Child Protection Education Unit Training Program

About the Program

Category: Children and Youth (Best in Category)

Year: 2019

It is the goal of the Prince George's County Department of Social Services to eliminate child maltreatment, sexual and physical abuse, and child neglect in the community. Recognizing that many of its programs were reactive in nature, the Department decided to focus on developing proactive, innovative ways of preventing child abuse and neglect before it occurs. The Prince George's County Department of Social Services' Child Protection Education Unit (CPED Unit) was designed as a preemptive tool to combat child maltreatment in the community. The purpose of the CPED Unit is to engage the community by educating the adults responsible for protecting children and provide concrete actions to take to combat child maltreatment. The intervention utilizes Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children curriculum, an evidenced-informed training program, that influences community behavioral change around the area of child sexual abuse prevention. The goal of the Unit is to train 100% of child serving agencies in the county and 5% of the general population to assist in eradicating child sexual abuse. This County-wide, community-based approach is what makes the CPED Unit unique to other child welfare training programs.