Thousands of children and adults trained on how to spot, combat abuse (Child Abuse Prevention Month)

The Archdiocese of Newark’s Department for the Protection of the Faithful teaches adults and children how to recognize, report, and prevent child sexual abuse and exploitation.

The Virtus ® Empowering God’s Children program gives children in grades K–12 tools to understand the dangers of predators and how to identify and stop inappropriate behavior.

By doing so, the Archdiocese of Newark’s Department for the Protection of the Faithful hopes to inspire boys and girls to trust their instincts about potential abusers and seek help if they are being harmed in their relationships, interactions with strangers, and possibly well-known and respected adults in their lives.

Last year the Archdiocese of Newark expanded its protection of the faithful training programs to the approximately 60,500 public school children who attend faith formation programs in grades K-8 within Bergen, Hudson, Union, and Essex counties. This is in addition to the 20,000 Catholic school students in grades K-12 already served by the training program within the archdiocese.

Archdiocesan employees and volunteers, through the Virtus ® Protecting God’s Children workshop, are taught to see the signs of possible child sexual abuse and exploitation, and how to repond to, and report it.

The seminar for adults is mandatory for all newly hired employees, all clergy, and all volunteers who work with minors so the Archdiocese can ensure every adult within its parishes, schools, and pastoral center understands how to appropriately interact with young people and keep them from harm.

Adult participants watch two videos – the first  explains the nature and scope of child sexual abuse and exploitation, including its effect on young people and the reasons youth often have difficulty disclosing it. The video even features interviews with two abusers not associated with the Archdiocese of Newark, who share insights on their methodical and unsettling process of how they have groomed, abused, and exploited their vulnerable prey. The second contains a five-step plan on how to recognize, respond to, and report child sexual abuse and exploitation.

So far, over 100,000 archdiocesan personnel have taken the course since its 2002 launch — 350-450 classes are held every year.

The Archdiocese of Newark is committed to helping survivors of childhood sexual abuse heal. Gina Criscuolo, the Coordinator of the Office of Accompaniment, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, provides compassionate and supportive assistance to those who have been harmed in the church.Please visit www.rcan.org and click Safe Environment, or call 201-407-3256.

Millions of children and adults in the Church have been trained to spot abuse since the establishment of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in 2002, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Allegations are now reported directly to law enforcement. Criminal background checks required for anyone working with children and the vulnerable within the Catholic Church are now the norm. The Charter includes guidelines for reconciliation, healing, accountability, and prevention of future abuse.

The Empowering God’s Children curriculum covers a variety of topics designed to give young people the tools they need to protect themselves from those who might harm them. Lessons include the importance of recognizing personal boundaries and how one should react if confused by someone’s touch.

“No one has the right to make them feel uncomfortable,” Director Karen Clark said, adding the classes also train students not to be afraid of alerting people to abuse. “They will be believed if they tell someone.”

The courses also teach children and teens about the behaviors that indicate an abuser is grooming them. To address the internet’s prevalence in young people’s lives, the program makes sure to warn students about the dangers of communicating with strangers online as well.

The Department for the Protection of the Faithful believes it’s crucial to start educating boys and girls early so they grow up understanding how to avoid abusive situations with lessons beginning in kindergarten and continuing through high school.

No age is too young to talk to kids about safety, Clark said.

“Even for adults, it’s hard for us to disclose when abuse happens. So how much more difficult is it for children to disclose what’s happening if they’re not taught they can talk about it?” Clark said.  Early results of the program’s expansion into the faith formation program include parents who say this is the ‘ice breaker’ they needed to start having discussions like these with their children.  In addition, one mother was amazed that her young son, who often didn’t verbally express himself, told his brother “stay away, that’s MY body,” echoing the words of a song used in the Empowering God’s Children program he had attended at his parish.

That’s why it’s important to teach children as well as teenagers who often lack the language to describe what they’re feeling — like if someone gives them a bad vibe, but they can’t explain why — which prevents them from speaking out.

To counteract this, the Protecting God’s Children program trains adults to help children label emotions they can’t easily put into words. Having a keyword or catchphrase they can use is so important for kids. An ‘icky’ feeling or an ‘uh oh’ feeling may be easier to say to their parent or other safe adult.  Knowing that few children lie when they disclose, another fact taught in the Virtus ® program, also helps parents to believe the child and take the disclosure seriously.

The program encourages adult participants to not only report within their parish or school but also to either call 911 or inform the Division for Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P, formerly DYFS) when they feel a child is being or has been abused. In addition, if they just have seen troubling behavior that did not rise to this level, and the person has left the parish or school, they should alert the Department for the Protection of the Faithful. The Department will then flag the individual on Virtus ®, the Archdiocese’s master compliance database, to be able to communicate the concern when and if the person ever applies to be a volunteer or employee at another parish or school.

And ultimately, the goal is to educate and empower as many youths as possible through Empowering God’s Children. One of the best ways to protect young people is to make them advocates for themselves.

“It’s not just adults who are empowered to help keep kids safe,” Clark said. “Children should be given the tools they can use to  help protect themselves, and they need to realize this is NEVER their fault”

With these safeguards and training, the department believes Protecting God’s Children and Empowering God’s Children are huge assets in its mission to fight child sexual abuse and exploitation.

For more information on the Department for the Protection of the Faithful and its Empowering God’s Children program, visit https://www.rcan.org/offices-and-ministries/child-youth-protection.