Circles of Safety Virtual Classroom Series
"The training...puts a different perspective on sexual abuse … the proactive perspective as opposed to our usual reactive response when we get disclosures. Having the opportunity to be more proactive about something and having the education to go about doing that will certainly benefit our staff here.” - Foster care program director who participated in Circles of Safety
Circles of Safety: Awareness to Action for Youth-Serving Professionals
Circles of Safety teaches and supports all adults to understand and respond to both children’s sexual behaviors and adult behaviors that put children at risk for sexual harm. Bringing both the research and facts and the personal stories and experiences from Stop It Now!'s Helpline and public education activities, Circles of Safety is designed to help adults in youth-serving organizations not only learn about the scope of sexual abuse and prevention strategies, but to feel confident, comfortable, and empowered to take action steps to keep children safe from sexual harm. Sexual abuse thrives in secrecy and the unknown. By learning about healthy sexuality, the warning signs of potentially harmful and abusive sexual behaviors, and safety planning and responding to warning signs participants will be better prepared to know when to act and how to address risks of sexual abuse and harm.
Through the lens of primary prevention this training provides factual information and a shared language. These foundations promote informed approaches to both create healthy and safe environments for youth and to recognize and respond in situations where prevention tools are needed before a child is harmed or there's an offender to punish.
Participants are trained in how to take active roles in prevention. This online learning format is a combination of lecture, discussion, activities, personal reflections, and role plays designed to maximize participation and engagement. Homework questions are given so that each participant can start to think about their personal experiences through a prevention lens. Through case examples and stories from our helpline participants learn about the continuum of prevention – when to act proactively and when they need to respond to warning signs and possible abuse.
Hard-copy manuals available - for more info, see FAQs below.
Continuing Education (CE) credits are available. Click here for more information.
This course requires a minimum of 10 registrants. You will receive notice approximately one week before the training is scheduled to begin if this course will be canceled due to a low number of registrants. You will be offered the choice of a refund or you may apply your registration to a future training.
Upcoming Training Dates:
September 2024
Dates: Monday, 9/16/2024 through Thursday, 9/19/2024; 1:00pm - 4:00pm ET. (4 consecutive days)
Registration: CLOSED
Course Agenda & Objectives: Click Here
November 2024
Dates: Monday, 11/18/2024 through Thursday, 11/21/2024; 1:00pm - 4:00pm ET. (4 consecutive days)
Registration: Click Here
Cost: $285.00
Continuing Education (CE) Credits Available
Recommended Audience: Professional caregivers, (i.e. foster parents, youth residential staff, youth program support staff, sexual assault and response professionals, child protective service professionals, child and family advocacy professionals, educational professionals) youth-serving organization employees in any role, and anyone interested in preventing child sexual abuse.
Course content level: Beginning level
Presenters: Click here
"[the facilitators] were very warm and welcoming as trainers - they definitely built a 'safe space' for participants."
- Community prevention program director
The Upper Ohio Valley Sexual Assault Center has recently been trained in “Circles of Safety”.
Circles of Safety: Training of Trainers (TOT) – Circles of Safety for Sexual Abuse Prevention
Note 1: Awareness to Action is a prerequisite.
Note 2: Enrollees should be affiliated with a youth serving and/or community organization. This is not appropriate for private trainers.
Train the trainer offers community and youth-serving organizations the training and tools they need to train their own staff and the caregivers they support, including parents, foster parents and residential staff. Over the course of the training, attendees will prepare to facilitate two separate workshops within their organization (in person and electronically): Understanding the Role of Healthy Sexuality Development and Education in Sexual Abuse Prevention and Understanding and Responding to Warning Signs.
Participants will receive a trainer’s manual and presentation materials, and will be eligible for a 3 year certification as a Circles of Safety Community Presenter.
The virtual classroom experience will include:
- Complete training manual including curriculum, handouts, surveys, and workshop participant's handbooks.
- (Hard-copy manuals are available for purchase as well. For more info, see FAQs below.)
- Eligibility for a 3-year certification as a Circles of Safety Community Presenter
- 16 maximum participants for increased engagement and practice
- 1:1 conversation with Stop It Now! to discuss personal application of material (optional)
- Quarterly training e-news and ongoing education opportunities
Upcoming Training Dates:
December 2024
Dates: Wednesday, 12/11/2024 through Thursday, 12/12/2024; 1:00pm - 5:00pm ET. (2 consecutive days)
Registration: Click here
Cost: $265.00
Recommended Audience: Youth-serving program training professionals
Presenters: Click here
“Working with Stop It Now! was a rewarding experience. The trainers were able to automatically connect with individuals across a wide spectrum. A majority of the class had very little knowledge of the subject matter yet the trainers were able to simultaneously make them feel comfortable and safe while engaging and empowering them to understand the materials.”
