All Youth-Serving Organizations Need to Screen Staff Who Will Work with Youth
Screening for child sexual abuse prevention should be integrated into the general screening and selection process…”
-The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Preventing Child Sexual Abuse Within Youth-serving Organizations
Why Every Youth Serving Organization Needs The Diana Screen®
Facts & Figures
- 42 million – The number of U.S. survivors of child sexual abuse
- Studies show that 6% of adults in the general population are sexually attracted to children
- Many other adults fail to recognize adult-child sexual boundaries
- The most common person to sexually abuse a child is an acquaintance or someone the child or family knows and trusts
The vast majority of adults who work with children are safe, but there are men and women who represent a danger to children. They:
- May be sexually attracted to children
- May have a poor understanding of adult-child sexual boundaries
- May give permission to individuals in the above categories. These permission givers notice inappropriate behavior and boundary violations but do not report them and do nothing to prevent future incidents from occurring
These adults apply in greater numbers to work and volunteer with children. They volunteer with after-school programs and as scout leaders, they are hired as coaches and teachers and they look, act and have credentials like everyone else.
Background Checks Aren’t Enough
Up until recently, the best anyone could do to keep individuals like this away from our children is conduct background screenings. But, only 6% of child sexual abuse is ever reported to the police. In fact, ChoicePoint reported looking at over 3.5 million background checks and finding only 0.2% that could be identified as sexual offenders.
The Diana Screen® Solution
In contrast, The Diana Screen® does not rely on public records or criminal histories. The Diana Screen® methodology provides much more effective results. Administered to job applicants and volunteers, The Diana Screen® is a child safety screen that helps identify adults who fail to recognize adult-child sexual boundaries or who are at a high risk for having sexually abused a child in the past. Because The Diana Screen® does not rely on public records or criminal histories, it does a better job of helping to screen out those individuals who may detract from the safety and welfare of the children in an organization. The Diana Screen® is dramatically more effective than criminal background checks in protecting children and teens against this risk.
For more information about The Diana Screen® or the Abel Screening, Inc. line of Child Protection Products, please Contact Us or call at 1.404.874.4772.
For a list of sources supporting the information on this page, go to References.