PREVENTION PROGRAM
Darkness to Light’s® Stewards of Children is a revolutionary sexual abuse prevention training program that educates adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. The program believes and teaches that child safety is an adult's job. Stewards of Children is designed for organizations that serve children and youth.
What are the distinctive features of Stewards of Children?
- A comprehensive program that incorporates all of the fundamental mechanics necessary in creating organizational policies and procedures that keep children safe. Ideal for training staff and volunteers on child sexual abuse prevention.
- Includes the “7 Steps to Protecting our Children,” Darkness to Light’s core, evidence-based educational tool for sexual abuse prevention.
- A 2.5-hour training program that integrates the simple principles of choice, consciousness, and personal power to promote an understanding of the nature and impact of child sexual abuse, and that uses those principles to provide a context for empowered action. The curriculum is direct about holding each adult accountable, and generous in providing powerful, specific support for personal change.
- Video component of curriculum integrates personal stories of sexual abuse survivors, sharing their experiences of trauma and healing with the perspectives of professionals working with various issues of sexual abuse.
- The program is motivational and compelling. It calls participants into personal responsibility for the safety of children, while at the same time appreciates their fears and concerns.
How can it be used?
- By organizations that seek training for staff and volunteers in the prevention of child sexual abuse.
- By organizations that need to respond to insurance requirements regarding child protection.
Stewards of Children Works!
- In pre-post evaluations of trainings conducted in 9 different organizations that included faith centers, schools, community-based youth programs, and sports/recreational programs, participants demonstrated a 38% improvement in knowledge about sexual abuse and in attitudes about adult responsibility in the resolution of child sexual abuse after exposure to the Stewards of Children program. Two months after training, participants showed a 29% increase in behaviors focused on the protection of children from sexual abuse (e.g., they directed more questions about child protection policy to staff of youth-serving organizations; they talked more with children about healthy sexuality and protection from sexual abuse)
- On a scale of 1 to 5 participant ratings on the quality and effectiveness of the program was higher than 4 on all questions, indicating that participants find the curriculum compelling.
How is the training delivered?
- Stewards "Live"--a 2.5 hour in person training, led by an authorized facilitator who uses a videotape, interactive workbook, and discussion to train responsible adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse.
- Stewards Online--in April 2006, the 2.5 hour training program will be available in a web-based format.
How does my organization provide Stewards of Children to our staff and volunteers?
- Hire a Darkness to Light facilitator to conduct the training.
- Identify and hire an authorized facilitator in your community to conduct the training.
- Sponsor an individual in your organization to become an authorized facilitator.
- Have your staff members and volunteers complete the training online at www.darkness2light.org.
What is an authorized facilitator?
- An individual who has been educated and equipped by Darkness to Light to deliver the program within a particular organization and the broader community.
- An individual who has access to all of the Stewards of Children training tools.