For Parents & Caregivers

Prevention and partnerships are the cornerstones of our trainings for the general public. We aim to foster partnerships among parents, caregivers, educators, mental health and medical professionals that result in an informed public and safer environment for children.

Mental health consequences of child trauma can be severe. More than 60% of survivors report symptoms of PTSD. They also suffer from depression, anger, and acting out/aggression. Physical illness also is more common in child trauma survivors, including cardiovascular problems and cancer. Child abuse is one of the strongest predictors of suicidal gestures and other risky behaviors.

Consequences also extend to the community. Traumatized children are overrepresented in mental health, juvenile justice, and educational support programs. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a year’s worth of child maltreatment costs $124 billion over the lives of the victims. In addition, incidents of child sexual and physical abuse cost employers of the accused thousands upon thousands of dollars in legal expenses, financial remuneration, and settlements.

In spite of all these ramifications, almost one quarter of caregivers of young children do not talk to them about body safety and abuse prevention out of fear and/or lack of knowledge about how to initiate the conversation. Caregivers who do have the conversation often present inaccurate or vague information.

There is an ongoing need for prevention training that uses empirically-based techniques to empower all adults in finding their voice to protect children from emotional and physical injury.