A special guest post from D2L Certified Instructor (and former SCAN employee) Tracy Leonard: Although my family left Northern Virginia and I have left SCAN, I haven’t left the work. While at SCAN, I was fortunate enough to not only receive the training to become a Darkness to Light Authorized Facilitator, but also a Certified Instructor. […]
As a leader in the prevention of child abuse and neglect in Northern Virginia, SCAN is dedicated to educating the community about the scope, nature, and consequences of child abuse and neglect. The separation of immigrant parents from their children after they have crossed the U.S. border “is a form of child abuse,” said Dr. […]
Goals are important to set for so many reasons–they keep us on track, hold us accountable and help push us to our limits. One goal that we can get behind at SCAN is Darkness to Light’s Four Million by 2020: Imagine 4 million adults who have been trained in Stewards of Children! 4 million adults who can prevent, […]
As stories of sexual assault and harassment fill our newsfeeds, it’s critical that we talk to children about this issue and its impact. 1 in 10 children will be sexually abused by the time they turn 18, yet only a third will report it. As professionals, we need to be able to talk to the […]
December 11, 2017—SCAN of Northern Virginia has once again achieved “Partner in Prevention” status, a designation awarded by the nonprofit Darkness to Light to organizations which take extra steps to protect the children they serve by training staff to understand the issue of child sexual abuse, identify unsafe situations and practices, and react responsibly in the […]
I am writing this blog post fresh from the first Darkness to Light Facilitators Conference, Ignite! I was joined by 170 others from 32 states and 4 countries (including 4 of us from Northern Virginia). The conference was a fantastic mix of dynamic and engaging keynote speakers, experts in specific content related to Stewards of […]
For those of us who work with children and families, summer can bring fun — but also a lot of season-specific challenges. Families are on unusual schedules, parents are juggling the demands of new childcare arrangements and children are spending more time alone / on-screen or online / with new adults / outdoors and in pools. This week, we’ve gathered […]
SCAN has known for years that Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children is an excellent curriculum for teaching all adults how to protect children from child sexual abuse. We have trained close to 1,500 adults in Northern Virginia. However, there is a wider network of Darkness to Light facilitators in Northern Virginia, DC, and Maryland […]
FACT: Child sexual abuse is far more prevalent than most people realize. Child sexual abuse is likely the most prevalent health problem children face with the most serious array of consequences. About one in 10 children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. This year, there will be about 400,000 […]
Darkness to Light has aspired to reach a tipping point with adults in their home state of South Carolina to make sure that they are “actively preventing child sexual abuse by training 5% of the adult population to prevent, recognize and react to child sexual abuse!” This idea comes from The Tipping Point, a book […]
March 1, 2016 SCAN will host two movie screenings of Breaking the Silence as part of its 2016 Northern Virginia Child Abuse Prevention Campaign (#kidsneedconnections) during National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. Breaking the Silence is a documentary on child sexual abuse prevention that originally aired on TLC in August 2015, and was produced by our […]
Some might call Erin Merryn a survivor, an advocate, a hero, or all three. Erin Merryn is a remarkable, brave young woman. She is the drive behind Erin’s Law, which “requires age-appropriate sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention education in grades Pre-kindergarten through 12 along with training school staff on the prevention of sexual abuse.” […]
It’s a topic that has come up often in our Allies in Prevention Coalition Meetings: How do parenting topics and resources apply to those raising children with special needs? In many cases, families are all facing the same struggles — how to discipline, deal with sibling rivalry, find childcare — but at the same time there are […]
Do you know what a “tipping point” is? Malcolm Gladwell’s book by the same name has championed the idea in recent years: The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. How exciting to hear that a fellow Darkness to Light partner […]
It’s a horrific issue that we sometimes become immune to in our line of work as child advocates. And while we talk about it on a regular basis, a fog of silence weighs on most people in our community when it comes to child sexual abuse. Last week’s article by Sarah Chang in the Washington Post […]
This past week, SCAN’s Allies in Prevention Coalition hosted a Darkness to Light supplemental training and panel discussion at Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library in Alexandria. More than 40 service providers came from around Northern Virginia for the meeting. What subject drew so many people? The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. The short video training from Darkness […]
Earlier this week, we opened our Community Training Room to 10 adults for Stewards of Children, a child sexual abuse prevention training program from Darkness to Light. The class included parents, a lawyer, a nanny, SCAN board members, CASA volunteers, teachers and more. It was a perfect reflection of why we feel our work in child sexual abuse […]
Anyone can report suspected child abuse or neglect, but if you are identified in the Code of Virginia (§ 63.2-1509) as a mandated reporter or you have received training in recognizing and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect – then you are a mandated reporter. Over the summer, we have trained mandated reporters everywhere from summer camps to childcare […]
A new report from the Human Rights Projects for Girls and Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality calls for an overhaul of the U.S. criminal justice system “to identify and treat sexual abuse trauma that lies at the root of victimized girls’ arrests, particularly girls of color.” This summer, we’ve trained HUNDREDS of adults […]
It’s summer: From more time at home (with a babysitter or unsupervised) to time on vacation (swimming, outdoors, etc.), it’s an important time to share resources with the parents and families in your community. Here’s a round-up of great, local information and support to share this summer: SCAN’s Summer Safety for Kids page on the […]