Summary
Organization name
Front Range Center for Assault Prevention
other names
Front Range CAP
Tax id (EIN)
84-1546924
Category
Education
Address
P.O. Box 745727Arvada, CO 80006
Jefferson County, CO, US
The mission of FRCAP is to reduce the vulnerability of children and adolescents to neglect, physical, emotional and sexual assault through the provision of prevention education and advocacy.
Testimonials
The CAP Project teaches children and adolescents how to recognize potentially dangerous situations and gives them strategies to deal with those situations. Since 1996, this local CAP Project has been providing Child Assault Prevention (CAP) and TeenCAP workshops to Front Range schools all across the Denver/Bolder area, serving more than 115,000 children in the past 22 years. March 1998: A stranger came onto the school playground during morning recess and attempted to abduct a 2nd grader from the playground at Centennial Elementary, Broomfield. She was able to do everything she learned during her CAP Workshop.
March 2000: Andrew Rigg was a stay at home father, married with two children and one on the way. He was the guy next door, the rec center coach, who loved to play with children. He often offered to baby-sit when neighborhood parents were in a bind, a charming, good-looking "trusted" neighbor. Andrew Rigg was also molesting many of the young girls in his neighborhood. We know this because his victims were sitting in CAP Workshops. They listened to the descriptions of safe and unsafe touches and realized what was happening to them while playing at their neighbor's house was unsafe. Two of his brave 1st grader victims were able to break their silence and tell the CAP Facilitators what was happening. As we continued to serve this community several more victims came forward and they were able to break their silence as well. At the end of our service to this school, a total of 11 victims came forward, all revealing that Andrew Rigg had been molesting them. In a Boulder County Courtroom, in March 2001, he was sentenced to 32 years to life in prison for his violations to these young girls.
October 2008: A 2nd grader from Heatherwood Elementary, Boulder walking home from school. An adult male approached her and tried to pull her into his car. She was able to use the skills she learned in her CAP workshop to make the man let go of her, (Kick, Scrape, Stomp!), she used her CAP safety yell and ran directly home to report the situation to her mom. Her mom had attended our CAP Parent workshop and she knew just what to do. A report was made to the police, the little girl was able to give an amazing description (a skill we teach in our CAP workshop) and the man was found.
December 2009, A 1st grader in an Arvada, CO school disclosed that her step-father was sexually assaulting her several times a week while her mother was at work. He threatened that if she told he would kill her mother and baby sister. She kept the secret for several months. Visibly terrified, she came out during "Review Time" immediately following her CAP classroom workshop and told her secret. The little 6 year old girl is safe and beginning her healing process with her mother. May 2011 this perpetrator was convicted and sentenced to 22 years in prison.
August 2013: A 5th grader reported being violated sexually by her piano teacher during private in-home lessons. After CAP director reported situation and testified in the trial, he was convicted to 19 years to life.
January 2015: Following a presentation in a 8th grade classroom, a student reported that a classmate was planning an act of school violence as the result of severe bullying and social exclusion. The situation was then reported to school administration and police. The classmate was interviewed and the plan was confirmed. Intervention was provided as well as support for the student involved. True prevention in the works!
During the past 21 years we have made a total of 492 child abuse reports, very much like the descriptions above. Our goal is not to weed out abused children, rather to teach children the skills necessary to be SAFE, STRONG and FREE! If a child is in need of intervention it is our professional and moral duty to intervene on their behalf by reporting concerns to the authorities.
CAP is primarily a prevention education program. We do however feel very strongly that children need an avenue in which to express their concerns. We provide this through "Review Time" immediately following the classroom workshop which gives students an opportunity to ask questions or discuss any concerns.
Mission
The Front Range Center for Assault Prevention (FRCAP) exists to reduce the vulnerability of children and adolescents to neglect, verbal, physical, and sexual assault through the provision of assault prevention education and advocacy. We recognize that the vulnerability of children to physical, emotional and sexual abuse is a pervasive problem in our society, and that some of our most pressing social problems, including interpersonal violence, find their roots in child abuse and neglect. It is the ultimate goal of the Front Range Center for Assault Prevention to reduce the vulnerability of children and adolescents to all forms of assault, thereby reducing the potential for future violence.
Background Statement
FRCAP uses the Child Assault Prevention curriculum because it reflects an approach to assault prevention education that incorporates risk reduction strategies such as communication skills, self- defense techniques, recognizes that both boys and girls are vulnerable but not powerless if they know what to do, helps youth to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate interpersonal behavior, how to assert themselves and stand up for others and most importantly teaches the skills necessary for promoting healthy relationships.
FRCAP has an 23 year track record for being the most sought out and used community prevention curriculum in the state. Every CAP model includes parent and teacher/staff in-service training. After parent and staff in-services are completed, children's workshops are presented in each individual classroom.
The prevention education program includes:
• 2-hour in-service training for faculty and a 2-hour in-service training for parents/community members
• For Kindergarten: 2- 45 minute workshop sessions on consecutive days
• For grades 1-6: a 1.5-hour workshop session per class
• For grades 7-12: two workshop sessions on consecutive days for 90 minutes each day, all teens receive a prevention/resource handbook to take home
• A prevention handbook with a complete description of CAP and follow-up activities is given to parents and faculty members along with many other useful materials.
• Follow up consultation for schools on a needs basis
Adult in-services cover: current statistics of abuse, myths and facts surrounding abuse issues, identifiers of possible child victims and grooming behaviors of potential offenders, state law regarding the reporting of abuse, teaching prevention at home and in the classroom and available community resources. Details the importance of healthy relationships with children as well as role modeling healthy conflict resolutions.
Preschool & Elementary school children's workshops focus on the three most common types of assault children encounter; child against child (bully assault), unknown adult against child (stranger abduction), and known person against child (sexual assault), giving children skills and strategies they can use in these potentially abusive situations. Skill building is emphasized while offering support for attitude/ behavioral changes. (self-assertion, peer support and adult support are demonstrated and fostered)
Teen workshops focus on issues of neglect, emotional, verbal and physical assault, bully behavior, bystander intervention, stranger awareness and internet/technology safety, date/acquaintance rape and sexual assault/incest, healthy relationships/communication skills and need assessments. Through role-playing and guided group discussion, teens observe and practice prevention strategies as well as removing themselves from potential assault and seeking help. Responsibility for their own as well as other's safety is emphasized. Teens are challenged to take a stand against the violence in their world and are given options to significantly reduce/minimize risky behaviors. For decades, Americans from every walk of life have attempted to understand why violence is so common in our society. Researchers say that a variety of social, economic, political, and cultural factors may lead us to tolerate violence as a means of resolving conflict. From a very young age, many children are exposed to violence at home, bullying on playgrounds, harassment in school cafeterias and media portrayals of aggressive behavior. As a community we continue to deal with reports of teen suicide, sexual assaults by trusted adults like teachers, clergy, coaches and other acts of school violence. A history that has to be changed going forward. At FRCAP, we know that we are making a difference in the communities we are invited into. CAP has helped thousands of children in situations just like these stay safe! When we provide CAP in classrooms every day of the school year, these are the thoughts we have in the back of our minds. How important this type of education is to the safety of our children. We also must take this education a step further and start to create an environment where healthy relationships with peers, parents, teachers, etc. is more of the social norm rather than a social anomaly.
Media gallery
Organization Data
Arvada, CO 80006