Kim announces funding for educational programs

Programs will teach children about boundaries, how to ask for help

HARRISBURG, June 8 – State Rep. Patty Kim, D-Dauphin, announced that $195,224 has been approved by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency for the Harrisburg Area YMCA to provide safety education programs for second graders and their parents in Dauphin County.

“The money earmarked for childhood and parental education today will help safeguard children in Dauphin County,” Kim said. “These funds will be used to fund programs that teach second-graders how to set personal healthy boundaries as well as learn about ways to find safe adults and receive help.”

PCCD, in collaboration with the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network at Penn State University, announced the Endowment Act funding to support a new pilot prevention research program. Over the last four years, PCCD and CMSN have implemented a three-pronged pilot prevention program that served more than 16,000 second graders and 14,000 parents. Due to the success of that project, and the need to implement a more universal parent education component, PCCD and CMSN will implement a two-year pilot that will include two programs to be implemented within different segments of the community.

They include:

  • Safe Touches: This is a 50-minute puppet-based workshop that will be implemented among second-grade students. The evidence-based curriculum teaches children about healthy boundaries, that it is okay to say “no,” and how to get help from safe adults.

  • Smart Parents: This is an adaptation of the evidence-informed Smart Parents program that will be implemented among parents of children under 18. The program teaches parents about healthy sexual development, communicating with children about sexual boundaries, ensuring safety, and obtaining help and resources.