| By: Committee for Children The Second Step Child Protection Unit: A New Approach to Protecting Children from Abuse and Neglect Committee for Children has long been at the forefront of the effort to prevent child sexual abuse. In fact child sexual abuse prevention was the goal of Committee for Children's first published curriculum, the Talking About Touching program. Committee for Children has come a long way since then, bringing the power of social-emotional learning into schools around the world with the Second Step program and helping prevent bullying with the Second Step: Bullying Prevention Unit. Much has also changed in the field of child abuse prevention since the release of the Talking About Touching program, so Committee for Children recently returned to its roots and created the Child Protection Unit, a new Second Step unit designed to help protect children from sexual abuse and other forms of abuse and neglect. Read More
| By: Committee for Children Four Tips for Creating a Safe and Supportive Classroom It's Monday morning, and your student Charlie storms in, pushing people and throwing things. With Charlie, there are lots of days like this, especially after the weekend. But what you do next can make a big difference to Charlie's day, to your day, and to his overall experience in school. Senior Program Developer Bridgid Normand gives four practical tips for creating an environment in which Charlie and all your other students can learn. Read More
| By: Committee for Children Celebrating the Gains Made in Children’s Safety We don't have to tell you that helping children and youth feel safe enough to learn can feel like a difficult job. And there are moments when our protection efforts feel woefully ineffective and inadequate. But Dr. Lisa Jones, a psychologist at the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center, hopes you'll take a moment realize that all the hard work you and your colleagues are doing is paying off. Read More
| By: Committee for Children Book review: Talk About Touch by Sandra Kleven. Illustrated by Patrick Minock Reading Level: Preschool–Grade 2 Set in a traditional Alaska Native village, Talk About Touch is an exceptionally gentle, caring story about children and parents talking about personal safety and, in particular, sexual abuse. Eric is a young boy whose father, while working with him on their snowmobile, broaches… Read More
| By: Committee for Children Train Your Staff, Protect Your Students By Tonje Molyneux & Matt Pearsall Awareness about the issue of child abuse and neglect is on the rise, both among educators and the general public. This increase in awareness is good news for children who may be suffering from abuse or neglect. State and local governments across the United States are drafting new laws to help protect children. Many of these initiatives—such as Read More
| By: Tonje Molyneux SEL Helps Schools Create Safe, Supportive Learning Environments Schools can be a sanctuary where all children—including those who need it most—experience safety and support. And when children feel safe and supported, they are ready to learn. Learn how SEL can help to create a safe and supportive learning environment. Read More
| By: Allison Schumacher The (Near) Future of Abuse Prevention: A Conversation with Joan Duffell Child Abuse Prevention Month (April) is just around the corner, so PR Manager Allison Wedell Schumacher sat down with Joan Cole Duffell, executive director of Committee for Children, to talk about the organization's past, present, and future in abuse prevention, and about our new Child Protection Training that will be released later… Read More
| By: Committee for Children Working Together to Prevent Child Abuse We continue to hear stories about child abuse and child sexual abuse in the media. Sometimes these stories make the headlines, and more often they do not. We know that far too many children and families are affected. In 2009, there were 3 million reports of child abuse and neglect involving 6 million children. Of these, approximately 8 percent were reports of sexual abuse. We also know that more than 90 percent of these children knew the perpetrator of… Read More