Centre County Stewards of Children Program Trains Thousands to Recognize Child Abuse

In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal that broke five years ago this month, four groups banded together for a specific cause — recognizing child sex abuse and the responsible ways of handling those situations. 

Through the national effort known as Darkness to Light, the YMCA of Centre County, Centre County Women’s Resource Center, Centre County Youth Service Bureau and the Centre County United Way created a local Stewards of Children program to help educate adults and community organizations to identify signs of child sex abuse and discuss the proper ways to begin rectifying the problems.

The program is designed for organizations that serve youth and for individuals concerned about the safety of children. It is the only nationally distributed, evidence-based program proven to increase knowledge, improve attitudes and change child protective behaviors.

Since the program was initiated locally in March 2012, 6,554 people have received the training in Centre County.

‘I can personally say, that at every training, at least one or two people will come up to me and tell me they were once victims of child sexual abuse, or they know someone who they think is being abused,’ said Jamie SanFilippo, director of community outreach with the YMCA of Centre County. ‘We want people to talk about this. We need them to.’

According to SanFilippo, there are scheduled trainings; however, she also noted that certified facilitators will make visits to groups and organizations to provide the training.

‘We’ll do training for anyone who wants it,’ she said. ‘There’s no minimum number of people needed or a maximum number. We’d be glad to travel to you to get our word out and keep talking about it. We never want to stop talking about it.’

The two-hour workshops emphasize child safety as an adult’s responsibility. Each participant is inspired to take personal responsibility in preventing this epidemic. SanFilippo said each workshop is split in halves, and during each half, a 35- to 40-minute video is viewed, followed by discussions.

Topics include:

■ Facts about the problem of child sexual abuse.

■ The types of situations in which child sexual abuse might occur.

■ Simple, effective strategies for protecting children from sexual abuse.

■ The importance of talking about the prevention of sexual abuse with children and other adults.

■ The signs of sexual abuse so that someone might intervene and be able to react responsibly.

SanFilippo said since the program’s inception nearly five years ago, only minor adjustments were made, including shortening each workshop from three hours to just two.

‘I think it’s more effective with the shorter trainings,’ she said. ‘Everything is just streamlined better.’

She said she doesn’t foresee any changes to the program in the near future; however, she didn’t rule out the possibility that education in the trainings could change as society dictates.

‘We’re still going strong after almost five years of operating,’ said SanFilippo. ‘Every day we receive calls from people who want this training, and we’re more than glad to help. I think it’s doing great things for Centre County.’

There are two more free training sessions available in 2016, including Thursday, Dec. 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Penns Valley YMCA, and Tuesday, Dec. 13, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Youth Service Bureau in State College.

For more information, contact SanFilippo at (814) 237-7717 or visit www.ymca.org.