The Scope and Design

This consultation and study will be conducted in accordance with our professional ethics as psychologists. The project will be submitted to a university Institutional Review Board (IRB) to ensure the ethical conduct of research. In order for the project to undergo an IRB review, we ask that the diocese(s) provide a written letter of permission to use archival psychological evaluation reports for research purposes. The letter can be very brief and addressed to Dr. Anthony Isacco, Co-Primary Investigator/Consultant.

Dioceses will submit only sanitized psychological reports for blind review by the project’s team. All names will be redacted, including the names of the assessors. Behavioral codes will be assigned to identify the category of violation or concern attached to the individual/report. A blind review decreases the possibility that the reviewer might be able to determine the identity of a subject based on news reports or legal cases and mitigates bias based on media coverage, knowledge of the psychological evaluator, or other potential familiarity with the case.

Consideration may be given to the review of non-redacted reports should such a review be requested. Although the primary focus of this research and review will be the psychological reports of clergy who have existing (closed or still under review) employment concerns, other psychological evaluation reports may be included as part of the review for additional feedback.

All communications will be encrypted and HIPAA/HITECH Compliant. All encryption will be compliant with the HITECH Act, 2020. Video conferencing for review and email communication will also be encrypted. A professional document management system with Egnyte will be established to house all documents and additionally, access will include multi-factor authentication and compliant with all HIPAA and HITECH requirements. Access will be restricted to only the consultants. A BAA (Business Associate Agreement) will be established for all IT professionals needed to maintain the technology.

Dioceses may submit psychological reports from several years or several assessors. There is no restriction of number or years since completed. Diocese will receive a comprehensive assessment report via encrypted communication following the completion of the review.

Recruitment for participating dioceses will be on-going. Once data is submitted, participating diocese should expect a feedback report within 8 to 12 weeks. Interested dioceses may contact one of the primary investigators to establish secure communication of data and outline the needs and concerns of the referring Diocese. An initial consultation meeting will be scheduled prior to the reception of data.