WORKING GROUP NEWS
Protecting Our Children
Working Group
Submitted by Mary Lanigan
For full coverage of the first quarter of 2004 actions,
go to Protecting
Our Children on the VOTF Web site. The following
report on the 3/27 training session supplements the
web site report. This effort represents an enormous
success in the VOTF Protecting our Children drive toward
collaborative education in the implementation of safeguards
for our children.
The seventeen participants in Talking About Touching
training on March 27 shared definitions of "abuse";
focused on teaching safety rules about touching and
practicing safety steps (including assertiveness training
– saying "no," moving away, and telling a trusted "bigger
person"); and addressing issues of blame and of secrets.
We practiced together, using the excellent teaching
materials and visuals of the TAT training kit. From
beginning to end, Kathy Kelly, Senior Trainer in Massachusetts
for the Children's Trust Fund (which also conducted
training in TAT for the RCAB), engaged a committed and
energetic group of participants in dialogue and in hands-on
practice. Our experience with the grades 1-4 curriculum
qualifies us to teach the program to children and to
conduct information sessions with parents. We now know
and accept our responsibilities as mandated reporters
and, as was our stated purpose, are "enabled to assist
within our parishes in guarding against child sexual
abuse, removing abusers, and educating parents and children
in the best methods of ensuring the safety of our children."
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