to adults ab...
Back-to-school season is an ideal time to refresh internet safety rules with the children in your care. For example, it is helpful to establish clear guidelines like what types of sites children can visit, apps they can download, and when they can have access to electr...
If your child has a mobile phone or tablet, you should be aware of what apps he or she is downloading and using. There are several apps designed to hide photos and videos, that are protected by security features like passwords, fingerprints or face ID. These apps may n...
Having a healthy caution towards adults means requiring all adults to follow safety rules, outlined in policies or codes of conduct, no matter what position they hold in an organization. Adults must also be willing to look at their own behavior and ensure that it is al...
Having a “healthy caution” about adults in your life does not mean treating all adults as potential perpetrators. It is important to increase awareness about the dangers and the signs of abuse without creating paranoia. Safe adults should not be vigilante protectors, b...
As your children head back to school, parents should begin laying the groundwork (if they haven’t already) for open communication about the school’s safety guidelines and policies. Talk to children about safe adults and keep lines of communication open about who they s...
Children who suffer from sexual abuse run a greater risk of negative associated outcomes, not only with their mental health, but also suicidal tendencies, potential future abuse, more cognitive deficits, or lower educational interests and efforts. Abused children also ...
Studies show that when children know that adults are willing to believe them, and advocate for them, children are more willing to come to adults with their problems. This is why other safe adults, like teachers and youth ministry volunteers, are essential to child prot...
When an adult uses their authority to control or manipulate a situation, this puts children and vulnerable adults at risk for abuse. Manipulation can often occur through grooming behaviors, which can lead to boundary violations and ultimately abuse. It is always the re...
Everyone that works and interacts with children should have clear boundaries in place. This can include rules like: staying in public view and avoiding isolated one-on-one situations with children and ensuring that two or more adults are always paired together to work ...
There are several factors that contribute to whether a child is comfortable disclosing abuse to an adult. Children are more likely to talk about problems when they: have access to an adult they can trust; are able to understand that what is happening to them is not nor...
Statistically, one in four children will experience some form of abuse – sexual, physical, emotional or neglect – during their childhood. Sadly, most child abuse goes either unnoticed or unreported, due to fear, a lack of knowledge in what constitutes abuse, or a reluc...
While parents are often hyper vigilant around pools and lakes, drowning can happen at home in an instant, especially with very young children. This summer, watch children around water at home, including buckets, containers, and kiddie pools. Children can drown in as li...
School-aged children should be taught about the dangers of sexual abuse, and the signs of risky situations that could lead to potential abuse. Sexual abuse and exploitation does not only happen through in-person touch; it can happen online or through the phone as well....
Children should know the difference between “okay” and “not okay” or “good” and “bad” touches – touches that are welcome and comforting, and those that are intrusive, unwanted, painful, or uncomfortable. Children should know that they have the right to say “no” to bein...
It is important that everyone report suspected child or elder abuse. If you ever come across suspected abuse, we urge you to call the Los Angeles County Child Protection Hotline at (800) 540-4000. The hotline is operated twenty-four hours, around the clock, seven days a week. You don’t need to know that child abuse or neglect is taking place, you are welcome to report your suspicions and consult with a social worker if you are not clear whether what you are witnessing or have learned of is abuse. Depending on your profession, you might even be legally obligated to report suspected child abuse and neglect, a so-called “mandated reporter.” But if you are not a mandated reporter, you can even make your report anonymously.
Priests, deacons, school faculty and administrators and other staff members in our parish and schools have been designated as mandated reporters under California law. When one of these persons receives information leading to a “reasonable suspicion” that a child is being abused or neglected, he or she must make a report to the appropriate child protection or law enforcement agency. For more information on Responding to an Allegation of Suspected Child Abuse: www.lacatholics.org/departments-ministries/protecting-children/ .
If you are being abused, have been abused, or know someone who is being abused and you need assistance making a report, call Victims Assistance Ministry at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles at (800) 355.2545,
You may also seek help directly by contacting one of the Child Protective Services or one of the Law Enforcement Agencies listed below. In an emergency, call 911.
The Safeguard the Children committee welcomes inquiries from parishioners with backgrounds in social services, law enforcement, education, child health or legal issues who are interested in joining the committee. Contact Felipe Sanchez at or (310) 566-1502.