Each April, organizations, families, and communities around the country recognize National Child Abuse Prevention Month. The month is a time for us to come together and renew our commitment to working together to support children and families in order to prevent child abuse before it occurs.
MSPCC is a proud member of The Massachusetts Legislative Task Force for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, a coalition comprised of members representing nearly 30 child and family-serving agencies, offices and organizations in Massachusetts.
One of the task force’s key initiatives is Safe Kids Thrive, a website that provides free tools and resources to schools, childcare centers, and other youth-serving organizations to prevent child sexual abuse. The site outlines a proactive prevention framework that can be tailored to organizations of all sizes and includes the following elements:
- Policies and Procedures
- Screening and Hiring
- Codes of Conduct
- Monitoring Behavior
- Safe Environments
- Reporting
- Training
- Sustainability
Do you work in a youth-serving organization? Take the Prevention Check now!
This quick, free prevention tool will use the above framework help you evaluate your organization’s policies and procedures as they relate to preventing child sexual abuse. From ensuring you have a clear screening and hiring procedure for staff and volunteers to providing prevention training to staff and families, there are many things you can do to make sure your organization is doing all it can to prevent child abuse.
For more information and resources (and to learn how to build a child sexual abuse prevention toolkit for your organization), please visit the Safe Kids Thrive Learning Center.