Madeline Kvale
First Witness Child Advocacy Center
mkvale@firstwitness.org
LAKE COUNTY, MN – First Witness Child Advocacy Center is seeking organizations in Lake County interested in receiving Safe and Strong Communities training.
Safe and Strong Communities is a prevention training presented to adults in youth-serving agencies, faith organizations, sports leagues, and beyond. Participants learn how to recognize, respond to, and report child abuse. Safe and Strong Communities delves into dynamics of child abuse, how to respond to a child in a trauma-informed way, red flags of child abuse, child resilience, Safe and Strong Child© body safety curriculum, and more.
Community-based prevention is key to help everyone stay safe in our communities. The Safe and Strong Communities prevention training supports adults as they interact with and hear disclosures from children, setting the stage for the beginning of each child’s healing process.
This training also meets the requirements for Mandated Reporter Training. Mandated Reporters are “professional or professional’s delegate who [are] engaged in the practice of the healing arts, social services, hospital administration, psychological or psychiatric treatment, child care, education, correctional supervision, probation and correctional services, or law enforcement; [or] employed as a member of the clergy and received the information while engaged in ministerial duties” (MN Statute 260E.06). An adult does not need to be a mandated reporter to take this training, and all adults who interact with children would benefit.
Safe and Strong Communities can be offered as an in-person or virtual live training by one of First Witness’ trainers; the method of training would be dependent on community needs. There is no cost for organizations in Lake County to take this training. Interested organizations should contact the First Witness Operations Director, Madeline Kvale at mkvale@firstwitness.org or 218-727-8353.
