Second Step: Child Protection Unit
Let’s begin the conversation.
The Second Step: Child Protection Unit program is an evidence-based program from Committee for Children.
This curriculum introduces the topic of child sexual abuse within a general safety curriculum. The program realizes the role of the parent by including them in the curriculum and teaches children to get help if they need it.
Each year we partner with many local schools and agencies so that more than 1,800 local preschool children in the Quad Cities learn learn basic rules designed to help keep them safe from a variety of dangerous or abusive situations. The curriculum discusses safe travel, gun safety, fire safety, touching safety and many other safety lessons. The curriculum teaches children the touching rule and opens the doors for adults to talk to children about the importance of keeping private body parts private.
EveryChild trains teachers and community volunteers in child sex abuse prevention and the Second Step: CPU program. These volunteers then incorporate the safety curriculum into the already existing preschool day.
Parent Meeting
Child sex abuse will never be stopped if we expect children to keep themselves safe. It is essential that adults take the initiative to keep children safe by talking to children about their sexual development, keeping lines of communication open with children and being aware of predator behavior. Adults must work together to keep children safe. As part of the Second Step: CPU curriculum, we offer a parent meeting to help parents understand what the curriculum will cover and how to teach safety rules to your children.
We will also cover what sex abuse is, indicators of abuse, how to handle uncomfortable situations, what healthy child sexual development is and how you can protect your children. Join us for this important event at your child’s school so that we can all work together to keep children safe!
In addition to these parent meetings we offer many other community programs and events educating adults on how to protect children.
Throughout the curriculum letters will be sent home from school and will describe themes of lessons and offer suggested activities for parents to do at home with their children. We know that children learn more when the same lessons are taught at home and at school!
Please note: parents are required to sign a permission form for their child to participate.
Curriculum
The program is 16 weeks long with one session per week lasting about 20 minutes or 6 weeks long with 1 session per day lasting 5-10 minutes. The sessions are built in to the child’s day in their classroom.
Unit 1: Ways to Stay Safe
Unit 2: The Always Ask First Rule
Unit 3: Safe and Unsafe Touches
Unit 4: The Touching Rule
Unit 5: Practicing Staying Safe
Unit 6: Reviewing Safety Skills
Learn more
To learn more about this program, contact Heather Lamb at HeatherL@foreverychild.org.
Learn more now
According to Prevent Child Abuse America, 20 percent of American women and 5 percent to 16 percent of American men have experienced some form of sexual abuse as a child.
One-third to one-half of child sexual abuse victims are under the age of 7.
Child sexual abuse for children with disabilities is 1.75 greater than those without.
The issue transcends stereotypes and is present everywhere.
The abuser is almost always someone the family knows.
Protecting children is the responsibility of all adults. Educate yourself and be part of the solution by checking our Child Sex Abuse Prevention page.