April 4, 2014, Brewster, NY—April is Child Abuse Awareness Month and the Child Advocacy Center of Putnam County (CAC) kicked off its Blue Ribbon Campaign with a community education forum, protecting our Children: Lessons Learned from Sex Offenders.” Prior to the workshop, County Executive MaryEllen Odell, and DSS Commissioner Michael J. Piazza were joined by many county employees, all wearing blue, on the TOPS building steps of the Donald B. Smith campus in a show of support.
Protecting our Children: Lessons Learned for Sex Offenders provides first-hand information from convicted sex offenders to educate adults about the warning signs and steps to better protect our children. Developed by Corey Jewell Jensen, the Co-Director of an Oregon based sex offender treatment program (the Center of Behavioral Intervention), the workshop is based on her experience working with convicted sex offenders.
The program is taught by prosecutors, investigators, advocates and clinicians who have direct experience working with child abuse victims and offenders. Putnam County Assistant District Attorney Danielle Pascale, Carmel Police Department Youth Officer Frank Chibarro and CAC Program Coordinator Marla Behler presented the workshop. “Everyone has the ability and responsibility to prevent child abuse,” said Behler. “We need to become more educated about how to recognize the signs, how to respond and how to intervene.”
The Protecting our Children: Lessons Learned from Sex Offenders is free and available year round. To schedule a presentation, call the CAC at 845-808-1400