The Durham Center and The Chapel Hill YMCA have partnered with other groups in Durham, Chapel Hill, and Orange and Chatham counties to raise awareness of the issue. 

“We want schools, youth sports organizations, faith groups, child-care and other places where children are served to have staff trained in spotting and preventing sexual abuse,” Nancy Kent with the Durham Center said.

Amanda Nieman from the Redwoods Group Foundation also attended the meeting.  Nieman said the foundation aims to increase sex abuse education beyond organizations to the “broader community.”

“It is important to know that it can be prevented,” she said. “And we all have a role to play in that.”

As part of this effort, Centre County leaders came together on February 22nd to learn more about Darkness to Light.  About 45 community members met to discuss prevention and set an initial training goal of 5,800 adults in Stewards of Children.

“It’s about making sure lay folks in the community are engaged in prevention,” You Service Bureau CEO Andrea Boyles said. 

In addition to creating a community of responsible adults, Centre County leaders are working with the National Children’s Alliance to hopefully bring a CAC to their community.  

“This is an important opportunity for the higher education community to be proactive in our defense of children,” said University of Delaware President Patrick T. Harker. “In the first phase of this program, we will train nearly 1,100 individuals…”

“Delaware State University has on its faculty one of our State’s first trainers to be certified for the Stewards of Children program, and she has already partnered with community stakeholders in Kent County to facilitate training with all of those groups,” said President Harry L. Williams.

Dr. Orlando J. George, Jr., President of Delaware Tech, said, “It is critical that Delaware Tech employees and our future graduates have access to every tool and educational resource possible…The Stewards of Children program will enable us to build on what we already do to protect children on campus and raise the bar when it comes to increasing awareness of child abuse.”

Dr. Jim Wilson of Wilmington University said, “The Stewards of Children program is another tool in our toolbox to educate the Wilmington University community to recognize and report suspected child abuse.”

Since the D2L program launched in Delaware, more than 2,000 Delawareans have been trained through the collaborative efforts of Prevent Child Abuse Delaware, YMCA of Delaware, and Attorney General Biden’s office. 

Monday – January 23, 2012

Safety first for our children, regarding child sexual abuse, is indeed not new. Dr. Reed Adams, Ph.D., CPSP, Research Director, Social Evaluation Research, Inc. reported that a component of the American Nurses Association adopted a resolution calling for the study and prevention of abuse of our children in 1912.

The Darkness To Light ® organization has developed a community awareness program PREVENT NOW: CHILDHOOD STORIES © including a 21 minute child sexual abuse documentary.  This is a splendid opportunity for individuals and groups involved with clubs, churches, camps, schools, sports, recreational, law enforcement/criminal justice or child advocacy to help protect the future of our communities: our children and grandchildren.  Contact us and we will bring it to your organization.  As authorized facilitators, we will provide everything at no cost to individuals or the organization or agency.

A revolutionary, 3 hour workshop, STEWARDS OF CHILDREN ®  designed by Darkness to Light ®  to educate adults to recognize, prevent and react responsibly to child sexual abuse is offered to equip and empower adults to keep children safe.  That is ALL OF US ADULTS!  This workshop has been approved by the NC Sheriffs’ Standards Division, NC Nurses Association #8477, NC Criminal Justice Standards Division, National Association of Social Workers and National Board for Certified Counselors.  The cost for this evidenced based workshop (including workbook, handouts and other expenses) is only $25 per participant.

The next scheduled PREVENT NOW: CHILDHOOD STORIES © as a part of the NC Criminal Justice Association 2012 Annual Conference scheduled for Febrkuary 16-18, 2012 in Raleigh http://nccja.org/Conferences.html The next scheduled STEWARDS OF CHILDREN® workshop is scheduled in Elizabeth City, NC for Registered Nurses on February 1, 2012.

For more information or te schedule either activity for your group or organization contact either Ed or Patricia Boelte (both Authorized Facilitators) at (910) 541-0389, eboeltes@charter.net or PO Box 2174 – Surf City, NC 28445  Ed is Advisor/Consultant, Criminological Associates, Inc., http://drcrime.web.officelive.com retired from the NC Justice Academy and a former US Intelligence Officer.  Patricia is a RN, Certified Forensic Nurse, Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, Risk Management Consultant, President/P. Rayfield Consulting, Inc and a graduate of the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Citizens Academy.

