Abstract
Abstract
Child physical and sexual abuse is a serious public health issue. This study examines the feasibility and effectiveness of paraprofessional delivery of a prevention program that aims to reduce child victimization. Ten children will be recruited from a transitional housing shelter in Western, New York to participate in The Tweenee’s Program (Mathews and Laurie, 2002). Participants will be compared to a waiting list control group on measures of knowledge and skills of risky people and situations, as well as instances of disclosure of abuse. It is expected children will acquire knowledge and skills necessary to maintain personal safety and prevent victimization. These findings could suggest that methods to prevent child victimization could be successfully implemented by paraprofessionals. The use of paraprofessionals in the dissemination of prevention programs would reduce cost and increase the number of children served.
