Monday, September 14, 2009

ARCHDIOCESE — The Partnering to Protect Children child abuse and peer abuse prevention is beginning its seventh year of operation in Archdiocese of Cincinnati schools. Since 2003, a total of 36,929 students, 816 parents and 632 school staff members at 119 schools have taken part in the school-based program conducted by the Council on Child Abuse under contract from the archdiocese.

The Council developed the program to help educators, parents and children in grades K-12 define and identify child abuse, peer abuse/bullying and other inappropriate behaviors, and teach strategies to address these problems in schools.

At the archdiocesan schools involved in the program since 2003, the Council reports that there have been: 1,170 children identified as needing intervention of some sort; 727 disclosures of current, previous or possible bullying; 255 disclosures of family or other concerns; 61 disclosures of current, previous or possible sexual abuse; 41 reports to Children’s Services; 36 disclosures of current, previous or possible physical abuse. Before the creation of Partnering to Protect Children as an archdiocese-coordinated and funded program, the Council on Child Abuse had supplied programs to 90 archdiocesan schools on an individual basis from 1990 to 2002. Those efforts reached almost 26,000 students, almost 800 parents and 350 staff members.