Read the entire article HERE.

http://news.yahoo.com/video/bakersfieldkero-24115453/ymca-tackles-sexual-abuse-of-children-28028551.html#crsl=%252Fvideo%252Fbakersfieldkero-24115453%252Fymca-tackles-sexual-abuse-of-children-28028551.html

  “It is not a child’s job to protect him or herself from abuse, that is our job as adults,” Biden said.  “When 90 percent of abused kids are victimized by someone they know…it falls to the rest of the community to be vigilant, informed, and ready to take action to stop the abuse. Stewards of Children gives us the tools to do just that.”

In addition to the ask to the JFC, Biden will also be joining the Presidents from the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, and Del Tech in a press conference on Thursday, February 16th to announce support for the Stewards of Children training on all three campuses.

Katie Brandenburg Associated Press

ASHLAND — Chrissy Moore pulled a cloth checkerboard from the table of one of the waiting rooms at Hope’s Place Children’s Advocacy Center revealing golden sand framing assorted seashells.

“This is my favorite part,” she said.

Moore and another girl from Girl Scout Troop 935 designed and decorated the room to earn their silver awards. Both girls agreed the place they always felt the calmest and happiest was the beach, hence the beach-themed room. They wanted to communicate those same calming feelings to children who have been dealing with abuse.

The waiting room was the first one completed during the renovation of the bottom floor of the building on Greenup  Avenue Hope’s Place now operates from.

Now, Moore is partnering with Hope’s Place once again to earn her gold award by training adults to help prevent child sexual abuse.

The gold award is the highest honor a Girl Scout can earn and is a challenge to plan and get approved in addition to the 80-plus hours of community service work it usually involves.

Two other members of her troop have already earned the gold award.

Moore, 18, is a senior at Boyd County High School. She will begin this month to train groups of adults in the Darkness to Light Stewards of Children program.

Moore trained as a facilitator in the program last summer after Erica Myers, executive director of Hope’s Place, recommended the program to her.

Myers said the program is part of a statewide initiative to prevent child sexual abuse. The materials were provided through a grant. She learned about the program soon after Moore asked her about working with the organization to earn her gold award.

Moore has been a volunteer with Hope’s Place since 2005, when she was in the fifth grade and her Girl Scout troop started volunteering there.

Myers said Moore taking on the program is a good thing for Hope’s Place, which has only four staff members and no part-time employees.

“This is huge for us because we want to get in the community more,” she said. “We want to do prevention.”

When she found out about the program, Myers said she knew who she needed to call.

“There are no other high schoolers that I would consider to do such important material for our community,” she said.

The program focuses on raising awareness of who can be a perpetrator of child sexual abuse, Moore said. It includes a three-part DVD presentation including sexual abuse survivors, experts in the field and other adults talking about how to prevent and respond to sexual abuse. It also features an interactive workbook and a facilitator-led discussion of important issues in preventing sexual abuse.

Moore said she’s nervous about having to deal with some of the intense emotions such a subject can stir, but she had been spending a lot of time preparing so she can bring awareness to the important issue of child sexual abuse.

“It is really about intense things, and it’s things that people don’t talk about,” she said.

People ignoring the issue will only make the number of victims increase, Moore said.

She said she’d like to sign up more groups to participate in the training program. She’d like to see groups from local schools, family resource centers and organizations that work with children, such as Big Brother/Big Sister, sign up.

Those [in Kentucky] interested in participating in Darkness to Light training may call Myers at (606) 325-4737 or email her at erica@hopesplace.org.

Like Big Brothers Big Sisters, the YMCA of the USA relies on its locally run affiliates to implement and enforce child-protection policies, although the national office provides support and guidance.

“Our Y’s have to be diligent on this issue every second of every day,” said Kent Johnson, the national Y’s chief operating officer.

Johnson said about 40 YMCA affiliates are expanding their efforts by working with the Charleston, S.C.-based nonprofit Darkness to Light on programs aimed at raising awareness about sex abuse among adults with no direct connection to the Y. In Delaware, the program has gone statewide, with a goal of training 35,000 people.

“If we’re going to protect kids, we have to engage everyone in their community,” said Cindy McElhinney, director of programs at Darkness to Light.

Read the full article is available here.

With 40 Ys and growing, D2L and The Redwoods Group Foundation, the charitable arm of a progressive risk management provider and social enterprise, are providing tools, resources and funding assistance to help YMCAs operationalize wide spread community awareness and education.  Click here for more information about this unique collaboration.