How to Prevent Child Abuse

In addition to providing services to children and families impacted by abuse, the CAC also engages in strategic efforts to prevent it from happening in the first place. Since 2018, we have dedicated full-time staffing to engage our community and provide age-appropriate education for children and teens, along with training for adults who live, work or volunteer with youth.

Prevention Education for Children

Free classes are currently offered in nearly every school district in Berrien County. Through our fundraising efforts, we are expanding this outreach to schools in neighboring Cass County and to include private, parochial and religious-based schools, from preschool through high school. Classes are taught in one classroom at a time, and lessons build on topics year after year as children grow and may face new social or environmental challenges.

Our prevention and outreach supervisor works with area schools to coordinate the facilitation of our programs. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to review the curriculum and reach out to us or their child’s school with any questions or concerns. We also hope that caregivers will continue to talk to their kids’ about these topics at home and we are happy to provide tools and talking points to keep those conversations ongoing.

What age- and grade-appropriate topics are covered?

The CAC uses several research-based curricula to educate kids about:

Body safety and their right to feel safe
How to identify various forms of abuse
How to identify safe adults, safe friends, and how to ask for help
How to recognize and report unsafe situations happening to their peers

We also address issues youth may face among their peers, including bullying and the importance of creating safe environments for everyone, dating safety/healthy relationships, online and digital safety, human trafficking and other key topics.

Curricula:

How does the instructor approach each class?

Talking about abuse doesn’t have to be scary. Each class is friendly and engaging, with age-appropriate conversations, interactive activities and time for questions. Our instructors reinforce a clear message: adults are always responsible for children’s safety.
Students are taught to look for “red flags”, even with those they are close with, because most abuse is perpetrated by someone the child has a trusting relationship with. Understanding that no one is allowed to hurt them or make them feel unsafe is powerful and protective.

Do these prevention classes make a difference?

There is no single data point that captures the full impact of these classes. What we do know is that each year, many students disclose abuse to a CAC prevention instructor or another safe adult in their life and are referred for help and services. Our forensic interviewers and therapists also report that children in our community often use the language learned in prevention lessons to describe their bodies, boundaries and abuse. These classes are one of the most effective tools we have to prevent abuse by teaching students to recognize warning signs and feel confident to speak up, or stopping it from continuing by empowering those who may have already experienced abuse to come forward and speak to a safe adult in their life.

Groups of seated adults in a circle having a discussion

Prevention Education for Adults

All adults in our community have a responsibility to protect the children in their lives. The best way to do this is know how to recognize signs of child abuse and react responsibly.

Who can attend trainings and professional development classes?

Any adult who interacts with, or cares about protecting, children. Our classes are customized for parents, caregivers, teachers, counselors, school administrators, medical, law enforcement and legal professionals, youth organization staff, clergy, church members, civic organizations and caring people from the community.

What topics are covered?

The courses provide key information about sexual, physical and online abuse; children’s body safety rights; child protection legislation; how to report abuse and how to support child victims of abuse and their families.

Trainings/Professional Development Courses

Darkness to Light – Stewards of Children 2.0 (SCECHS available)
Michigan ACEs Community Champion (MACC)
Recognizing + Reporting + Responding to Child Abuse (Mandated and Nonmandated Reporting)
You May be the Only One to Notice: Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention
CAC 101 – Who We Are and What We Do
Keeping Kids Safe in a Digital World (Online Safety for Caregivers