Welcome to the Prevent Child Abuse Illinois E-mail Newsletter! We look forward to bringing you child abuse prevention information, free trainings, free material, and updates about our prevention efforts throughout the state.

The Annual Child Abuse Prevention Conference is a two-day conference that offers access to national speakers and cutting-edge information in the field of child abuse prevention, intervention and best practices. The 2014 conference theme is: Caring for Today's Children & Safeguarding Their Tomorrow. The conference will be held in Springfield, Illinois, on November 6th and 7th.

Learn more and register today.

Summertime is a great time to be outdoors enjoying the weather and spending time with family and friends. Some of our best times are spent swimming, boating and enjoying the water. Did you know that drowning is the leading cause of death among children under 4 and the second-leading cause of death in children 1 to 14 years old? A young child can drown quickly in as little as two inches of water. Drowning is a silent killer. You won't see wild splashing or hear yells for help. Most drownings happen during a brief lapse in supervision, when a caregiver becomes distracted or involved in another activity. The good news is that drowning tragedies can be prevented by supervising children at all times when they are in or near water.     

 

 

 

June is Internet Safety Month! With a few days left in June, it's not too late to help protect your kids online. Kids are gearing up for summer vacation and they'll be spending plenty of time online. This is a great opportunity to make sure you're doing all you can to educate them about Internet safety.

Here are five things you can do this month to help protect them online.

1. Review privacy settings and friends/followers.
2. Play games with them.
3. Encourage them to be upstanders, not bystanders.
4. Talk about sexting.
5. Learn how to report.  
   
   Source: The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 
    

Shaken Baby Syndrome Train-the-Trainer Workshops educate the public about the dangers of shaking an infant and teach professionals and volunteers the skills needed to become comfortable conducting community Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) presentations.

 

  

 Get the most current information.  

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is joining the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and other child safety organizations in the release of "Safe Sleep for Babies," a new crib safety video aimed at helping all new parents and caregivers avoid suffocation, strangulation and entrapment risks in the sleep environment.

 

The video is about 12 minutes long and is available in both English and Spanish.

 

Watch the video.  

 

 

 

Check out our updated Effects of Substance Abuse on Children page on our website!   

 

For more information about substance abuse and families, contact Tarra Winters at 618-583-2116 or [email protected]. 

Check it out.  

 

 

 

 

Fun, Sun, and Safety

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and schools are out for the summer. It is officially the season for camps, cookouts, and family activities. Amid all the excitement of summer, how can parents create environments that are safer for their kids to enjoy?

 

Know Where Your Kids Are
For the next few months, it seems like kids are here, there, and everywhere. Make sure you know where yours plan to be so you can pre-verify who will be there and what protective measures will be in place. For instance, no matter where your children are playing, interactions with adults and other youth should be both observable and interruptible.

 

Plan Ahead
If you're going to a busy place with many kids, like a park or a family gathering, consider hiring or designating a verified person to help monitor kids. To avoid last-minute substitutions, make arrangements ahead of time for a babysitter or nanny, and prepare a call list of backup sitters in case an issue does come up.

 

Choose Activities Wisely
Whether it's a summer camp, sports clinic, or church retreat, parents should make sure there are policies in place that protect children from sexual abuse. Protective policies should include background checks, staff training on spotting and reporting abuse, and a written code of conduct on acceptable and unacceptable behaviors for which all staff members are held accountable.

With a little preparation and planning, you can help create safer summer memories for your little loved ones.

Source: Darkness to Light, www.d2l.org. 

For more information about our child sexual abuse prevention program, contact Jennifer Samartano at j[email protected]. 

 

 

 

STAY CONNECTED

    
www.preventchildabuseillinois.org