- The Nature of the Problem
- Responding to the Problem
- Reporting Abuse
- Policies
- Training
- Resources
- Did You Know...
- I Will Appoint Over You Shepherds After My Own Heart
- USCCB Audit Report
Training
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 of Safeguard the Children 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.
VIRTUS® Protecting God's Children Adult Awareness Training
VIRTUS® Protecting God's Children Adult Awareness Session is a three-hour training that helps clergy, staff, volunteers and parents to understand the facts and myths about child sexual abuse; how perpetrators operate; and how caring adults can take five important steps to keep children safe. The parent session also stresses monitoring of computers, cell phones and other technology that perpetrators use to gain access to children and young people.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles mandates this training for all adults working with children. This education component helps prevent child sexual abuse by first making every adult employee and volunteer aware of the issues surrounding child sexual abuse. This includes awareness of the many ways sexual abuse harms its victims, their families, the parish, and the community. The awareness session also helps adults learn to recognize the warning signs of abuse and shows them the appropriate way to respond to suspicious behavior. Finally, the awareness session empowers each person with five steps to help prevent child sexual abuse. More than 50,000 priests, deacons, parish and school staff members and volunteers have already participated in these sessions throughout the five Pastoral Regions of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Our goal is to provide this training to all adults who work with children so we can work together as a more effective community to prevent child sexual abuse.
For more information, please go online to: www.virtus.org/virtus.
Programs for Children and Young People
Good-Touch/Bad-Touch® for Children is a child abuse prevention curriculum designed for pre-school and Kindergarten through sixth grade students as a tool to teach children the skills they need to prevent or interrupt abuse. It works by teaching children what abuse is, by giving them skills development, and by empowering them into action if threatened or victimized.
An extension of Good-Touch/Bad-Touch® for Children, Establishing Healthy Boundaries© is a personal body safety program for teens, designed to help teachers, counselors and other caring adults have a comfortable, informative discussion with girls and boys in the 7th, 8th and 9th grades about abuse issues. Discussions focus on sexual abuse, sexual harassment and bullying. Information about prevention of date rape for 9th grade girls is also included.
For information: Pam Church, Prevention and Motivation Programs, Inc., P. O. Box 1960, Cartersville, GA 30120; phone: 770 607 9111; fax: 770 607 9600; www.goodtouchbadtouch.com.
