Project Safe and Smart

Throughout the course of the Safe and Healthy Communities pilot project, PCCD and CMSN observed considerable interest in child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention programming among schools and heard the urgent need for a universal prevention education program designed specifically for parents.  Due to this, and the interest in proliferating CSA prevention, a new solicitation was opened in late fall 2021 that combined Safe Touches within second-grade classrooms and an adaptation of the evidence-informed Smart Parents program.  Ten sites were awarded funding and nine continue to implement both components of the program.   Each site engaged in a cooperative agreement with PCCD that required them to accept a prescribed budget and implementation plan.  This allowed for consistency to ensure research could be conducted. 

Projects started on July 1, 2022.  During the first year, all sites were implementing Safe Touches.  Smart Parents will be added during year two of the project.