- University training participant
FAQS
Who is this training for?
How do I receive a hard-copy manual?
Who can take the Train the Trainers (TOT) training?
What will I be able to bring back to my agency from the Train the Trainers (TOT) training?
How will annual Booster Sessions work for trainers?
What accessibility information is helpful to know?
What is the cancellation policy?
Who can I contact with additional questions?
Who is this training for?
This training is for professionals caregivers (i.e. foster parents, youth residential staff, youth program support staff), youth-serving organization employees in any role, and anyone concerned or interested in preventing CSA.
How do I receive a hard-copy manual?
When completing your registration for either Circles of Safety: Awareness to Action or Circles of Safety: Training of Trainers, under the Additional Items section type "1" into the space provided next to "Hard-Copy of Training Manual". Then complete your registration form as usual.
There is an additional $15 fee for the purchase of a hard-copy manual.
Who can take the Train the Trainers (TOT) training?
At this time, only trainers, facilitators, and other designated staff from youth-serving organizations are able to take TOT. Attendance will be limited to 16 participants, to allow for a more personalized training experience.
Participants in TOT must have taken Circles of Safety: Awareness to Action within the last 2 years (24 months); please reach out to us at training [at] stopitnow.org if you've taken this training more than 2 years (24 months) ago so we can work with you on what you need to be able to take this training. If you have taken Awareness to Action more than one year (12 months) ago, we may request that you do a brief open-ended question quiz to ensure that the training's key concepts are still fresh in your mind.
What will I be able to bring back to my agency from the Train the Trainers (TOT) training?
Upon completion of Circles of Safety: TOT and signed agreement of the Trainer Contract, trainers will be able to facilitate the two workshops identified below in their agency, appropriate for both staff and parents, including volunteers and foster parents.
- Circles of Safety: Understanding the Role of Healthy Sexuality Development and Education in Sexual Abuse Prevention
- Circles of Safety: Understanding and Responding to Warning Signs
Each training is approximately 2.5 hours long. Trainers will receive a complete trainer’s manual, as well as workshop handbooks for them to copy and distribute. The manuals and training powerpoint will also be made available to trainers through an electronic link, which can be downloaded and printed. Each workshop includes pre and post evaluations, as well as trainer tips and resources to better prepare them on the content. Stop It Now! will remain available for any training consultation needs. Trainers will be offered annual Booster sessions to support and enhance their comfort level and knowledge with the content.
These workshops are perfect for both orientation trainings, as well as for ongoing and supportive training needs on building awareness of protective actions to support children’s sexual safety in their organization. Participants in these workshops will become more knowledgeable and confident when determining how they can best help a child with healthy sexuality development promotion activities and how to respond when there are concerns that a child may be at risk of sexual abuse. Your agency will enhance its commitment to the safety of children and youth you serve, and will be able to promote itself as an agency trained to be a Partner for Prevention.
How will annual Booster Sessions work for trainers?
A minimum of two annual Booster sessions will be offered yearly (calendar year). The first booster after the first year you complete the TOT will be free to you. The following two years’ Booster sessions will be a nominal fee ($35-$50).
What accessibility information is helpful to know?
We strive to make our spaces inclusive, though an online format may not be right for all audiences.
Participants should be able to have a quiet space set aside to take this class, and should be able to pay attention for the full duration of the training (which typically is 3 hours at a time). A stable internet connection is required to participate fully, and a large screen (a desktop monitor, TV, or laptop instead of a tablet, a phone) is recommended. One 15-minute break is scheduled midway through the training, though additional breaks, as needed, are permitted.
Trainers use a combination of visual aids through PowerPoint, video, lecture, role plays, handouts, polls, personal reflection, and small and large group discussions during the training. A copy of the PowerPoint and handouts will be made available (both online, and, if requested, a hard copy) before the training. No interpreter is available on site; fluency in English is required to participate.
Zoom is the platform we use to facilitate the training, which has additional accessibility features and supports screen readers – you may want to familiarize yourself with the options available to you through Zoom before you take this training or check out their Accessibility FAQs page. Currently, there are no image descriptions on our PowerPoint presentation.
Auto-generated closed captioning is also available upon request; please reach out to training [at] stopitnow.org so that we can ensure that feature is turned on when you take a training if this would be helpful to you.
What is the cancellation policy?
Stop It Now! will offer a full re-fund up until 2 weeks prior to the training.
And if you have further questions about cancellations please reach out to training [at] stopitnow.org.
Who can I contact with additional questions?
Please email training [at] stopitnow.org with any additional questions.