NCMEC Partners with Prevent Child Abuse Vermont to Promote Evidence-Based Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is proud to announce a new partnership with Prevent Child Abuse Vermont (PCAVT) to continue to promote a health-based, trauma-informed, and age-appropriate approach to child sexual abuse prevention. Founded in 1976, PCAVT is a well-established prevention organization that created the Healthy Relationships Project©, a school-based curriculum that helps protect children from sexual abuse. 

Care for Kids©, within the Healthy Relationships Project, supports children in preschool through second grade specifically. Though young children are very vulnerable to child sexual abuse, Care for Kids is unique in offering a program specifically made for preschool-aged children with a proven track record of implementation in childcare centers, preschools, and other early childhood settings, including Head Start programs. The Care for Kids approach includes education for parents and school personnel, which are necessary best practices for effective child sexual abuse prevention education. 

Care for Kids also focuses on perpetration prevention by using a public health approach to boost positive social and emotional skills so children can create healthy relationships with peers. The empirical basis for the Healthy Relationships Project is found on PCAVT’s website along with a detailed analysis of the evaluation for the faculty/staff trainings, parent/caregiver events, and the student program.  

Partnering with PCAVT in support of the Healthy Relationships Project and Care for Kids, drives forward NCMEC’s mission to prevent child victimization by providing preschool-aged children, their parents, and teachers with access to these innovative tools that can prevent child sexual abuse. Working together, NCMEC and PCAVT aim to build healthy relationships within families, schools, and communities to help keep kids safe.