More on Prevention
- Parent/Teachers
- Training
- Volunteers
The Prevention Department offers the following programs:
Programs such as these are as important as they are innovative and are in need of support in order to continue their growth. If you can offer suggestions as to funding or your time as a volunteer, please contact our Prevention Department at prevention@uasasonoma.org.
Volunteers
All of our Prevention Education volunteers go through a 32-hour training process where they learn a wide range of skills from classroom management to how to support a survivor of sexual assault who has just disclosed an incident to them. Through the training, volunteers become Certified Mandated Reporters. All UASA volunteers are fingerprinted and must pass background check prior to beginning their volunteer assignments in the classroom.
Training
Trainings are held twice a year, in September and February. For more information on becoming a Prevention Education Volunteer, please contact the Prevention Education Manager at prevention@uasasonoma.org
Youth Programs
Sonoma County youth are at risk for sexual assault. One way to reduce their risk is to put information and resources in their hands. Students in grades K-12 are educated in an age-appropriate manner. Some of the issues we address include: identifying different kinds of touches, self defense techniques, skill building through role plays, sexual harassment, date rape, gender stereotyping, the media’s influence on rape, community resources, and how to build healthy peer and dating relationships. Our presenters use dynamic role-plays and games that involve youth for an interactive workshop experience. We have a history of identifying and tailoring specific audience needs to our presentations and are happy to accept curricula requests and feedback.
CAPP: Child Abuse Prevention Program
CAPP presentations are offered to elementary school age children. CAPP aims to reduce the vulnerability if children to all forms of abuse by empowering them with knowledge and prevention skills. Workshops range
from 45 – 60 minutes, including class time and private time. Private time, occurring at the end of each CAPP presentation, allows children to talk with a CAPP presenter to ask any personal questions or relay any child abuse that they may be experiencing.
CAPP teaches prevention and assertiveness techniques through age-appropriate role-plays and active group discussions. Children learn ways to recognize potentially abusive situations, to say “NO” or get away from the situation, to access (and give) peer support and to tell a trusted adult about unsafe situations. CAPP’s message is age-specific. We use age-appropriate language depending on the audience’s grade level. Through the use of interactive role plays children learn to trust their feelings and intuition. UASA believes
that younger children become more enabled when given the opportunity to brainstorm safety skill responses after they have identified different kinds of touches and abusive behavior.
Our CAPP workshops instill in children the skills necessary to recognize and avoid abuse. Most importantly, children are taught that if abuse does occur, they are never at fault. Youth are also urged to tell a trusted adult immediately after the assault happens. We teach children that they have have rights when it comes to their bodies and minds that everyone, regardless of age, should respect. A self defense “NO” yell is one way our program teaches children that they have the power to alarm a perpetrator, stop an attack, and get the attention of a nearby adult. CAPP sessions end with Private Time, when presenters may hear from children personal incidents of abuse. If that occurs, a report is made to the proper authorities so that the cycle of violence can end. Our aim is to make children feel less vulnerable and more empowered. In this way, children are more prepared for success as they face future challenges.
CAPP also offers workshops to parents and school staff. Parents may partake in an evening meeting at their children’s school where we discuss the content of classroom presentations, and how to address with their children in their home the topic of abuse. School staff receive a similar workshop with the addition of: signs of abuse, mandated reporter roles, and crisis-counseling skills. The effectiveness of CAPP relies heavily on parent and staff involvement in the program. UASA believes that children’s safety depends on collaborative efforts between the child, family, and school.
TAPP: Teen Assault Prevention Program
TAPP provides age-appropriate curricula for both Middle and High School students, teaching skills to identify and prevent sexual violence. TAPP expands student understanding of this complex topic through role-playing and interactive games. Standard TAPP workshops for grades 6 – 12 range from 1-2 hours and can be given during class time, at after-school programs, and in teen centers. Two and three day presentations are also available.
TAPP curriculum focuses on identifying myths and facts surrounding sexual assault, communication skill building through role-plays, understanding media and cultural influences on gender stereotypes, and bystander intervention skills.
Middle school level TAPP places a large emphasis on sexual harassment while high school level TAPP focuses on rape, communication, and the connection between sexual assault and alcohol and drug use.
UASA’s TAPP program can also be adapted for students with developmental disabilities. The Prevention Department has worked with school psychologists and SCOE teachers to create a developmentally appropriate curricula for different ages and abilities. Contact the Prevention Education Manager for details.
LGBTQ TAPP: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning focused TAPP
LGBTQ TAPP focuses on raising awareness on specific sexual assault issues for the LGBTQ community. LGBT survivors of violence often fear reaching out for help due to homophobia. The layers of oppression, bigotry and discrimination complicate a survivor’s healing.
UASA is responsive to the needs of the LGBT communities. While many service providers are not adequately trained to address the special needs of LGBT clients, UASA wants to make it safer for LGBT survivors to reach out by providing culturally competent services in a safe, non-judgmental environment.
UASA offers sexual assault prevention workshops to LGBT and non-LGBT youth and adult groups and schools that are interested in LGBT sexual assault issues and prevention education. Our LGBT diversity sensitivity training is available to parents and school staff in middle schools and high schools and for organizations that aim to enhance and/or create services appropriate for this population.
These presentations can be offered in the schools as well as to any community group.
YEP: Youth Empowerment Programs
YEP programs include UASA’s Healthy Relationships workshops, MyStrength program, and Girls Circle group. These groups range from 6-10 week sessions and can be held in the classroom setting as well as at teen centers, juvenile probation centers, and after school programs. Groups can be gender specific or co-ed. All groups focus on building healthier relationships with each other, our partners, authority figures, our community, and ourselves.
Each group is catered to the specific needs of the youth involved. Please contact the Prevention Education Manager at prevention@uasasonoma.org for more details or to schedule a workshop.
At-Risk Youth
In ongoing outreach efforts, UASA’s Prevention Program continually seeks avenues to make contact with our diverse youth population.
Our purpose is two-fold, to provide sexual assault prevention workshops to the targeted youth and to offer diversity sensitivity training to the community.
UASA provides a curriculum designed specifically for at-risk youth that focuses on the effects of sexual assault, creating and maintaining boundaries, the roots of sexual assault, drug and alcohol usage, guilt and blame issues associated with surviving sexual assault, and skill building to create healthy relationships.
To schedule a Workshop, contact prevention@uasasonoma.org.
Self Defense
To find out when and where classes are held, please call 707-545-7270 ext. 16 or emailprevention@uasasonoma.org.
Parent, Faculty, and Staff Presentations
UASA believes that the most successful prevention work happens when parents and educators work together to send a consistent message to youth. UASA Prevention Educators and Volunteers welcome the opportunity to meet with parents, faculty, and staff one-on-one or in group settings to discuss UASA presentation content as well as ways to speak with youth about these challenging topics. To set up a presentation or to talk more about UASA support services, please contact the Prevention Education Manager at prevention@uasasonoma.org.