Sometimes it’s not what a background check turns up, but what a successful screening program can do to alert people of suspect behavior.
Case in point:
A 13-year-old cheerleader from Colorado has come forward claiming her coach sexually assaulted her. She says the alleged abuse happened during private cheerleading lessons on two separate occasions. This news article outlines the recent events of the case.
Colorado does not have a law mandating background checks for employees or volunteers of youth sports organizations. But as more than one news source covering this case has pointed out, it wouldn’t have mattered if the girl’s coach had been screened as he no previous arrest record.
We Can Work Together to Stop Child Abuse
The professionals behind Protect Youth Sports’ comprehensive screening and employee training program beg to differ. There is a wealth of information available supporting the theory that predators often showcase patterns of behavior and that with proper training, people close to predators can spot abusive behavior or other odd or unsettling things in regard to interacting with children. Child safety training also teaches people to watch for cues in children’s behavior when something like abuse or other uncomfortable situations might have occurred.
So, it’s not a true statement, nor a helpful assumption to make, that a background check wouldn’t have uncovered the alleged predators’ predilections. On the contrary, implementing a well-rounded screening program that incorporates child safety training (like the one offered by Protect Youth Sports) may arm people with more knowledge to stop horrific cases like this before they happen.
Some Colorado lawmakers will certainly be paying close attention to this case as it progresses through the court system. A bill requiring youth sports organizations to conduct background checks was proposed and died during the state legislative session earlier this year.
Why Child Safety Training Matters
Cases like this shouldn’t make you feel as though you’re losing the battle in the never-ending war against child predators. Instead, they can become a platform for educating people about the need for child safety training and why it should be incorporated into any background screening program that is being used for children’s programs, like youth sports or youth ministries.
Here’s what makes child safety training so important:
1 out of 5 girls is sexually abused before they turn 12, and 1 of 4 before 18, and 1 out of 8 boys is sexually abused before they turn 12, and 1 of 6 before 18. And even worse, many reports indicate that precisely because sexual predators target trusting environments where children are present, the incidence of child abuse is actually higher in the youth sports community. Statistics do not begin to describe the devastating consequences of child abuse.
Protect Youth Sports has developed a comprehensive online child safety training program that just doesn’t tell people about the dangers of child abuse (sexual and otherwise) but arms them with the tools they need to prevent children falling into the hands of predators. Here’s some of what Protect Youth Sports child safety training program includes:
- Victim Behavior Characteristics – Covers the profiles of potential victims, physical signs or behaviors, behavior or signs of mental stress, the perpetrator at work, and how to heed the warning signs.
- Characteristics of Child Molesters – Covers historical view, how predators choose their victims, grooming behaviors, what you should be on the lookout for, common characteristics of male offenders, and common characteristics of female offenders.
- Recognizing Behaviors – Covers how to watch for grooming behaviors, supervise everyone, avoid false allegations, avoid unmonitored or unsupervised situations, watch for inappropriate physical contact, monitoring the children.
For more information on this unparalleled program, click here to watch FREE instructional videos.
We Must Pass the Test
Together, we must continue to find ways to deter and prevent predators from harming our precious children. Participants of our online child safety training program can’t just coast through the training. They must pass a test to prove they have participated in the program and learned these important tactics to help prevent child abuse. No one’s daughter should have to endure what that little girl is going through in Colorado. If you’re going to implement background checks to protect the children in your youth sports organization, you should go all the way to empower your employees and volunteers to proactively prevent predators from even getting an opportunity to be near our kids.
Give us a call today at 1-877-319-5587 to start working together to protect our children.
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