Abuse Prevention Workshops for Parents with Teens, Professionals

The Town of New Canaan and The Masonic Club of Darien will host The Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling and Education for presentations aimed at preventing and identifying child sexual abuse and assault.

Topics include Understanding and Reporting Child Sexual Abuse and Social Media, Sexting, and Our Children, at each venue respectively.

A day long, community-wide training will be held at New Canaan Town Hall on Oct. 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sponsored by New Canaan Community Foundation, “Communities that Care: Understanding and Reporting Child Sexual Abuse” is aimed at professionals working with children in lower Fairfield County.

In July 2015, Connecticut legislators passed An Act Protecting School Children, which expands reporting requirements for mandated reporters and increases penalties for not reporting. This comprehensive professional development opportunity will provide participants with an understanding of the new legislation, knowledge about how to identify, prevent and respond to child sexual abuse, and their requirements as a mandated reporter. Opening remarks will be given by New Canaan First Selectman Robert Mallozzi and Cynthia Gorey, Executive Director of New Canaan Community Foundation.

Featured presentations include:

• Understanding Child Sexual Abuse, The Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling and Education

• Less is More: Minimal Facts for Discoverers, Kari Pesavento, Human Services Council/Children’s Connection

• Mandated Reporter Training, Department of Children and Families

For more information contact The Center at 203-348-9346 press 1 and then 0.

Then o​n Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. the Masonic Club of Darien will be hosting The Center for a workshop aimed to parents on social media and sexting.

Children and teenagers are exposed to far more content on the Internet than they can handle on their own, and parents need to step in to guide the way. This workshop “Social Media, Sexting and Our Children: What Parents Need to Know” will give participants an overview on information of popular social media and how kids are using it, as well as the intersection between social media, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. Sexting (what it is, why kids are doing it, and its social, emotional, and legal ramifications) will be covered in detail.

Led by staff from The Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling & Education, parents will receive tips on how to have proactive discussions around a challenging topic to keep their children safe.

To reserve a seat, contact Anthony Simari at 917-881-4403.