Child Sexual Abuse Prevention
Child Sexual Abuse is a Public Health Problem in Pennsylvania
The true character of a society is revealed in how it treats its children.
Each year, an average of 2,300 children across Pennsylvania are victims of child sexual abuse (CSA). Children who experience CSA are at risk for a lifetime of adverse outcomes including poor physical and mental health, poor interpersonal relationships, and increase the potential for future victimization. The prevention of CSA is unique, complex and multifaceted. To effectively prevent CSA, we believe, requires the coordinated effort of multiple sectors within a community.
Project Safe & Smart | Smarter Parents. Safer Kids.
Smarter Parents. Safer Kids. is an active research project of the Applied Innovative Methods to Prevent Child Maltreatment Lab at New York University (NYU). Led by Kate Guastaferro, Assistant Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences, NYU and Co-Director of the Center for the Advancement and Dissemination of Intervention Optimization, and a CMSN Affiliate, the research team has adapted an evidence-based selective prevention curriculum focused on creating a protective environment for kids and empowering and supporting caregivers. This universal group-based program is delivered to parents of children under 13 and teaches parents about healthy sexual development, communicating with children about sexual boundaries, ensuring safety, and obtaining help and resources.
This work, known as Project Safe & Smart, leverages a long-standing collaboration between the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network to prevent child sexual abuse on a wide scale, in partnership with community partners across Pennsylvania to implement evidence-based child sexual abuse prevention programs.
Program Sites:
Below you will find a list of PA sites offering the Smarter Parents program. Parents are encouraged to register or learn more by following the instructions listed on the webpage of the organization that they are interested in registering with for the Smarter Parents program offerings:
CAC of NEPA (Children's Advocacy Center of Northeast PA)
1710 Mulberry Street Scranton, PA 18510
For more information, contact Michele Smith (Project Safe and Smart Lead Educator) at 570-969-7313 or e-mail msmith@cacnepa.org
135 W Market St, West Chester, PA 19382
REGISTER HERE: https://form.jotform.com/242045062167147
- Wednesday, December 18, 2024 6:00-8:00 pm
Centre Safe & Centre County YSB (Youth Service Bureau)
325 W Aaron Drive, State College, PA 16803
REGISTER HERE: https://ccysb.com/project-safe-and-smart/smart-parents-workshop-registration/
- Thursday, December 19th, 3pm-5pm (via Zoom)
Registration closes 24 hours before the workshop date.
WOAR - Philadelphia Center Against Sexual Violence
1617 John F Kennedy Blvd Suite #800, Philadelphia, PA 19103
REGISTER HERE: https://form.jotform.com/241914704843054
- every Thursday, 10:00 am-12:00 pm, 1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd, Suite 800
- every Thursday, 2:00-4:00 pm, Virtual: (via Zoom)
- every Thursday, 6:00-8:00 pm, Virtual: (via Zoom)
NOVA (Network of Victim Assistance)
2370 York Road, Suite B1, Jamison, PA 18929
Mission Kids – Child Advocacy Center of Montgomery County
180 W Germantown Pike, East Norriton, PA 19401
Information about Mission Kid's Smarter Parents program is available here: https://missionkidscac.org/education-prevention/smarter-parents/
Point of contact: Michelle McDyre (mmcdyre@missionkidscac.org; 484-687-2990 ext. 1016)
Northern Dauphin County (Harrisburg) YMCA
500 N Church St, Elizabethville, PA 17023
various locations
28 S Queen St., York, Pennsylvania 17403
COMPLETED PROJECTS
The Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative
This was a state-wide prevention trial focused on the coordinated implementation of three evidence-based child sexual abuse prevention programs targeting three distinct populations: (1) adults in the broader community received Stewards of Chlidren; (2) second grade students in public elementary schools received Safe Touches; and (3) parents enrolled in parent education programs received Smart Parents - Safe and Healthy Kids (predecessor to Smarter Parents. Safer Kids.). Between 2017 and 2021, four sites (representing five counties in Pennsylvania) trained 14,660 adults in the community, 14,235 second grade students, and 115 parents. This project demonstrated that when implemented in a coordinated, systematic manner CSA prevention programs can reach a high number of targeted individuals successfully. This project laid the foundation for Project Safe and Smart.
Five Pennsylvania counties (Bucks, Cambria, Chester, Somerset, and York) participated in SHCI via a competitive application process facilitated by PCCD.