Through education, outreach and awareness we can protect our children and prevent child abuse in Southwest Michigan. Find out how you can take part in our prevention efforts!
Prevention education for adults.
Protecting children from sexual abuse is the responsibility of adults who are emotionally and intellectually equipped to prevent this tragedy.
The Children’s Advocacy Center of Southwest Michigan offers several different prevention training for adults, including:
Children?s Advocacy Center of Southwest Michigan 101
Arrange a presentation at your organization, or at the CAC, to overview our services and staff responsibilities. Learn how we work with a multidisciplinary team to reduce trauma to victims of abuse and help families coordinate services. Tours of our facility can also be arranged.
Mandated Reporting
Created by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, this training is for individuals who are considered Mandated Reporters based on their field of work. This training will overview different types of child abuse and how to properly make a report to Michigan Centralized Intake based on our state laws and obligations.
Website: www.michigan.gov/mandatedreporter
Not sure if you?re a mandated reporter?
Look here to find a list of mandated reporters in the state of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-339-73971_7119_50648_44443-157836–,00.html
Darkness to Light ? Stewards of Children
As authorized facilitators, we are able to offer organizations an in-depth look at the facts surrounding child sexual abuse, recognizing the signs and symptoms, and how to react responsibly to a child who has been victimized. This two-hour training provides the following five preventive steps for parents and other adults concerned with child safety. This program is also available in Spanish. (Este programa tambi?n est? disponible en espa?ol.)
(2 hours of continuing education credits may be available for certain professions)
Website: www.d2l.org
Custom Training
We are also happy to customize training to fit the needs of your group or organization. Please call or email to arrange one of the above training or to discuss other options.
Contact the Children’s Advocacy Center of Southwest Michigan
- By phone: 269-556-9640
- By e-mail: info@swmichigncac.org
Prevention Education for Children.
In 2018 we began partnering with schools in Southwest Michigan to implement a school-based curriculum to educate children about body safety and their right to feel safe. Using the Play it Safe! (www.playitsafe.org) pre-k – 12th-grade curriculum, we educate children, one classroom at a time, using age-appropriate, grade-specific lessons. In our first school year, we provided lessons to almost 5,000 students in Berrien County, with future goals to expand these lessons to all schools in the county. To find out more about these lessons or to advocate for their implementation in your child’s school, please contact the CAC.
Contact the Children’s Advocacy Center of Southwest Michigan
- By phone: 269-556-9640
- By e-mail: info@swmichigncac.org
5 Steps to Protecting Our Children
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Step 1.
Learn the facts.
Understand the risks. Realities should influence your decisions regarding children. Over 90% of sexually abused children are abused by someone known by the child or family.
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Step 2.
Minimize opportunity.
If you eliminate or reduce the potential for children to be in isolated, one-on-one situations with adults or other youth, you dramatically reduce risk.
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Step 3.
Talk about it.
Children often keep abuse a secret, but barriers can be broken down by talking openly about topics like body safety, sex, and boundaries. One of the best defenses against child sexual abuse is our relationship with children.
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Step 4.
Recognize the Signs.
Don’t expect obvious signs when a child is being sexually abused. Signs are often there, but you have to know what to look for. Emotional or behavioral signals are more common and may range from too perfect behavior, to anger and rebellion.
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Step 5.
React Responsibly.
Disclosure, discovery, and suspicions of sexual abuse provide opportunities to intervene on behalf of a child.
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You can help.
You can donate to the Children’s Advocacy Center of Southwest Michigan in support of the Children’s Advocacy Center or the development of our facility. You can bring items to us from our wish list. You can advocate or volunteer for the CAC’s programs. You can encourage your school or other organizations involved with children to adopt strong policies and training programs that will heighten awareness among responsible adults.
And you can immediately report any suspected incidence of child sexual abuse or neglect based on your observations that something is wrong.
Thank you to our sponsors.
The Children’s Advocacy Center of Southwest Michigan would like to recognize the gracious contributions of the following organizations and foundations that have helped fund our program:
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