CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION

The problem of child abuse has become one of the most significant societal problems facing our nation. Recent public opinion polls rank the problem of child abuse second only to drug abuse as a national concern. The Patriots' Path Council ranks as one of the top councils in the nation for its Youth Protection Training Program. It is our goal to have every leader and youth trained in Youth Protection.

Along with conducting Youth Protection training for the Council Scouting units, the Youth Protection Committee is involved in community programs bringing our message to as many youth as possible. Please contact Joseph Gonnella at 973-765-9322 x242 or jgonnell@bsamail.org to find out how we can bring this important message to your organization.

This program is now available on-line. It is appropriate for any parent or adult who works with children.

Our children are often faced with choices affecting their development and safety. Some things are easy to discuss with children-sports, their grades in school, their friends, and many other features of daily lives. Other things are more difficult to discuss, including child abuse-especially child sexual abuse.

Although discussing child abuse with children may be difficult, it is very important. Perhaps the most important thing we can do protect children from abuse is having open communication. Especially between parents and their children. Research has shown that children whose parents talk to them about preventing abuse are more effective at fending off assaults.

More than three million reports of child abuse are received each year, including half a million reports of sexual child abuse. As a major youth serving organization, the Boy Scouts of America has a unique opportunity to help protect the youth of our nation.

The Boy Scouts of America has a variety of resources to help educate and inform Scouts, Scouters and the community about recognizing, resisting and reporting child abuse.

Cub Scout Educational Video: This award winning production provides age-appropriate information about sexual abuse of boys. It Happened to Me is a video for Cub Scout age boys that show common situations in which sexual abuse could occur. The video discusses how child molesters often resort to tricks for gaining access to their victims. It emphasizes that if a boy has been sexual abused, he should talk to his parents or other trusted adults. The video also stresses that it is not the child's fault if he has been sexually abused. It is the child molester who is responsible. This video is available to borrow from either council service center and many packs elect to show it at a special meeting for Scouts and their parents.Meeting and discussion guides supporting the video are also available.

Boy Scout Educational Video: This videotape, A Time To Tell was produced to educate boys 11 to 14 tears of age about sexual abuse. This video introduces the "three Rs" of Youth Protection. Boy Scout troops are encouraged to view the video once each year. This video is available to borrow from either council service center. Meeting and discussion guides supporting the video are also available.

Venturing Educational Video: The videotape Personal Safety Awareness was developed for any young person age 14-20. It is made up of vignettes dealing with the issues of acqaintance rape, Internet safety, stalking and faternization. Each scenario is followed by instructions for local group discussions and a teen panel. This video is available to borrow from either council service center. Meeting and discussion guides supporting the video are also available.

Adult Training Sessions: These sessions are available for Scout leaders, parents, community leaders, and any other adult who works with children. The sessions include a training video, discussion and relevant handouts. The training addresses many questions that Scout volunteers and parents have regarding child sexual abuse. Training is conducted at the council level as well as the unit level by trained facilitators. Community organizations can contact either council service center for information about having this training provided for them or about acquiring handouts and other informational pieces.