April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Three local nonprofits – CASA of Larimer County, ChildSafe, and The Crawford Child Advocacy Center – are building awareness of child abuse, but also providing trainings to community members at no cost, so that the community has the tools to recognize, report, and appropriately respond to child abuse and child sexual abuse.
The stigma associated with child abuse and child sexual abuse is a barrier to addressing childhood trauma. Many people feel uncomfortable broaching the topic of child abuse. However, discussing the problem openly decreases the stigmatization survivors feel, promotes timely disclosures of abuse, and decreases the isolation survivors experience. “As a society we often shy away when survivors speak about their experiences, but to prevent it from happening, we need to talk about it,” says Kathleen Baumgardner, ChildSafe Colorado.
CASA, ChildSafe, and The Crawford Child Advocacy Center have all identified stigma as a barrier to preventing abuse from occurring. These Northern Colorado organizations are marking Child Abuse Prevention Month with educational programs and opportunities to drive community conversation and connection.
The three organizations kicked off National Child Abuse Prevention Month as nonprofit partners at the opening night of the ACT Human Rights Film Festival at Colorado State University on Wednesday, March 29. As we move into April there are more activities throughout the month. You may even notice some businesses with blue lights on the outsides of their building throughout April. Businesses like Alpine Bank have committed to a campaign named “Turn NoCo Blue, Child Abuse Prevention Starts with You.”
Featured activities and programming that mark National Child Abuse Prevention Month:
CASA 101 Open House – FREE
Learn more about the Court Appointed Special Advocate program and how to become a volunteer and make a difference in a child’s life. Note: CASA volunteers must be at least 21 years old and pass a background check.
When: Saturday, April 1, 10:00am (virtual versions are available often and at a variety of times – sign up at the same URL)
Location: Harmony House, 3105 E. Harmony Road, Fort Collins, CO
Register: https://www.casalarimer.com/
Trauma-Informed Parenting Class – FREE
A unique, relationship-based approach to parenting traumatized children and those with attachment challenges that provides a trauma-informed explanation of “acting out” behaviors. Caregivers will learn how children escalate through behaviors, as well as how to respond to help their children during these times. The class is appropriate for biological parents, adoptive parents, foster parents, and kinship-care providers.
When: April 17, 2023 – May 3, Mondays & Wednesdays, 6:00pm – 7:30pm
Location: ChildSafe, 2001 S. Shields St, Bldg K, Fort Collins, CO
Register: (970) 472-4133, [email protected]
Discussing Digital Safety with Your Kids – FREE
Today’s kids are saturated with digital media–smartphones, streaming media, online games, websites of every description…the list is always growing. Join us for a frank discussion that will help you understand digital risks, how to respond to them, and how to communicate with your kids about online safety. Some of the topics we cover will include inappropriate content, online privacy, sexting, online enticement, and cyberbullying. Space is limited, so sign up soon.
When: Wednesday, April 19th at 6:00 pm
Location: The Crawford Child Advocacy Center, 5529 S. Timberline Rd., Fort Collins, CO
Register: bit.ly/safer-online
Survivor Voices – FREE
Free community event honoring crime victims and survivors, featuring keynote speaker Ann Marie Doolittle, with additional speakers, candlelight vigil, and a showcase of service providers and advocacy groups. Hosted by the Eighth Judicial District Attorney’s Office in collaboration with the Eighth Judicial District Victim Rights Week Committee.
When: Wednesday, April 26, 5:30pm – 8:00pm
Location: The Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia, Fort Collins, CO
Register (requested, not required): larimer.gov/events/survivor-
Darkness to Light Stewards of Children Training – FREE
This prevention training features real people and real stories about protecting children from sexual abuse. Whether you work with youth, are a parent, or are simply a community member, it is highly likely that someone you know or care for has experienced, or is experiencing, child sexual abuse. The good news is that it can be stopped and this class can make that possible.
When: Thursday, April 27, 5:30pm – 8:00pm
Location: Timberline Church, Room 214, 2908 S Timberline Rd, Fort Collins, CO
Register: bit.ly/D2L-apr27
Timnath Safety Fair – FREE
A family-friendly Town of Timnath event with demonstrations, giveaways, learning opportunities, safety games, food trucks, and much more! Bring the whole family to learn more about the people, organizations, and resources available to keep you and your family safe.
When: Saturday, April 29, 11am – 2:00pm
Location: Timnath Community Park
ChildSafe Community Visit Fridays – FREE
ChildSafe offers tours of the facility on Fridays, an administrative day with no clients onsite and the entire building available. These visits are informative and incorporate time for questions and conversation about abuse and how ChildSafe helps clients find a path to healing.
When: every Friday at 8:30am, 12:30pm, and 3:30pm by reservation
Location: ChildSafe, 2001 S. Shields St, Bldg K, Fort Collins, CO
Register: childsafecolorado.org/visit-
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The three nonprofits involved in this awareness and education campaign work collaboratively on a daily basis, but are collaborating throughout April to raise awareness and provide educational opportunities:
CASA of Larimer County – advocates for safe, nurturing, and permanent connections to family and community so children who have experienced abuse and neglect have the opportunity to thrive. In 2022, CASA served 506 children, supervised 1,629 visits and safe exchanges, and harnessed 9,248 volunteer hours in order to help children across the county and beyond.
ChildSafe Colorado – provides therapy for survivors of childhood abuse, primarily sexual abuse. Their mission is to break the cycle and heal the trauma resulting from childhood abuse and neglect with specialized treatment, education, and community outreach. In 2022, ChildSafe provided therapy and support for 901 individuals and 412 families, responding to 35 referral sources. ChildSafe has a waitlist and is focused on expansion in order to serve more survivors.
The Crawford Child Advocacy Center – works to prevent child maltreatment–primarily physical and sexual abuse–and, when it cannot be prevented, to provide law enforcement and caseworkers with forensic services to help stop perpetrators and to protect and support victims and their families. In 2022, the Crawford Center conducted 318 forensic interviews and provided advocacy services to 887 non-offending caregivers and family members.
Why does this matter?
1 in 10 children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday.
Only about 10% of child sexual abuse is ever reported.
Delayed disclosure of abuse is normal. Disclosing is scary for anyone, and predators play on those fears to try to keep victims quiet.
When adults talk openly, accurately, and regularly with children about their bodies, body safety, and sex, those children are more likely to resist peer pressure and to avoid risky behaviors and abusive relationships. Illuminate Colorado commissioned a statewide survey of Coloradans regarding the prevention of child sexual abuse and found that 51% of parents reported being not very confident or only somewhat confident in their ability to talk to their children about sex.
Per Illuminate Colorado’s findings, 85% of adults surveyed have not participated in any training on child sexual abuse prevention. However, 92% of those who had training believe it was helpful. Training also led to a 40-point increase in a person’s ability to identify grooming behavior, showing concrete impact.
More than 90% of sexually abused children know the offender. Most perpetrators are family members.