Local agencies work to keep children safe

BY LAURIE HAHN, Times-Union Staff Writer

Keeping children safe from predators is the goal of several area programs offered even before kids enter school.

The Mental Health Association of Kosciusko County offers “Mice Talk” for children in preschool and kindergarten.

The objective of the program is to educate children on sexual assault and to teach them to say “no,” to tell a trusted adult if abuse occurs and, above all, that it is never their fault if abuse happens.

“Kids on the Block” is a puppet program offered by the MHA aimed at elementary-age children. The puppets talk to each other and to the children about sexual abuse and domestic violence, and discuss what to do in certain situations.

MHA presenters also visit high schools in Warsaw, Wawasee, Tippecanoe Valley and Whitko school systems to discuss rape, date rape, date rape drugs and safety information.

Warsaw schools has its own “good touch, bad touch” program, said superintendent Dr. Dave McGuire. Classes watch age-appropriate videos in the company of school counselors, and the presentations in grades two, three and five cover sexual and physical abuse and neglect, he said.

Becky Moreno, Warsaw victim advocate, said a free self-defense course will be given April 9, during Victims’ Rights Week, and every child who attends will get “Safety Net,” a free DVD or videotape that provides basic safety tools for children ages 4-11.

For more information on the MHA programs, call the association at 574-269-2102.

For more information on the self-defense course, call the Victim Service Center at 574-372-9539.