Teaching Touching Safety Touching Safety Teaching A Safety - PDF document

Teaching Touching Safety Touching Safety Teaching A Safety Education Program for Students in the Catholic Schools of the Diocese of Paterson Today’ ’s Agenda s Agenda Today • Background and lead-up to this program • Approaching the topic • Responsibilities of the Trainer/Coordinator • Program Overview • Review of lessons and materials • Program specifics and requirements • Questions/discussion 1

The Program Mandate The Program Mandate Dioceses are to maintain “safe environment” programs which the diocesan bishop deems to be in accord with Catholic moral principles. They are to be conducted cooperatively with parents, civil authorities, educators, and community organizations to provide education and training for children, youth, parents, ministers, educators, volunteers, and others about ways to make and maintain a safe environment for children and young people. - Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 2005 revision, Article 12 Origins of this Program Origins of this Program • Response and commitment by the Bishops as expressed in the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People • Diocesan selection of the Virtus program • Implementation of education program: – Clergy and Employees – Volunteers – Parents and all concerned adults 2

Program Status Program Status • More than 600 training workshops have been conducted for adults in our diocese. • Training workshops are implemented by a group of trained volunteer facilitators • More than 19,000 adults in our diocese have attended training sessions. The Missing Piece The Missing Piece • Child education: to provide education and training for children, youth , parents, ministers, educators, volunteers, and others • Our goal is to empower our students so that they can recognize inappropriate behavior by others, and practice appropriate relationship boundaries in their own lives. 3

Why Virtus Virtus? ? Why • Child protection education programs are not new. • There is a need for program consistency. • Allowance needs to be made for individual school preferences. Criteria for Selection Criteria for Selection The program selected must: • Approach the topic from a Catholic viewpoint • Recognize budget limitations and be cost effective • Respect the demands made upon the curriculum of the school and instructional time • Be able to be presented by a classroom teacher in the normal classroom setting 4

Approaching the Topic Approaching the Topic Ms. Peggy Zanello NJ Certified Domestic Violence Therapist Diocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator Consultant to the Diocesan Review Board The Trainer/Coordinator The Trainer/Coordinator • Each school should have two Trainer/Coordinators • The Trainer/Coordinators will: – Provide program orientation for other teachers – Download and arrange for distribution of program materials as needed – Serve as a “point of contact” for teachers – Report on program implementation status to the Catholic Schools Office and Office of Youth Protection 5

The Trainer/Coordinator The Trainer/Coordinator • The Trainer/Coordinator is not: – The school’s Child Protection expert – The only point of contact for parent questions or concerns – The “Response Officer” for the school • Implementation of the Virtus Program DOES NOT change the established procedures for reporting suspected abuse Program Overview Program Overview Program is offered at four levels: • Grades K through 2 • Grades 3 through 5 • Grades 6 through 8 • Grades 9 through 12 6

Program Overview Program Overview • Total of 6 unique lessons • Three year cycle • Two lessons per year – timing is up to the school • The same themes are covered at each grade level • Each lesson is approximately 45 minutes Year 1 Topics Year 1 Topics Lesson 1: Touching Safety Rules Students learn simple rules about what to do and how to react when someone’s touch is confusing, scary, or makes the child or young person feel uncomfortable. Young people start to deal with the real risks they face when they are out in the world and on their own, and they begin to learn where to draw boundary lines in relationships. Lesson 2: Safe Friends, Safe Adults, and Safe Touches Children, young people, and their parents establish basic guidelines for working together to make certain which friends and other adults in their environment can be trusted to act safely and in the best interest of each child or young person. 7

Year 2 Topics Year 2 Topics Lesson 3: Boundaries Students learn about personal boundaries and how identifying and honoring those boundaries can give a child or young person the self-assurance needed to speak up when someone tries to step over the line. Lesson 4: Telling Someone You Trust Children and young people learn who to tell when something makes them feel uncomfortable or confused. This lesson also begins to explore the phenomenon and power of “secrets” in a child’s life at various ages. Year 3 Topics Year 3 Topics Lesson 5: Grooming Students learn about the types of behavior that may indicate that an adult is grooming the child or young person for something more than friendship. It also helps students learn to trust their own instincts about what is “okay” and what is “not okay.” Lesson 6: “No secrets” Reinforcing and building on the lessons from Year 2, this lesson deals with peer groups and other influences (including grooming by an abuser) that prevent children and young people from reporting inappropriate behavior. It also helps children and young people develop their own decision-making process to use in these situations. 8

Introductory Videos Introductory Videos • The introductory video is 6 to 8 minutes long • Three separate videos are on the DVD: – Grade K – 5 – Grade 6 – 8 – Grade 9 – 12 • Videos are designed to be “conversation starters” Review the Year 1 Lessons Review the Year 1 Lessons • Your packet contains both lessons for Year 1 at all grade levels • Please spend some time reviewing and discussing the lessons • Please group yourselves by level Time for activity: 15 minutes 9

Program Procedures Program Procedures • Download and distribute lesson plans • Present an information session for parents • Offer parents the chance to “opt-out” • Log and report details of the training • Consider offering the Protecting God’s Children for Parents and Guardians program in your school Download Materials Download Materials All lesson plans and supporting materials are available at: http://www.virtusonline.org 10

Important Note Important Note All Trainer/Coordinators must be registered at the Virtus Online website. You will need your user name and password in order to continue. • If you are not registered, please see me for directions at the end of the workshop. • If you are registered, but have forgotten your user name and/or password, please contact Kathy Walsh. Download Materials Download Materials Enter your User ID and Password, and click Login Login 11

Click on the Educators Educators tab On this page, you can download a copy of the Overview. 12

Further down the page, you can download a copy of the Teaching Touching Safety guide for parents. Also on this page, you can download the “opt-out” form for parents. (More about this later.) 13

To get to the Lesson Plans, click on the Continue Continue button at the bottom of this page. Select a grade level from the drop-down list, then click Continue Continue. 14

Select the Lesson Plan from the drop-down list, then click Continue Continue. On the Lesson Plan page, click the green arrow towards the bottom of the page to download the lesson plan. 15

The Lesson Plan will download to your computer. You can print the lesson plan or save a copy of it to your computer. The “ “Opt Opt - - Out Out” ” Process Process The • Before the program is presented to students, send home a copy of the “Opt-out” form, along with a copy of the Program Overview guide for parents. • Do NOT distribute the actual lesson plans to parents. • You may want to schedule a Parent Information Meeting to offer parents a chance to see the program and ask questions. • In accord with Diocesan policy, parents/ guardians have the right to remove their children from participation in programs to which they have serious objection. 16

The “ “Opt Opt - - Out Out” ” Process Process The • If a student is “opted-out”, this parental decision remains in effect for the current school year. • Parents must be offered the opportunity to “opt- out” before the program is conducted each year. • Students who are “opted-out” are NOT to be penalized in any way. • The school retains a copy of the signed form, and another copy is sent to the diocesan Office of Youth Protection. Reporting on the Program Reporting on the Program • Opt-out forms are to be sent to the Office of Youth Protection, and a copy kept on file at the school. • After each lesson is completed, the Trainer/Coordinator is to complete the Training Record, either on-line or on paper. • The Trainer/Coordinator should report any concerns or issues encountered to the school Principal, the Catholic Schools Office, and the Office of Youth Protection. 17