Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Initiative Begins

HARTFORD — With a $100,000 in federal funding, the State of Connecticut Children’s Trust Fund issued a request for proposal (RFP) this week for a community-based program for the prevention of child sexual abuse.

Child welfare professionals, agencies, and advocates from across Connecticut attended a daylong Children’s Trust Fund conference June 14 at the Community Renewal Team in Hartford. The trust fund is seeking a single lead agency to head a community-based collaborative to develop and implement a prevention strategy, utilizing $100,000 in community-based grant funding over two years through the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA).

“More than one of every ten Connecticut residents has experienced childhood sexual abuse,” said Karen Foley-Schain, executive director of the Children’s Trust Fund. “Our research shows that prevention efforts must be community-based and focus on adult responsibility. The successful applicant will bring community partners together to develop a strategy that utilizes or enhances existing networks in order to broaden prevention efforts.”

The RFP is the product of more than a year’s work by the Children’s Trust Fund’s Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Project, a multidisciplinary, interagency committee of 24 state agencies and others. In May of last year, the committee released a pair of studies compiling — for the first time — the latest data on both victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse in Connecticut. Since then, the committee has worked to evaluate the data for development of an RFP that reflects its important findings.

Among the key statistical findings, of more than 53,000 reported cases of child abuse and neglect in Connecticut in 2002 (with completed investigations), 30 percent were substantiated and 5 percent involved sexual abuse. More than 80 percent of substantiated cases of child sexual abuse in Connecticut in 2002 involved female victims. More than half (50.2 percent) of victims were age 12 and older, while 16 percent were age 5 or younger.

A sampling of convicted sex offenders between 2000 and 2002 (those who targeted children and entered court-ordered treatment) found that 98 percent were male and 60 percent had a criminal history. Nearly 90 percent were either related to or knew the victim.

Beyond statistics, the research included recommendations from child services practitioners for preventing child sexual abuse. Current efforts are focused on intervention after a child has been abused and there are dramatic variations in resources from town to town. Respondents overwhelmingly agree that prevention efforts need to focus on changing adult behavior and must involve all members of the community.

The chosen applicant will be eligible to apply for $50,000 in grant money in each of two years. According to Ms Foley-Schain, an announcement is expected in the fall, with the program scheduled to begin in January 2005.

In addition to the RFP presentation, conference participants gained further insight from nationally noted child sexual abuse expert and author Nora Harlow, founder of the Child Molestation Research and Prevention Institute in Atlanta. Ms Harlow indicated that the latest research provides the insight to not only understand child sexual abuse, but to prevent it.

The Children’s Trust Fund’s sole mission is the prevention of child abuse and neglect. The trust fund supports local efforts that help families and communities be responsive to children, ensuring positive growth and development. Since 1997, the trust fund has developed or funded more than 180 family service agencies, programs, and initiatives statewide.

Copies of the RFP and related studies are available by calling 860-418-8771.