Jewish Family & Children’s Service (JF&CS) has been awarded $20,000 by the Dana Brown Charitable Trust, U.S. Bank, Trustee. The award will support the JF&CS Child Abuse Prevention Program (CAPP), which reached over 38,500 children in 2017, including public and private schools in both St. Louis city and St. Louis county. This contribution will help the CAPP program continue its vital work in 2018.

“This funding provides a chance for JF&CS to prevent child abuse with important tips for ‘safe touch’ and by educating children about signs of abuse. It also ensures we can show our support for students who experienced abuse and connect them to the help they need,” Lou Albert, CEO of JF&CS.

According to the RAINN — the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, one in nine girls and one in 53 boys under the age of 18 experience sexual abuse or assault at the hands of an adult. This abuse has both short-term and long-term effects on victims’ health, including increased likelihood of PTSD, depressive episodes and drug use. For many victims, their perpetrator was a trusted individual. That is why this education is so vital at an early age.

“Our trained staff work with schools to ensure the curriculum we are providing is age appropriate for each group of students we meet,” said Angela McManis, Manager of Community Based Services at JF&CS. “It’s vital that we use teaching methods and terminology that they will understand based on both their social and emotional development.”

To learn more about the Child Abuse Prevention Program at JF&CS visit https://jfcs-stl.org/child-abuse-prevention or call Angela McManis at 314-993-1000.